Stirling Contest Update/ NPC Juniors Draw

A quick update on the Stirling Junior Solo Piping Contest scheduled for Saturday 7 March at the King Robert Hotel in Stirling, writes Craig Muirhead.  I’ve had a really strong entry from all across the country for the Under 18s and have a great line-up of judges including Ian Duncan, Gordon McCready, Callum Wynd and Jonathan Greenlees.  Still a few places left and plenty of space in the chanter event,…

Johnstone Exams/ Florida School/ Piping Recitals

Congratulations to successful candidates at the latest Johnstone Pipe Band PDQB/SCQF exam course, writes Keith Bowes Snr. The course started in mid-September, with exams mid-December (see picture above). This can be a quiet time in the pipe band calendar and a lot of youngsters take it as a bit of a rest period; the course ensures their enthusiasm from the previous season is carried forward. Courses and exams were held…

Mull Weekend Workshop/ Masters Drumming

On Friday the 30th January, Tobermory High School Pipe Band ran a pipers’ ceilidh in Park Lodge, Tobermory. It was well attended and the school pipers were supported by visiting tutors Barry Donaldson and Robert Wallace, writes Calum Maclean.  The ceilidh ran from 7-9pm and we had a couple of selections from Robert to open; this included a set of two-part strathspeys and reels which was nice to hear. There…

MacGillivray of Calrossie, a New Piobaireachd

I have known Duncan MacGillivray [pictured] now for over 35 years, but because of his career with the Battlefield Band and other traditional groups, had heard of him a long time before actually meeting him. Duncan has been a huge inspiration to many young pipers in the Highlands and is always willing to give them his time freely to teach piping and instruct them in other instruments such as whistles….

Review: ‘Garron’, a New CD from Stuart Liddell

It has been a little while since I added to my collection of piping recordings but when I heard that Stuart Liddell had recently released a new CD I just had to buy a copy. I ordered it directly from www.stuartliddell.com and it arrived very quickly. The packaging is excellent with very attractive artwork and it contains a little booklet which lists the tracks and gives some background details on…