The annual London Competition has been postponed until next March, the Scottish Piping Society of London (SPSL) said today. However, an online CPA C Grade competition and and SPSL Members’ competition will go ahead on what would have been the weekend of the annual competition, November 7. SPSL President, Michael […]
Concluding the story of James MacHardy, piper to Queen Victoria from 1878 until 1881, by his daughter, Mrs Edith Paterson. The 1938 Lonach was handicapped as so many have been since by cold, damp weather. Father took his place in the March of the Clansmen from Colquhonnie to the games […]
Iain MacInnes reviews Chris Gray’s debut recording. As Scotland’s pipers explore ever wider musical horizons, this beautifully-made debut CD from Chris Gray points the way to what can be achieved. Gray comes with an impressive piping pedigree (he was a pupil of Tony MacDonald’s in his native Lockerbie), as well […]
Owen MacNiven was a well-known piper of the pre-war era. Born in Paisley in 1916 he was taught initially by John Morrell 1926 before the great Pipe Major Robert Reid took him on. By all accounts, Owen was an excellent piper – and the only one of Robert Reid’s pupils […]
The annual Springbank Invitational Solo Piping Competition has been cancelled for 2020. Competition organiser, the Kintyre Piping Society, hopes to be in a position in the near future to hold it next year. The competition usually takes place in mid-September in the Argyll town, Campbeltown and is sponsored by the […]
The year is around 1707. It is only a couple of years since the burial of Sir Norman MacLeod of Berneray, one of the most famous chiefs of the Berneray branch of the MacLeods of Harris. He was the third son of Sir Roderick XV of Harris and Dunvegan. Today, […]
The five pipers who will perform at this year’s online Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital Challenge are: Roddy MacLeod MBE, Stuart Liddell, Angus MacColl, Callum Beaumont and Connor Sinclair. The competition, part of Piping Live!, takes place behind closed doors at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow on Thursday, […]
The draw (and tunes to be played) for this year’s online Silver Chanter is: Connor Sinclair (Lament for Donald Bàn MacCrimmon); Stuart Liddell (Lament for the Children); Sarah Muir (Lament for the Earl of Antrim); Callum Beaumont (Lament for MacLeod of Colbecks); Iain Speirs (Lament for MacSwan of Roaig); Fred […]
The pull of the Great Highland Bagpipe shows no signs of stopping. A pipe band comprised of Hindu pipers and drummers has been featured recently on US television channel, CNN. The Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band is based in Secaucus, New Jersey. In reality, though, it is one of five […]
Tommy Johnston died in hospital on Tuesday night after a short illness. He was 65. Tommy was an immensely popular figure in piping and piping band circles. In the mid-1990s he set up Pipe Dreams with fellow ScottishPower Pipe Band member, Ronnie McShannon. The two launched their popular Ezeedrone drone […]
A week on Saturday – August 8 – the 54th annual Silver Chanter competition will take place. The invited pipers are Sarah Muir, Fred Morrison, Callum Beaumont, Stuart Liddell, Connor Sinclair, and Iain Speirs. Murray Henderson is the judge and James Beaton is on fear an tighe duties. As we […]
This article was written in 1967, shortly after its author attended the very first Silver Chanter competition. He considered sending it to the Piping Times for publication but hesitated due to his teacher’s negative views about Glasgow and west coast piping in general. He put it in a drawer instead. […]
By Roderick Cannon This well known air has had a varied history, in the course of which it has become separated into at least two distinct tunes, played on the pipes as a slow march and a jig. It first appears in Patrick MacDonald’s collection of Highland Vocal Airs (1784), […]
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association is one of the cultural organisations in Scotland set to to be offered financial support while they remain affected by lockdown restrictions. The Scottish Government announced a £10m funding package yesterday to help the events sector recover from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Funding streams […]
