Recognition for South Florida Pipe & Drum Academy

South Florida Pipe and Drum Academy has received an official recognition from the City of Sunrise, a city close to the school’s venue in Boca Raton. City of Sunrise Mayor, Mike Ryan, who was a student at the school and who won the Most Promising Chanter Student award, has issued the following statement: ‘As Mayor of the City of Sunrise, I want to thank you for developing an Academy dedicated…

PP Ed’s Blog: South Florida Pipe & Drum Academy Concludes

The South Florida temperature cooled off to the pleasant high 60s during the week and it was amusing to see so many students lamenting the cold and shouldering their pipes and drums wearing fleece jackets and sweaters whilst the Scots instructors, in short sleeve order, commented on how summery things were. It’s about what you are used to. I think it would be fair to say we have had a…

Be a Better Piper – What to Look for When Selecting an Instrument Part 2

The following guide to selecting a bagpipe first appeared in Piper Press in the 1990s. It came from the renowned pipemaker Jimmy Pettigrew who for many years was the leading bagpipemaker for RG Hardie & Co……. Bagpipe making today is not as skilled as it once was. There is not enough good training these days. No one seems to do a full apprenticeship. When I started everything was done by…

PP Editor’s Blog: South Florida/ Couer d’Alene/ NPC Juniors/ SPA KO

Well here we are in sunny Florida for the second annual South Florida Pipe and Drum Academy. The temperature is in the 70s and though there was torrential rain for a period yesterday the conditions were near perfect for our outdoor massed band. This, and all our classes, are being held at a fine facility belonging the  Boca Raton Fire Department and our grateful thanks and that of the 45…

A Look Back at Pipe Bands in the Summer of ’08

The following is from the Pipe Band Magazine of October 2008 and was written by the then senior adjudicator Alistair Aitken in his ‘Judge’s Journal’ column for the magazine. The article was headlined: ‘Burst Bags and Drumskins – Adjudicator Experiences Over the Summer ‘: ‘Since the last edition of the magazine the competition season, including Major Championships, has been in full swing.  Inevitably the unexpected tends to happen when things…