It may have been a financial failure, but 2009’s ‘Homecoming Scotland’ project brought a focus to all the things that are good about the country, certainly from a piping point of view. Ten years on they are just as relevant and brought to mind an encounter I had on a cruise holiday just before HS kicked off, writes the Editor….. Reg was in full flow. ‘I’ve been all over the…

By The Editor I travelled many times to the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the 1990s to teach under the auspices of their pipe band association. Each time I heard stories of the huge impact P/M Donald MacLeod had made with his pioneering visits in the 1960s. Together with John MacFadyen, Seumas MacNeill and Captain John MacLellan, Donald established the North American summer school piping tradition, a tradition which has…

Another successful Northern Winter School in Germany and I would like to thank all the students in my class for their hard work over the six days of intense study. The full school picture is above and features the majority of the pipers, drummers and drum mjors who attended. The dates for next year’s school have already been announced by Principal Ronnie Bromhead: November 6 -13. The response has been…

We are well into the week here at the Northern Winter School in Germany about an hour south west of Hamburg. Last night we had a recital from pipers in the top class and today a mini band contest. Thursday it’s the final, public concert then home. The interest in the great music is growing no question. I have eleven in the Piobaireachd Class and another class every day for…

I am writing this from the north German plain, from the well appointed youth hostel at Müden/Örtze the home of the Northern Winter School of Piping, Drumming and Drum-majoring. Sixty plus students have gathered and at the moment are getting to know one another round the log fire in the reception hall. They’re mainly from Germany of course, but there are pipers from Australia, Singapore and Ukraine too.  Largely self-taught,…