The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) has set up a new cross-association working group. The group, the International Liaison Group, is a sub group of the organisation’s Music Board and has been established in order to help improve communication between the member associations around the world and to provide […]
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Piping’s thanks to Lady Dorothea Stewart Murray
Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day celebrating the “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.” Marked annually on, this date, IWD is one of the most important days of the year to, among other things, celebrate women’s achievements and to raise awareness about women’s equality. In piping, […]
Practice chanter reeds: cane v plastic
Those of us old enough to have played cane practice chanter reeds will testify to the superiority of them over plastic reeds. Yet, by the late 1970s, plastic was rapidly becoming the preference for pipers and it seems that these days it is extremely difficult to source cane reeds. In […]
RSPBANI set to cancel most of band season
The Northern Ireland branch of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) says it is considering cancelling all its pipe band competitions until the end of July. Although covering most of the competition season, this would affect only four competitions including the All-Ireland Championships on July 3. The RSPBANI committee […]
Reflections on the Northern Meeting, 1962
By Seumas MacNeill Most gatherings have an atmosphere all of their own, and none more so than Inverness. Last of the season’s contests, equal in stature with Oban, it is the final fling for pipers and enthusiasts before the winter. The Northern Meeting ballroom with its warmth, splendid acoustics, and […]
Another two online competitions (one solo, one for trios) / Memories of Evan Macrae
Lochaber Piping Society is running an online junior piping competition for two age groups, 14 & Under and Age 15-18. There will be no ceòl mòr and MSR categories, however, only medley categories. The judges are Connor Sinclair and John Dew. The closing date for video submissions to be received […]
CLASP profile: Dugald Macleod
The latest member of the Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers (CLASP) to be profiled is Dugald Macleod. Where are you from and how did you get into piping?I live near Dumfries, Scotland but always have difficulty with the question, “Where are you from?” I was born in Valparaiso, Chile […]
Pipe Major Evan Macrae book / Skye Gathering
The memoirs of the late Pipe Major Evan Macrae BEM have been published this week. Over the Chindwin to Lochaber: A Scottish Piper’s Memoir has been produced by Evan’s son, Duncan who lives in Lancashire, England. Bagpipe.News has read the first few chapters and can inform readers that it is […]
Variation in pipe band competition results and difficulties of change
For years, many of us have been vocal in how to improve the pipe band competition environment so as to avoid the large differences in results that are sometimes reached: “How can one judge give us first for piping and the other one last?” and so on. Is it time […]
Europeans cancelled; plus more games fall
Unsurprisingly, the European Pipe Band Championships has been cancelled for 2021. The news comes two days after the announcement that the British and the UK Championships were cancelled. The ‘Europeans’ were scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 21 at Bught Park, Inverness, but with uncertainty around COVID-19 restrictions and […]