Glasgow’s Piping Live! Confirmed for 2021

Piping Live! is back for 2021 with a nine-day festival packed full of world-class performances, music sessions, recitals, competitions, book launches, workshops and so much more, writes press officer Hannah Innes.  Taking place between the 7th and 15th August 2021, the annual festival has confirmed they will present their programme online, in response to current government guidelines. However, if restrictions allow the team will do all they can to introduce a live audience element…

Archie Kenneth Results/ Aboyne Online Details/ Set Tunes 2022

The winner of the 2021 Archie Kenneth Quaich competition for amateur piobaireachd is Malta-based piper Gill Cairns. She is pictured above during her winning performance. Gill competed along with 23 other pipers in the competition held online on May 22. Competitors’ recorded tunes were then passed to the judges Iain Speirs and Euan Anderson for consideration. Gill tune was the Lament for John Morrison of Assynt House by P/M Donald…

Atholl Gathering Online Piping 2021

Results  Overall Champion John Dew (above) Under 18 Champion Robin Sulzer  P/A/non CPA Piobaireachd 1 Ben McClamrock – Park Piobaireachd 2 2 Pipe Major Ben Duncan – MacDougall’s Gathering 3 Jamie Forrester – Battle of Bealach nam Brog  Judges: I Duncan, C MacLellan  7 played.  B Piobaireachd 1 Scott Armstrong – Big Spree 2 John Dew – Isabel MacKay 3 Fraser Allison – Rory MacLoude’s Lament  Judges – Final: A MacDonald, R Hawke; Heats: C Armstrong, A…

Letters: Bruce Gandy on Oban and Inverness/ Duncan Watson on March Playing

Correspondence to Piping Press is always welcome. Recent letters are carried below. Subjects are this week’s article on the prospect of an Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting being held this year and Donald Shaw Ramsay’s comments on pipe marches. Firstly Bruce Gandy, Nova Scotia, one of the world’s leading pipers, on the uncertainty surrounding Oban and Inverness. Bruce writes: ‘Good article; hopefully this will push the promoters a wee bit…

A Pipe Band is Judged By Its Poorest Players – P/M Donald Shaw Ramsay BEM

The second part of the article from a 1960s issue of the Piping, Drumming and Dancing Journal by P/M Donald Shaw Ramsay, a brilliant player, pipe major and composer. Here he considers march tempi, and then offers an introduction to ceòl mòr or piobaireachd. Read the first excerpt here. How fast should a piper play?  This again is a very controversial point, but try playing a march at a speed of…