Ten of the world’s greatest solo pipers will compete in this year’s Glenfiddich Piping Championship, as the renowned competition returns to the spectacular Blair Castle on Saturday, October 29.
Competing this year are defending champion Jack Lee, Dollar’s Callum Beaumont, Glasgow-based Canadian piper Glenn Brown, Jamie Forrester from London, Canadian Alex Gandy, the USA’s Nick Hudson, Willie McCallum of Bearsden, Benderloch’s Angus D. MacColl, Renfrewshire’s Fred Morrison, and Connor Sinclair of Crieff.
The Championship will get underway at 10am, and with limited availability on the door at Blair Castle, people are encouraged to buy a ticket in advance for the in-person show, priced at £15 per person or £12 for a concession. A limited number of tickets for the ceilidh, priced at £60 per person, are also available for purchase along with competition tickets. The online show is priced at £15 and will be available to view for one week after it is first streamed.
This year’s competitors were once again chosen from the list of qualifying events with Jack Lee the Overall Winner of the 2021 Glenfiddich Piping Championship, while Callum Beaumont was the overall winner at the SPSL Annual Competition and winner of the Piping Live! Masters Competition. Glenn Brown was the 2021 Bratach Gorm winner at the SPSL Annual Competition, and Jamie Forrester was the Argyllshire Gathering Highland Society of London Gold Medallist.
At the Northern Meeting, Alex Gandy was the Silver Star MSR winner, Nick Hudson was the Highland Society of London Gold Medallist, and Willie McCallum came second in the Silver Star Former Winners MSR. Angus D. MacColl was the winner of the Clasp at the Northern Meeting and winner of the Senior Piobaireachd at the Argyllshire Gathering, and Fred Morrison won second prize in the Northern Meeting Clasp. Connor Sinclair was the Argyllshire Gathering Former Winners MSR winner.
The pipers will play in both the Piobaireachd and March, Strathspey and Reel disciplines, with prizes awarded for each discipline, as well as an overall Championship winner.
The prestigious 49th annual event will welcome live audiences to the Perthshire venue’s Victorian ballroom whilst also being live streamed, allowing piping fans around the world to experience the impressive sights and sounds of The Glenfiddich from home.
The competition will be followed by the celebratory Pipers’ Ceilidh at the Atholl Palace Hotel in Pitlochry, renowned for closing the Glenfiddich experience in style for competitors and fans alike.
The Glenfiddich Piping Championship was established in 1974 to inspire the world’s finest exponents of Ceòl Mòr or Piobaireachd (the great music) and Ceòl Beag or light music (the little music). Run by The National Piping Centre, the world centre for excellence in bagpipe music, and funded through the William Grant Foundation, the event is held annually at Blair Castle in Blair Atholl, Perthshire.
The National Piping Centre’s Director of Piping, Finlay MacDonald, said: “We’re delighted to welcome back The Glenfiddich Piping Championship for its 49th year. Blair Castle always makes for the perfect venue for this prestigious competition. It’s fantastic to once again take this world-class piping competition to the world by giving audiences across the globe the opportunity to tune in and experience some of the world’s finest pipers all in one place.”
The judges for the day are Murray Henderson, Dr. Angus Macdonald and Ronnie McShannon for the Piobaireachd section, and Ian Duncan, Cpt (Retd) Stuart Samson and John Wilson will judge the March, Strathspey and Reel. Fear An Tighe (Master of Ceremonies) will be Euan Anderson.
Tickets for the Glenfiddich Piping Championship 2022 are on sale now at www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/glenfiddich.
