The draws for the Captain John MacLellan Memorial competition have been announced. The competition will take place the Army School of Piping at Inchdrewer House, Edinburgh, this Saturday October 2.
It has a attracted a very high quality field with Piobaireachd and MSR competitions for all CPA grades and an Open Jig event.
The order of play is as follows (use arrows to scroll through from P Grade to C):
This is always a superbly run event with true military efficiency. Results expected around 6pm. Judges on duty are: Euan Anderson, Jimmy Banks MBE, Robert Barnes, Walter Cowan, Alan Forbes, Andrew Frater, Jim Henderson, Tom Johnstone, Colin MacLellan, Ronald MacShannon, P/M Ian McLellan BEM, P/M Richard Parkes MBE and Captain Stuart Samson MBE.
Scotland’s Finest Young Pipers Take the Stage at new Youth Championship
To celebrate 150 years since its inauguration the Argyllshire Gathering has created the Lochnell Youth Intermediate Championship, writes Hattie Mellor. It is a new competition which gives professional solo pipers under the age of 22 a platform to showcase their abilities on an international scale and provide them with a step up to senior competitions.
The Lochnell Championship will bring together ten of Scotland’s finest Intermediate players: Bobby Allen, Ruairidh Brown, Finlay Cameron, Ross Conner, Hamish Drennan, Andrew Ferguson, Luke Kennedy, Cameron May, Anna Smart and Brodie Watson-Massey. The event will be held from 11am this Saturday, 2nd October, at the chapel in Lochnell Castle with the kind permission of the Earl of Dundonald and hosted by his son Lord Archie Cochrane.
John Wilson, Master of Ceremonies at the upcoming Championship, says: ‘It is important that we give the younger generation the opportunity to express themselves and develop. It is especially important with piping because it is a huge part of our heritage.’
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Robert Wallace, President of the Piobaireachd Society, said: ‘For more than 100 years the Society has been foremost in promoting our classical pipe music. We are delighted to be able to sponsor this new venture supporting the professional pipers of the future.’
Keith Montgomery, secretary of the Royal Scottish Pipers Society who are presenting their Bronze Star to the Champion Piper, said: ‘Our objectives are to encourage the playing of bagpipes amongst ladies and gentlemen and to support the general advancement and study of the great Highland bagpipe and its music.’
The Argyllshire Trust is very proud to partner with sponsors to create this new opportunity for ‘intermediate’ pipers. We give a very warm thanks to all the piping community and our sponsors of the first Lochnell Youth Intermediate Championship: The Piobaireachd Society, The Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society, the Duncan Louis Stewart Foundation, JLS Lonsdale Charitable Trust, William Grant Foundation, Foundation Scotland and Andrew Holman, Kilfinichen Estate.
The Lochnell Championship is an extension of the Argyllshire Gathering Trust and the Primary School Tuition Scheme which has operated for the past 25 years focusing on youth development and making sure piping is accessible to school children across Argyll & Bute helping them to gain skills, confidence and to preserve their heritage.
The Lochnell Championship will be in two stages: a Piobaireachd competition followed by a March, Strathspey and Reel competition. Judges for both events are Ian Duncan, Archie Maclean and Robert Wallace. Medals will be awarded for the first three winners of both the Piobaireachd and the March Strathspey and Reel competitions. The overall winner will have the highest cumulative points from both competitions. In the case of a tie, the piper with the highest points from the Piobaireachd will be named winner and take home the first ever Lochnell Youth Intermediate Championship trophy and a Bronze Star from the Royal Scottish Pipers Society. The prize money as follows:
Piobaireachd: 1st £120, 2nd £80, 3rd £60, 4th £40
MSR: 1st £120, 2nd £80, 3rd £60, 4th £40
Champion: £200
The Piobaireachd draw and selected tunes:
- Luke Kennedy, MacKay’s Banner
- Anna Smart, Old Men of the Shells
- Bobby Allan, MacDougall’s Gathering
- Cameron May, King’s Taxes
- Hamish Drennan, Battle of the Pass of Crieff
- Andrew Ferguson, Earl of Ross’s March
- Brodie Watson-Massey, Lament for Ronald MacDonald of Morar
- Ross Conner, Lament for Mary MacLeod
- Ruairidh Brown, Lachlan MacNeill Campbell of Kintarbert’s Fancy
- Finlay Cameron, Lament for the Iolaire
The March, Strathspey and Reel draw and selected tunes:
- Finlay Cameron, Bonnie Anne, Bob o’ Fettercairn, John MacDonald’s Reel
- Cameron May, Brigadier Cheape, Inveraray Castle, The Sheepwife
- Andrew Ferguson, Stirlingshire Militia, Cameronian Rant, Rejected Suitor
- Bobby Allan, Mrs John MacColl, John Roy Stewart, Arnish Light
- Anna Smart, Parker’s Welcome to Perthshire, Maggie Cameron, Cockerel in the Creel
- Hamish Drennan, John MacDonald of Glencoe, Arniston Castle, Alick C MacGregor
- Luke Kennedy, Braes of Castle Grant, Shepherd’s Crook, Mrs MacPherson of Inveran
- Ruaridh Brown, Miss Elspeth Campbell, Susan MacLeod, Miss Proud
- Brodie Watson-Massey, Abercairney Highlanders, Caledonian Society of London, The Sheepwife
- Ross Conner, Inveran, Highland Harry, Little Cascade
If you wish to find out more or attend, please contact Hattie Mellor at hattie@really-matters.com
In 1979 the Argyllshire Gathering set up The Argyllshire Gathering Piping Trust (SC012513) in response to a gradual decline in Piping across Argyll through the 1970s and since then the Trust has led the way in restoring Piping across Argyll to the position of great strength it enjoys today.
In 1996 the Trust entered into an agreement with Argyll and Bute Council to support the teaching of the pipes in Argyll primary schools and has expanded greatly over the years to provide funding for tuition in and around Oban, Mid Argyll, Mull, Islay, North Kintyre, Campbeltown, Cowal, and Helensburgh. The Trust is now recognised officially by Argyll and Bute Council as the primary funder of piping tuition in primary schools in the county, providing funding in every primary school across Argyll where piping lessons are available.
In 2020/21 this consists of the provision of lessons through a blended learning programme (online and face to face) by 6 tutors in some 30 Primary Schools. Our six tutors are Angus MacColl, Stuart Liddell, Calum Maclean, Charles Maclean, Ian McKerral and Donald Macphee. In addition our tutors teach pupils on the pipes at high school level so pupils who benefitted from the Trust’s support at primary school continue to learn the pipes at high school. The current level of funding provided by the Trust to Argyll and Bute Council is £50,000 per annum.
