The Uist & Barra Invitational, the first professional piping contest of the year, takes place tomorrow in the Piping Centre at the old College of Piping building in Otago Street, Glasgow.
Judges are Dr Bill Wotherspoon and William Morrison. Invited pipers and their piobaireachd in playing order are:
1. William McCallum, Old Men of the Shells
2. Stuart Liddell MBE, Beloved Scotland
3. Angus D MacColl, Red Speckled Bull
4. Sarah Muir, Lady Margaret MacDonald’s Salute
5. Callum Beaumont, Lament for the Earl of Antrim
6. Glenn Brown, The Edinburgh Piobaireachd
7. Ben Duncan, Stewart’s White Banner
8. Iain Speirs, King’s Taxes
9. Calum Brown, A Son’s Salute to his Parents
10. Jamie Forrester, MacLean’s March
The winner of the piobaireachd receives the Glasgow Highland Club Medal. Last year’s recipient was Callum Beaumont (pictured top). The ceòl mòr is followed by March, Strathspey and Reel and Hornpipe and Jig contests. Doors open 9am; tickets at door.
Piping Convenor John Angus Smith, himself a Gold Medallist and solo piping champion, has indicated that he is retiring from office after ten successful years in post.
Jimmy McIntosh MBE Workshop
Thirty-four piobaireachd enthusiasts from across North America flocked to Pittsburgh PA this past weekend for the third annual Jimmy McIntosh MBE Piobaireachd Workshop, writes Andrew Carlisle.
It was held at Carnegie Mellon University and hosted by the Pittsburgh Piping Society. Instructors were all longtime students of Jimmy’s: Gold Medallist Mike Rogers, Alex MacIntyre, Peter Kent and Andrew Carlisle. Students were divided into three classes by ability.
The weekend started on Friday evening with over 100 people attending a piping ceilidh in a local restaurant. Mike Rogers closed the evening with a terrific rendition of Lament for the Viscount of Dundee on a wonderful sounding set of vintage silver and ivory Lawries.
After eight hours of tuition on the Saturday, the day ended with this year’s scholarship winner, Meghan McElhinney, playing her study tunes, the Wee Spree and MacFarlane’s Gathering. Sunday saw another four hours of lessons.
There was a high level of playing during the weekend, not only from the judges but also from the many Open level pipers attending. This was in keeping with Jimmy’s philosophy that with piobaireachd you never stop learning!
Applications are still open for the 2025-26 Scholarship; tomorrow, March 1, is the deadline. North American piobaireachd players can contact jimmy.mc.scholarship@gmail.com for more information.
The Scholarship Committee is deeply grateful for the donations from the Piobaireachd Society, the Dunedin Chapter of the New World Celts, and from individuals. This support helps keep Jimmy’s teaching legacy alive for future generations of piobaireachd students.
