2021 certainly got off to a mixed start for piping. In Scotland, it seemed that no sooner had Pipe Major Peter MacGregor (4 SCOTS) sounded the last notes of When the Battle’s Over from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle than we lost some weel kent names: Nigel Richard, Dr. Peter […]
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Angus’ years at the Northern Meeting and the great pipers he heard
Transcribed by Norman Matheson We conclude the interview the late Dr John MacAskill conducted with Angus MacPherson, Invershin, in 1970. You were telling me that your father composed a few tunes. How many piobaireachds had he composed?I can’t tell you that; the only piobaireachd I got a copy of was […]
Dr. Peter Cooke, 1930-2021 / Pipe Major Anthony James Crease BEM, 1948-2021
Dr. Peter Cooke, the highly respected ethnomusicologist, has died. He was 90. Peter was born in Cardiff, Wales in 1930. His music teaching career began in secondary schools and as a lecturer at Redland College of Education in Bristol. He moved to Uganda in 1964 to work as head of […]
Great pipers Angus knew – and the day G. S. completed ‘Mrs MacPherson’
Transcribed by Norman Matheson We continue with our interview with Angus MacPherson, Invershin, conducted by Dr. John MacAskill in 1970. So he [Calum Piobair] played light music too, not only ceòl mòr?Yes, of course. He went to Paris on one occasion for a competition and got first for strathspeys and_ […]
When Dr John met Angus – a highlander looked back
Transcribed by Norman Matheson Angus MacPherson (1877-1976), a father figure in the piping world of his day, was one of the five sons of the renowned Malcolm MacPherson (Calum Piobair) who was piper to the MacPherson clan chief at Cluny Castle near Laggan. In 1898 Angus MacPherson, aged 21, became […]
Nigel Richard, 1948-2021
Nigel Richard, a leading light in the bellows piping revival, has died. He was 73 and had been fighting cancer for a few years . He died on the evening of New Year’s Day in an Edinburgh hospice where he had only just been admitted. Nigel [pictured] was the proprietor […]
CLASP profile: Matthias Kühn
For many years, each issue of Piping Today featured a profile of a member of the National Piping Centre’s popular Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers. (CLASP). With the magazine ceasing publication, we resume this series on Bagpipe.News. Our first piper to feature is Matthias Kühn. Q. Where are you […]
Kernaghan overall at Waipu
For the second year running, Liam Kernaghan of Dunedin, New Zealand was the overall winner at the annual New Year’s Day solo piping competition at Waipu in the country’s North Island. The town’s annual highland games was cancelled but the A Grade solo piping competition went ahead. Results:Ceòl Mòr – […]
“All piping is good piping” – Seumas MacNeill
To kick off the new year we reproduce Seumas MacNeill’s editorial that appeared in the Piping Times of January 1957. Seumas had three suggestions for pipers that year and they are still relevant today. As we look forward to, hopefully, a return to piping at some point this year, let’s […]
New Year Honours 2021 / Drums and Whistles / Online Balmoral school
No individuals from the world of highland piping have been recognised in the The Queen’s New Year Honours list for 2021, although a British Empire Medals (BEM) has been awarded to Margaret Campbell of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland for services to pipe bands and highland dancing in the county. […]