Features

SFU has performed their new medley several times at various games on the British Columbia Pipers’ Association circuit. It’s yet another fascinating and effective selection, with much of the band’s popular, trademark compositional and ensemble style intact, but with an injection of orchestration flair from the many creative minds in the band.

We mark the milestone with a list determined by experts . . .

Field Marshal Montgomery’s new medley for 2026 is a six-and-a-half-minute epic journey through Gordon Duncan’s incredible library of musical brilliance. The selection of tunes and their arrangements pays homage to one of the most popular and profound creators in the Highland piping canon. The medley is intricate, nuanced and compelling, perfectly suited for an elite pipe band like Field Marshal Montgomery. In our conversation, Matt Wilson, Willie Glenholmes and Ben Duncan guide us through the band’s thought processes and objectives, and open our eyes and ears to the behind-the-scenes inner workings of a band at the top of their own creative game.   

The second part of our exclusive series of convers …

Dr. Donaldson says about the tune: “Another tune whose modern popularity seems to stem from its being set for the great annual public competitions. It was first published in Angus MacKay’s collection, and its appearance there probably militated against too frequent occurrence in the nineteenth-century manuscripts, since most serious pipers probably had access to MacKay either directly or through transcriptions.”

We received the following plan from Colin MacLellan, a frequent contributor to pipes|drums and a famous competitor, judge and teacher. While the plan is more specific to the Senior solo piping competitions in the UK, it is both noteworthy and applicable to the worldwide piping community.

We introduce an exclusive series of conversations with the musical leaders of the world’s top Grade 1 bands discussing the construction, orchestration, arrangement, and intentions behind their new medleys

About this relatively brief piece, Donaldson writes: “The tonal family to which ‘Salute on the Birth of Rory Mor’ belongs begins with the tune Colin Campbell called ‘Brian O duffs Lament’ (elsewhere known as ‘The Frenzy of Meeting’), and continuing through ‘The Brother’s Lament’; three nameless pieces; then ‘A Glass,’ ‘Aird’s Lament,’ and what Colin Campbell calls ‘Glass Mhoir’ (which is nowadays known as ‘The Finger Lock’), ‘One of the Cragich’ (‘Hiotrotra hinbainbain’) and ‘McNeil is tighearna ann.'”

“A lovely tune in all its versions,” the piece is widely known and a fine choice for pipers, whose teachers recognize its musical and melodic challenges for all levels of piobaireachd players.

While some might dismiss the piece as pure schmalzt, its success in bringing the sound of the pipes to billions of ears is undeniable.

Our StarBox feature has focused on pipers until now, but we thought it made sense to feature the reigning World Solo Drumming Champion as the first drummer to open his drum case and any other items he might carry. Besides, he’s also a superb piper . . .

We continue our exclusive 2026 Set Tunes Series by …

In his latest article in his “Insights into pipe band ensemble” series, Alan Jones investigates the prevalence of the S-w-M-w beat-note emphasis in pipe band MSR music.

What began a quarter-century ago quickly became and remains the greatest free collective piobaireachd resource for pipers worldwide.

When Grade 2 Glasgow Skye Association revealed tha …