Category: Blog

Editor’s Notebook: Balmoral Classic/ Logan Tannock/ Florence Allan/ Jimmy Banks

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In Pittsburgh, PA, for the annual Balmoral Classic US Amateur Piping Championship. The judges are myself, Amy Garson and Lezlie Webster. The 12 competitors and their tunes: It should be a good competition. Lots of excellent prizes for the winners. I do a free workshop for all competitors on the Sunday. More details here. Pittsburgh is of course the home of Carnegie Mellon University where Jimmy McIntosh established the first…

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John MacFadyen on the Art of Judging – Part 2

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We continue the recording of John MacFadyen talking about judging. We are once again grateful to reader Jack McLachlan for forwarding the recording, made by John Davidson, Parkview, Johannesburg, at his home on 12th August 1973. John MacFadyen was visiting to run a piping school for the Scottish Piping Society of the Witwatersrand and gave this lecture the week before it was due to start. In this part of the…

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Ulster News: Blackthorn Pipers/ RSPBANI AGM/ Show Returns/ Paddy Kelly/ Dundalk/ St Mary’s

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On the third Wednesday of the months of September and October the Blackthorn Pipers Society welcomed guest pipers Kris Coyle and Ashley McMichael. Both of these Field Marshal Montgomery pipers were in outstanding form and videos of theirs and other players’ performances can be seen on the Blackthorn Society’s Facebook page. The Society meets in the Discover Ulster Scots Building, 1-9 Victoria Street Belfast BT1 3GA and it will continue…

More Ulster News: Blackthorn Pipers/ RSPBANI AGM/ Show Returns/ Paddy Kelly/ Dundalk/ St Mary’s

John MacFadyen on the Art of Judging – Part 1

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We are grateful to reader Jack McLachlan for forwarding this recording of John MacFadyen discoursing on the adjudication of piping and, briefly, pipe bands. Jack writes: ‘The recording was made by John Davidson, Parkview, Johannesburg, at his home on 12th August 1973. John MacFadyen was visiting to run a piping school for the Scottish Piping Society of the Witwatersrand and gave this lecture the week before it was due to…

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Ulster News: All Irelands/ Sunbelt Contest/ NI Bands Upgraded/ Derryclavin Centenary

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Following the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II, the Joint Association Council of the RSPBA NI and IPBA announced that it had decided to postpone the All Ireland Solo Championships and J.A.C. Solo Championships which were due to be held on Saturday September 17th. This decision was understandable given the need to recognise this significant time and also to observe the period of National Mourning leading up to the State…

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