Reader, Alexander Gillies is seeking information on his late father’s pipes. Alexander’s father was Pipe Major Roderick John Gillies [pictued] and he died in 1997 aged 67. Roderick served as Pipe Major of the Cameronians just before it disbanded in 1968. He was then Pipe Major of the Royal Scots […]
Pipers are being asked to participate in the 20th anniversary of the Piper’s Memorial at Longueval in northeast France. Sculptured by Andy DeComyn of Birmingham, England, the three metre high monument in Longueval village square [pictured] was erected on July 20, 2002. It is dedicated to all pipers who fell […]
By Chris MacKenzie Piping Today sprung to life in 2002 as a development of The Piping Centre’s Notes pamphlet and went on to document the multifaceted world of piping. The casual observer may wonder what on earth there is to fill one issue of a piping-related magazine, let alone 101 […]
The National Piping Centre (NPC) today launches a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to protect the legacy of its two magazines, the Piping Times and Piping Today. The two-strand project involves the digitisation of the magazines’ archive – a resource that will be free to access online – and the […]
By Stuart Letford Duncan Johnstone wasn’t really one for competitions – his 1964 victory in the Scottish Pipers’ Association’s Knockout series was pretty much his only foray into solo piping contests. As he put himself, “I was never interested in whether I could beat this man or the next. I […]
A new event to celebrate the life and works of Duncan Johnstone, the influential piper, teacher and composer, took place in early March at the National Piping Centre (NPC) in Glasgow, Scotland. The event was recorded at the National Piping Centre in strict adherence to all Scottish Government social distancing […]
The late 1980s was a period of transition in piping. In 1987 the 78th Fraser Highlanders became the first overseas pipe band to win the World Pipe Band Championships and in 1988 Ottawa-born Amy Garson would be the first female invited to compete at the Glenfiddich. The 1988 Glenfiddich was […]
The 10 invitees to compete at the 2020 Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championships have been confirmed. The pipers who will take to the stage – and, in brackets, the number of times they have won the overall title – are: • Finlay Johnston (2)• Callum Beaumont • Jack Lee (2)• Roddy […]
While clearing out my garage last month I stumbled across two boxes. Each was packed with VHS video cassettes – remember them? – of various films and comedies over the years. Mostly from the 1970s and 80s, of course. There were three piping tapes in the box: MacKinnon Productions’ West […]
Finlay MacDonald, pictured, a member of staff at the National Piping Centre (NPC) for almost 20 years, has been appointed Artistic Director of this year’s Piping Live! Glasgow International Festival of Piping, the world’s largest bagpipe festival. MacDonald has been involved with the festival’s programming since its inception in 2003. […]
