NYPBS Ensembles offers pipers & drummers aged 10-25 a fun, exciting project where you’ll build your piping or drumming skills, meet new people, and make unique music together, culminating in a performance as part one of the country’s biggest music festivals.
Who can play in NYPBS?
If you’re a piper or drummer aged 10–25* who is ready to develop your skills, collaborate creatively and are living in Scotland or with Scottish links the NYPBS is for you.
Whether you’re part of a school band, a local pipe band system, or playing on your own in a rural area, you’ll find a place here. Our three-tiered programme offers tailored ensembles to find the right fit for our musicians each year.
Our three ensembles cover a vast age and performing level from young people playing across the pipe band system, from Novice A right up to top 6 bands in Grade 1. In terms of entry level, our ensembles programme is for young pipers and drummers who are:
- Confident with their instruments, for pipers, this means having transitioned fully onto the pipes and producing a steady tone;
- familiar with a variety of different tune styles and are expanding their repertoire, including Marches, Strathspeys, Reels, Hornpipes and Jigs.
You do not need to be registered or have played with a certain grade of band to take part; we base our assessment of your level on your video and in-person auditions.
If you’re at an earlier stage of your pipe band journey check out our other engagement opportunities. We want there to be a place for everyone at NYPBS.
*N.B. You must be aged 10-25 at the time of your audition but turning 26 during the 6 month project will not disqualify you.
APPLY HERE!
About our Ensembles Programme
Our three-tiered Ensembles Programme brings together young pipers and drummers from across the country, creating opportunities for them to develop their skills, confidence, and musicianship through collaborative music-making.
Following annual auditions, staff from the National Piping Centre work alongside experienced visiting tutors to deliver a series of inspiring sessions. Throughout the year, young musicians are challenged to push their abilities further as they work towards creating a brand-new concert programme.
Each season, NYPBS performs a mix of iconic pipe band classics, new works from diverse voices, and music that explores ‘what pipe bands can be’, presenting audiences with performances that are fresh, ambitious, and unexpected.
What makes this programme truly special is the community behind it. NYPBS has grown into a supportive network of young musicians who share a passion for pipe band music. It’s a space where friendships are formed, confidence grows, and everyone is encouraged to take part and enjoy the experience.
Whether it’s your first time joining or you’ve been part of NYPBS before, you’ll be welcomed into a group of young musicians who make the experience what it is.
This year’s NYPBS Ensembles programme: Voyager
This year at NYPBS, we explore the idea of Journeys, in every sense of the word. Under the theme Voyager, we look at movement, change, and discovery through music, people, and place.
Journeys are at the heart of what we do. Every rehearsal is a step forward, every performance a shared voyage, and every young musician brings their own personal path into the ensemble. We explore musical journeys, where melodies travel across instruments, traditions, and cultures, evolving as they are passed on and reimagined.
We also reflect on journeys beyond music; from physical travel and migration to historical movements that have shaped our world. Stories of exploration, endurance, and connection remind us that music has always moved with people, crossing borders and carrying identity, memory, and meaning.
From the courage of ocean crossings like the Maclean Brothers’ rowing journeys, to the vast imagination of space exploration, to the complex history of the pipes themselves, Voyager invites us to think about movement on every scale, personal, cultural, and global.
This year, we ask our members to consider their own journey: where they have come from, where they are going, and how music helps shape the path between the two.
NYPBS 2026/27 Overview
What’s New
This year, following feedback from participants, the NYPBS programme will run from September to February and the programme will be more condensed. This adjustment ensures we avoid overlapping with the busy pipe band season and allows musicians to fully focus on both NYPBS and their wider musical commitments.
This change to the schedule also brings our most exciting update. Our end-of-year concert will now take place at Celtic Connections, the largest winter music festival in Europe. We are thrilled to be partnering with Celtic Connections, and this will really add to the experience of all involved.
We always say that a year in the NYPBS isn’t all about the gig. It’s about the journey through the programme and what you learn along the way. This year, rather than ending with the concert itself, we’ll come together one final time in Glasgow for a closing celebration session. Alongside workshops and music-making across the ensembles, you’ll enjoy a well-earned party with the whole NYPBS community.
The Programme
NYPBS sessions begin in September at the National Piping Centre. Each weekend session brings together young musicians from across the country, creating a space to connect, collaborate, and explore brand-new repertoire.
Alongside ensemble rehearsals, participants take part in masterclasses, creative workshops, and collaborative sessions where they actively shape the music as it develops. Participants work closely with accompanists as part of a full ensemble and have the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from musicians from a wide range of musical backgrounds and traditions.
Sessions are led by expert tutors from the pipe band world and beyond, alongside guest Artists in Residence who bring fresh perspectives and creative collaboration opportunities. The programme explores a wide range of music, from iconic pipe band repertoire and rare historical material to contemporary traditional music and brand-new works written especially for NYPBS.
Sessions are scheduled at weekends to fit around school and band commitments, and we aim to avoid pipe band and solo competitions as much as possible.
Big Sessions
Across the six-month programme, all three ensembles come together for two BIG SESSIONS, working on shared material and strengthening connections across the full NYPBS community. These big sessions were introduced a few years ago, and they have quickly become a favourite with NYPBS staff and participants alike. This is where we work on music for our FINALE, with all bands coming together to do something really unique. There’s really nothing else like this in Pipe Band.
The Music covered in these big sessions is Big, Bold, with big block harmonies, cool drum grooves, and often very dark-sounding arrangements.
End of Year Concert
In January, all ensembles will come together for our End of Year Concert at Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Each ensemble takes to the stage with its own set, before joining together for a powerful finale.
We work with leading production teams to create a world-class live show, giving our musicians an unforgettable performance experience during one of Scotland’s biggest Festivals.
Pathways & Leadership
Some participants will also be invited to support NYPBS Pathways events as mentors. This is a valuable opportunity to develop leadership skills, support younger musicians, and play an active role in growing the wider NYPBS community.
Rather than relying on a single Pipe Major, NYPBS encourages shared responsibility across the ensembles, giving more young people the opportunity to contribute musically and creatively. The level of devolved leadership varies between bands and depends on what each group wants to achieve through the programme.
Pipers in the Senior Band are often responsible for setting their own sound, an important and highly valued skill within pipe bands, with relatively few opportunities for young people to gain experience in this area.