The Ards and North Down Pipe Band Championships, the first pipe band championship of the 2017 Northern Irish season, was held at Castle Grounds, Bangor on Saturday 13th May, reports John Kelly. The chieftain of the gathering was Alderman Deborah Girvan (Mayor of Ards and North Down) who took the salute and presented the prizes. The Grade 1 winners were Field Marshal Montgomery (pictured above on their way to the…
Fortunate to catch Cailean Maclean’s excellent ‘Crunluath’ programme on BBC Radio Alba last weekend. One track featured the astonishing Stuart Liddell playing some Gaelic airs and kitchen piping. The finger work he is capable of defies belief and all on a richly toned bagpipe with perfect chanter intervals. The problem with this sort of brilliance is that youngsters start trying to imitate what Stuart does before they’ve perfect the basics of…
The highlight of World’s Week this year will be the concert ‘Rise’ to be given by the 2015 World Champions, Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band (above). To set the scene, and help everyone appreciate the history of this iconic band, we are running an interview from eight years ago when they celebrated their centenary. Editor Robert Wallace is in conversation with the then Shotts P/M Robert Mathieson, now a…
Niall West of Glasgow Police Pipe Band has sent this: ‘Hello friends present and future, family, colleagues and others. On 21 May I’m cycling 81 miles around Highland Perthshire in the Etape Caledonia for funds for the Glasgow Police Pipe Band, the Govan Schools Piping project and the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust. Please see my story and please pledge some money by visiting www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/niall-west. P.S. I won’t be cycling in the kilt (on this…
Jori Chisholm, Seattle, is the winner of the Original Piobaireachd Composing Competition sponsored by the California-based Shasta Piping Society and the Burley Bagpipe Company, British Columbia. Under anonymous cover, Jori’s tune was the unanimous choice of the judges Mike Cusack, Texas, Bill Livingstone, Ontario, and Robert Wallace, Glasgow (Chairman). Jori receives £500 ($650). He is pictured above. Runner up was Dave Mason of South Africa who receives £250 ($325) with John Bottomley, Director…
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