Author: Robert Wallace

Love Piping? Live Piping and Piping Live! Coming Your Way This Summer

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Don’t despair folks. Despite the expected cancellation, yet again, of Oban and Inverness, piping enthusaists here in Scotland still have a good chance of catching some great live music this summer, writes the Editor. Director Finlay MacDonald has re-affirmed that the Piping Live! festival will be going ahead from August 7 -15 and there will an expected announcement tomorrow. The Silver Chanter contest will run, with, it is hoped, a…

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Oban and Inverness Cancelled

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Both major solo contests at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering have been cancelled for 2021, it was announced today. Alan Forbes for the NM: ‘With great regret, the Northern Meeting Piping Committee has decided to cancel the competition again this year, due to the ongoing uncertainty created by the coronavirus epidemic.  ‘Progress with the vaccination programme and the relaxation of many of the constraints associated with the epidemic give…

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Editor’s Notebook: Northern Ireland Leads the Breakout/ Interview/ SPA Solos/ Queen’s Own Pictures/ Jakez’s Tune for Bob Hardie

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Cue Steve McQueen and his motorbike……The Northern Ireland Branch of the RSPBA are leading the great escape with an announcement yesterday of their summer festival. And it will include competitiive solo piping and drumming. It is not clear if these will be held outdoors or in, but anything live and I’ll take it. The date is August 21 in Cookstown. The branch have other summer festival events lined up, though…

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Big Two Solo Contests at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering Looking Less Likely

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Not much has changed since we last spoke about this, but with each day that passes the odds against there being 2021 Gold and Silver Medal competitions at Oban and Inverness lengthen. I say this because neither the competing pipers themselves nor the sponsors want them to happen without the presence of overseas competitors. By Robert Wallace These top players have already entered for the Northern Meeting and the Argyllshire…

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International Piper Lives Again as Part of Piping Centre Project/ Ontario Composing Contest

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Following the success of its crowdfunding project to digitise the back issues of Piping Times and Piping Today magazines, Finlay MacDonald, the National Piping Centre’s Director of Piping, has announced a new target to allow them to add Captain John MacLellan’s magazine the ‘International Piper’ to the endeavour. The new aim is to garner £33,500. The NPC have already raised £31,000 in just two weeks. Finlay said: ‘The generosity of…

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