Drummer Willie Paterson featured in a photograph of the Rutherglen Pipe Band (in pic below, top right in civvies) a few weeks ago. An old edition of Pipe Band magazine has this about him: ‘Not a great deal is known about Willie’s early days in the pipe band movement. ‘Alex McCormick met up with him in Glasgow in the early 1940s and they remained friends for many years. A very knowledgeable…
Two new recordings today. The first is from Jimmy McIntosh who has added part of Donald MacLeod’s composition, A Son’s Salute to His Parents to his audio archive. This is one of the set tunes for the senior piobaireachd competitions at Oban and Inverness this year and may be of interest to contestants. It is one of Donald’s more difficult tunes. Of it, Donald writes: ‘A tribute to my parents,…
Revised dates for Scottish Pipers’ Association contests are as follows: The Professional competition will now be held on April 16. The provisional date was April 23rd but for various reasons this was unsuitable. The Adult Amateur and Veterans contest is on March 26 to allow some of those attending the Piobaireachd Society Conference from overseas to stay on for a week to compete. The Juvenile/ Amateur contest will be in September,…
Organisers of the prestigious ‘Pipe Major’s Wheel of Fortune’ competition have sent the latest on the competition auction which includes a very generous offer from supremely talented piper, composer and singer, Allan MacDonald….. ALLAN MACDONALD PUTS HIS SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL FOR CAPITAL BAND By Paul White Piper and multi-instrumentalist Allan MacDonald is set to boost the City of Edinburgh Pipe Band’s fundraising efforts by donating a tune for auction…
It was a pleasure to talk to Sandy Hain the other day. Sandy is the composer of the popular jig Donald MacKillop, now better known, erroneously, as Duncan MacKillop. The eponymous Donald was from Wick and a piper in the Black Watch through WW2. Sandy was Pipe Major at the regimental depot in Perth. Sandy ‘did the course’ with Willie Ross 1950 -51 along with Bob Crabb (Scots Guards), Peter…
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