Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, The London Recital will return on Friday, 2 October 2026, with Callum Beaumont (above left) and P/M Ben Duncan headlining an evening of world class ceòl mòr and ceòl beag.
This year’s recital will be held at St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate in the City of London, bringing together pipers and supporters from across the piping community for an evening of music and whisky, once again sponsored by Raasay Hebridean Distillers.
By Gordon Tughan-Jones
The London Recital was established last year by the Pinstripe Highlanders and the Piobaireachd Society with three principal aims: to increase awareness and appreciation of piobaireachd; to add another regular event to London’s piping calendar; and to encourage greater collaboration between organisations across the piping world.
The inaugural event, held at Dover House in Whitehall, saw Iain Speirs and Angus MacColl perform alongside pipers and drummers from the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, before an audience drawn from across the piping community.
Building on that successful first year, the 2026 event will begin with a champagne reception before pipers from 1st Battalion Scots Guards open the musical programme. P/M Ben Duncan and Callum Beaumont will then each perform selections of light music and pioabireachd across two recital sessions, with drinks and canapés during the interval.
The event is again hosted by the Pinstripe Highlanders and the Piobaireachd Society, with support from the Highland Society of London, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society, London Scottish Pipes & Drums, and Scottish Piping Society of London.
The London Recital is run on a not-for-profit basis, with the intention of building an annual event which showcases some of the finest piping in a convivial London setting while bringing together different parts of the piping community.
The 2026 London Recital takes place from 6.30pm to 10pm on Friday, 2 October, at St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, London. Tickets are £85.
Further information is available at www.thelondonrecital.com. Anyone interested in attending, supporting or becoming involved with the event can email contact@thelondonrecital.com.
Callum Beaumont resides in Guardbridge, Fife, with his wife, Eilidh, and their young son, Bobby. Callum began piping at the age of seven. He currently instructs at Dollar Academy, where he is Pipe Major of the Novice A Pipe Band. Alongside his teaching at Dollar, he runs his own piping business, offering tuition worldwide, as well as recitals and workshops. He also works as a consultant for R.G. Hardie & Son, one of the leading bagpipe manufacturers. Throughout his solo piping career, Callum has won the most prestigious prizes in the piping world, including the Northern Meeting Clasp on six occasions, and the Silver Star twice. Away from piping, Callum is a keen golfer and enjoys spending his spare time with his family.
P/M Ben Duncan is from Edinburgh began piping at the age of four. He joined the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in 2007 serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. He achieved a double distinction on the Army Pipe Major’s Course in 2012 and went on to become the P/Sgt instructor at the Army School. In 2018 Ben was appointed Pipe Major of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and in 2022 took the band on to win the Scottish, Worlds and Champion of Champions in Grade 3B and was awarded the Duke of Kent’s Medal for meritorious service to the Regiment and Pipes & Drums. Ben has won numerous champion piper titles and notably won the A MSR at the Northern Meeting in 2017 and A Strathspey & Reel at the Argyllshire Gathering in 2018. Ben works as Assistant Pipe Major at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh, winning the Worlds title in 2024. He is also Pipe Sergeant of the world- renowned Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band. Ben lives in Edinburgh with his wife Lee and two spaniels, Duke and Dougall.
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