We toyed with the idea of making Bon Scott the latest installment of our occasional Famous Pipers series. However, Bon himself would never have described himself as a piper so why should we? Today, though, we wish to pay tribute to the Aussie rocker who would have turned 75 this […]
1948 By Jeannie Campbell MBE In 1948, the Gaelic Concert took place in Oban Old Parish Church Hall on the evening of the first day of the Gathering. Sir Charles MacLean Bt., Duart Castle, Chief of the MacLeans, presided. The programme included Oban Gaelic Choir plus various other vocal and […]
It may be a cliché to say this but lockdown has been hard for everyone. Our struggles and experiences will have differed greatly but for most people reading this, the common struggle has been the lack of social gatherings that revolve around our instrument. The stoicism that the world has […]
There seems to be a sense of optimism among the pipe band community in Scotland that a competition season will return in 2022, writes the Editor. Bagpipe.News has been contacted this week – unprompted – by quite a number of individuals who speak of much positivity at band practices and […]
The medley has now been a feature of pipe band competitions for 50 years. Prior to this, it was MSRs all the way. Today, the pipe band medley at the top level is far removed from those early years – and even from fairly recent years. Listen to most Grade 1 […]
Reader, Fiona Stephen, has been in touch with some fascinating information about three members of her family who fought at the Battle of Magersfontein. Fiona’s information shows us that this iconic battle, immortalised in pipe music, is really not as long ago as we think. The battle was fought on […]
McCallum Bagpipes Ltd. is once again sponsoring both the Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital Challenge and the Gordon Duncan Memorial Recital Competition at next month’s Piping Live! festival. The Kilmarnock, Scotland-based bagpipe manufacturing company has sponsored the festival’s flagship event since its inception. The ‘Alasdair Gillies Memorial’ evolved from […]
Scottish piper, John Dew, releases his first album next Friday (27th). Mackerel Sky is mainy self-composed and includes one piece of ceòl mòr (The Marquis of Argyll’s Salute, the tune Dew played at 2019 Royal National Mòd where he was the overall winner). The album was recorded during the spring […]
Any artist creates based on their own experiences and influences. Many will seek to develop new ideas evolving from the art which inspires them. Stravinsky developed tonal and rhythmic ideas from Rimsky-Korsakov, for example. Others will clinically remove the factors they enjoy the most from their favourite art and layer […]
1946-47 By Jeannie Campbell MBE The Second World War ended on September 2, 1945. It had lasted six years and one day. The military pipers started to return home and in 1946 the regular piping competitions were being restarted. On May 25, 1946, the Oban Times carried a notice for the resumption […]
