The school is in full swing and yesterday we travelled by car from Sleat to Sconser for the ferry to Raasay. We piped down the slipway, we piped up the on-ramp, we piped on the way across, and we piped up the road to Raasay House, now a hotel. Why Raasay? Well this island should be a pilgrimage for every serious piper. It was, after all, the home of John…
Shotts & Dykehead are the new British Pipe Band Champions winning Grade 1 today (May 30th) at Ingliston, near Edinburgh, in overcast weather conditions. Two Medleys were required in G1. Shotts were placed first by every judge in a sweeping victory. The other places in the top grade went to: 2 Boghall3 Inveraray4 Fife Police5 FMM6 FederationDrumming: Shotts Judges for the Grade 1 Championship were: R Mathieson, C Edgar, P…
One thing I found striking about the report this week on the 1934 Argyllshire Gathering was the tunes played in the light music: Shepherd’s Crook, Lochcarron, Piper’s Bonnet, Glengarry Gathering, and what must have been an early run of Mrs MacPherson of Inveran. Here we are, eight years off a century later, and these classic pieces are still what separates the great from the not so great players of ceòl…
I want to double down on one of my comments in Brad Davidson’s report on my workshop in Ontario. Any rule or legislation in piping which discourages teaching, directly or indirectly, should be deplored by all right-thinking persons. Judging and teaching should not be seen as mutually exclusive, yet we now have experts, proven winners at the top of our business, who have turned their backs on the latter in…
The 78th Fraser Highlanders band from Ontario have launched a crowd-funder to help pay for a professional recording of their pre-Worlds concert on August 12th. Entitled ‘True North Strong’, the concert will celebrate piping and drumming with a distinctly Canadian flavour. The 78th Frasers are a self-supporting organisation, the band’s members paying their own way to rehearsals and competitions at home and abroad. The fundraiser is intended to help offset…
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