The annual Northern Meeting piping competitions got underway last night with a reception in Inverness Town House, writes the Editor.
It was a convivial gathering with refreshments gratis from the town council and music from last year’s Silver Medallist Brodie Watson-Massey and the Queen’s Own Highlanders ex-members band.
Heavy rain did not dampen the occasion. It takes more than water to dilute the importance of this gathering of enthusiasts for the great pipe.
Judges and pipers were in evidence at the reception but more than anything it was the convivial air that pervaded. Inverness is about more than just the piping.
Today we have Gold and Silver Medals and B grade and Former Winners MSR competitions, all held in Eden Court Theatre on the banks of the River Ness. Tomorrow sees the Clasp competition, the A grade MSR, plus hornpipes and jigs and juniors. First results later today.
Pitlochry Draw
This competition takes place right after the Northern Meeting – Saturday, September 13. The ceòl mòr is sponsored by the Piobaireachd Society.
The draw is as follows: 1 Gordon Barclay 2 Daniel Nevans 3 Greig Canning 4 Hector Munro 5 Cameron May 6 Edward Gaul 7 Callum Wynd 8 Eala Niamh McElhinney 9 Steven Gray 10 James MacHattie 11 Jamie Brownlie 12 Hazel Whyte 13 Bobby Allen 14 Dan Lyden 15 Chris Armstrong 16 Ross Conner 17 Andrew Smith 18 Angus MacPhee 19 Scott Garden 20 Cameron MacLeod. Reserve: Arran Green
Competition starts at 10am. Judges are R Barnes, B Donaldson, D Fraser, P Hunt, L Tannock, R Wallace.
Pibroch by the Sea
To Piping Press: ‘The President of ‘Piob. by the Sea’ at Cancale, Mr.Rémy Le Castrec, plus Hervé Le Floc’h and Jakez Pincet, inform you that will be held on the 13th and 14th of September 2025. This is the 20th edition: a master class on the Saturday and an open recital on the Sunday, Pointe des Crolles in the morning and Port Pican in the afternoon.’ The pipers and tunes:
Classic Piobaireachd (Vol.1 A – L): Lessons on Great Tunes
Here we have some of the very best piobaireachd from the ceòl mòr canon. Every piper should know these tunes, or at least have a working knowledge of them. They are played here in full by Robert Wallace on the practice chanter without interruption. Thus he preserves the essential linking of the phrases and variations as they occur, making each tune a complete unit – exactly the way it should be…