The City of Edinburgh Pipe Band has announced that its annual Pipe Major’s Wheel of Fortune competition will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2025. The event will once again be hosted by Danderhall Miners Club in Midlothian.
Eight pipers have agreed to take the floor at a competition where creativity, musical expression – and fun – come to the fore. The competitors for 2025 are:
- Sandy Cameron
- John Dew
- Cameron Drummond
- Brian Lamond
- Gordon McCready
- Cameron May
- Ross Miller
- Sarah Muir
The band is announcing more details on each competitor through updates on its Facebook page.
The competition has three elements:
- March, strathspey and reel (MSR)
- Wheel of Fortune medley
- Joke
While MSRs are a staple part of the solo piping diet, the Wheel of Fortune medley and joke competitions add fresh flavour for audience and competitors alike.
The Wheel of Fortune has 12 numbers, with each number corresponding to a type of tune:
- Allan MacDonald tune
- Donald McLeod tune
- Female name tune
- Gaelic or Irish slow air
- Gordon Duncan tune
- GS McLennan tune
- Hornpipe
- Own composition
- Pibroch (Ground)
- Polka
- Two jigs
- Two reels
Each competitor must play five of the 12 tune categories. Four of the tune categories are determined by pipers spinning the Golden Chanter on arrival at the competition. The final category of tune is determined by a member of the audience spinning the Golden Chanter as competitors take the floor.
Each competitor has a Joker which they can play to deselect a category of tune. The Joker can be played at any time, but only once. When a category of tune is deselected, the Golden Chanter will be spun again to provide an alternative.
The tune categories selected can be played in any order, but they must be combined to form one continuous medley.
Pipers can add a maximum of three tunes of their choice to those selected by the Golden Chanter. These tunes can also be played in any order but must form part of the continuous medley.
Following the Wheel of Fortune medley, pipers conclude their performance by telling a joke. For some, this is the most challenging part of the event.
Craig Sutherland won the Wheel of Fortune medley at the 2024 contest, with Cameron Drummond taking second place and Ciaren Ross third. Cameron also lifted the prizes for best joke and best MSR.
Looking ahead to the event, band secretary Paul White said: “Once again, we’re looking forward to spending an afternoon with some great pipers in Danderhall. We really appreciate their support for our competition, which is going from strength to strength.
We’ll be welcoming back some familiar faces and inviting some new friends to face the Wheel for the first time. We’re promoting our line-up on Facebook over the coming week, while we’ll announce the order of play next weekend.
The Wheel of Fortune has established a good following since it was first held in 2006. We encourage anyone who enjoys good music and good times to join us on April 26.”
The City of Edinburgh band was formed in 1947 and was originally known as Woolmet and Danderhall. The band took its name from the Woolmet Colliery and the Midlothian village, where the band practices to this day.
Entry to the competition is £15.00 on the door for people aged 16 and over and £7.50 for people under 16. Doors open at 11.15am, while the competition starts at 12.00 noon.
