The Braemar Gold Medallist for 2025 is John McDonald, Aberdeen, (above). He gave a fine rendition of the supposedly MacCrimmon tune, the Glen is Mine, on a steady, tuneful instrument, writes the Editor
How appropriate that a local man should win the medal with this tune. The first few bars are inscribed on the memorial cairn to the Bobs of Balmoral only yards from the piobaireachd board. As well as the medal John also received £415.
Second prize (£85) went to Angus MacPhee with Lament for the Departure of King James. A looseness in Variation 1 and a rushing of the doublings was offset by melodic consistency and a true chanter and drone.
Third place (£65) was given to a technically perfect I Got a Kiss of the King’s Hand from young Cameron Bonar from Canada. With time this gifted lad will learn the required nuance and phrasing.
In fourth (£45) we had another North American, Dan Leyden, and another technically excellent tune; a fine pipe too but just needing more expression in the Ground and Thumb of Rout of the MacPhees.
Two good MacFarlane’s Gatherings made up the list. The first from Gordon Barclay (£35) who has a few technical issues with dare, and the second from Zephan Knichel (£25), clean but needing more pointing up of the theme notes.
In truth this was not a great competition, though that is not to discredit the performances of the prizewinners. They all played well. Eight tunes are asked for and this proved a tall order for several of the pipers – but not the top six.
Of the rest Anna Kummerlöw was going well when she went off in the counter-intuitive last last line of MacLeod’s Rowing Tune dithis. Donald MacDonald makes more sense here. Andrew Hall played a rundown in the T&C singlings of MacDonald’s Salute instead of the D cadence and then omitted the low G movement. No authority for this was given to the mystified bench. James MacHattie attacked the first phrase of Glengarry’s March like a man possessed.
Matt Pantaleoni didn’t have the self-possession in The Vaunting that he displayed when he won the medal with this tune a few years ago. James MacPetrie cut the Fs too severely in the last bars of Chisholm’s Salute Urlar and Thumb. Andrew Carlisle had chirps from his chanter. Ben Duncan was sticky in Var 1 of Stewart’s White Banner. Jamie Elder had a mistake in Lady Margaret and a tight fosgailte movement. Bobby Durning was inconsistent in his connecting notes in Rout of Glenfruin. Jacob Dicker didn’t quite have the cadences right in the Viscount. A good finger and pipe from Greig Canning but a bit over aggressive in You’re Welcome Ewen. Eddie Gaul had technical issues in the Piper’s Warning and Dan Nevans was rather slow with the Desperate Battle.
It was a pleasure to sit with such knowledgeable colleagues as Duncan Watson and Ian Duncan. Our decision must have taken all of four minutes. Duncan talked of his winning the Braemar Medal exactly 50 years ago – and also the occasion he was waved off the boards by Bob Brown!
It was a warm enough day for Braemar (September 5) and the piper’s canopy made for ideal outdoor conditions for piping. The organisers also provide a microphone for announcements and benches for the audience. The woody hollow away from the main games arena is an idyllic setting.
The light music was a triumph for Ben Duncan who took both firsts:
March: 1 Ben Duncan (£210) 2 Cameron Bonar (£85) 3 Zephan Knichel (£65) 4 Hector Munro (£45) 5 Jamie Elder (£35) 6 Andrew Carlisle (£25)
S&R (prizes as March): 1 Ben Duncan 2 Cameron Bonar 3 Liam Nicolson 4 Andrew Carlisle 5 Hector Munro 6 Jamie Elder
Champion Piper: Cameron Bonar. Light music judges: DJ MacIntyre, N Selbie, L Tannock.
U-18 Piob: 1 Christopher Drummond 2 Maggie McConnachie 3 Rory Cairns 4 Morla Bruce 5 Sam Foote
U-18 March: 1 Alasdair Bullock 2 Maggie McConnachie 3 Rory Cairns 4 Sam Foote 5 Calum Pearson
U-18 S&R: 1 Maggie McConnachie 2 Alasair Bullock 3 Rory Cairns 4 Chris Drummond 5 Callum Pearson
U-18 Champion: Maggie McConnachie
Junior judges: L Barclay, P Grant, M Robertson, J Taylor
Blairgowrie Games
A damp, blustery day but very strong entries, 81 pipers, in all categories. Thirty-five played in the senior light music, an open contest. There were piobaireachd events for C, B and P/A grades. I judged the senior light music with Ian Duncan. Ben Duncan once more took top honours in the ceòl beag.
P/A Piob: 1 Sandy Cameron 2 William Rowe 3 Matt Pantaleoni 4 Sarah Muir
B Piob: 1 Cameron Bonar 2 Bobby Durning 3 Calum Carn 4 Andrew Hall 5 Callum Wynd
C Piob: 1 John McElmurry 2 Catriona Norman 3 Stuart Robinson 4 Liam Nicolson 5 Scott MacLean
March: 1 Ben Duncan 2 Bobby Allen 3 Callum Wynd 4 Anna Kummerlöw
S&R: 1 Ben Duncan 2 Gordon McCready 3 Bobby Allen 4 Cameron Bonar
U18 Piob: 1 Christopher Drummond 2 Maggie McConnachie 3 Douglas Baird 4 Kai Hay
U18 March: 1 Douglas Baird 2 Kai Hay 3 Maggie McConnachie 4 Christopher Drummond
U18 S&R: 1 Kai Hay 2 Christopher Drummond 3 Douglas Baird 4 Maggie McConnachie
Local U18 Piob: 1 Morla Bruce 2 Sam Brass 3 Ewan McAree
Local U18 March: 1 Ewan McAree 2 Sam Brass 3 Morla Bruce
Local U18 S&R: 1 Ewan McAree 2 Sam Brass 3 Morla Bruce
Anyone who made the P/A light music list list did very well indeed. Ben Duncan was outstanding. He got the worst of the weather but seemed completely unfazed, his playing and his pipe unaffected. Clear technique, melodic phrasing, steady tempos are all the hallmarks of Ben’s playing these days. Bobby Allen demonstrated his growing maturity with two fine runs. Quality march playing from Callum Wynd, first on with Kantara, with Anna Kummerlöw not far behind.
Just outside the lists were Angus MacPhee (March), Alistair Brown (March), Cameron Bonar (March) and Sarah Muir (March). A lack of phrasing, clipped short notes, erratic tempos, inaccurate and missed fingering, all did for the others, the strathspeys and reels the weakest of the two disciplines.
