Category: Blog

Closing Date for UK Championships/ US Piping Foundation/ RSPBA Summer School

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Calling all band secretaries: entries for the UK Pipe Band Championships to be held in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, on June 11 close tomorrow, April 27. The draw will be held on May 4. Get in touch with RSPBA HQ now if your band intends to compete. The closing dates for the other Championships are:European Championship, Inverness, 11th May 2022Scottish Championship, Dumbarton, 15th June 2022World Championship, Glasgow, 29th June 2022 We hear that…

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‘Amazing Grace’, Tape on Chanters, Donald MacPherson and Donald MacLeod

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A student wrote to me last week following the story on Piping Press marking the 50th anniversary of the release of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards’ Amazing Grace. His point was simply that on first hearing the tune, the F, to his ear, sounded slightly flat. His observation was not intended in any way to be a criticism of the piper playing the solo, P/M Tony Crease. He agreed that…

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Draw for Scottish Pipers Association Professional Contest 2022 Announced

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The draw for next Saturday’s (April 30) SPA Professional has been announced by President Logan Tannock. Due to a reduced entry all events will be held in the National Piping Centre in McPhater Street, Glasgow. Some judges who had been engaged previously have volunteered to stand down given the drop in the number of participants. Mr Tannock re-itereated his gratitude to the Piobaireachd Society and McCallum Bagpipes for their financial…

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Christchurch Chosen as Venue for 2023 New Zealand and South Pacific Pipe Band Championships

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Christchurch, New Zealand is to play host to the 2023 New Zealand and South Pacific Pipe Band Championships in March 2023 and is inviting bands from New Zealand and around the world to register their interest for the contest. ‘We are delighted that New Zealand will play host to this important championship as the world emerges from the pandemic,’ Royal New Zealand Pipe Bands Association President Iain Blakeley says.  ‘We…

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History: 50 years to the Month Since ‘Amazing Grace’ Took the World by Storm

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The above cutting is from the Scottish Daily Express newspaper and readers will see it is dated April 11, 1972. Younger generations will be unaware of the seismic effect the success of this recording had on the public’s perception of the bagpipe and its music. It still resonates today, half a century later. The report reads: ‘The march of the Royal Scots Dragoon to No. 1 in the Top Twenty…

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