PP Ed’s Blog: Concert formation/ PP New Look/ Band MSRs/ Gairloch Junior Festival

Well done to Chicago Highland Games and the Mid West Pipe Band Association for continuing with their successful concert formation at their recent contest. Everyone’s a winner with this, especially the audience and the judges. The Ross Bandstand (above) in Edinburgh yesterday had the same option for bands.  Boghall won G1 as expected with Skye second. G2 went to George Watson’s juvenile band (how good is this grade?) with Boghall…

Chicago Highland Games Band Results

Jim Sim reports from the Windy City, and apologies for the belated reporting…. I thought you might be interested in the results of the Chicago Highland Games. There were 50 band performances and the Grade 2 & 3 bands played their medleys in the concert formation again. The Chicago Games, which are now hosts the largest pipe band contest in the United States, were held in hot weather and sunny…

Detailed Information on Historic Northern Irish Pipe Band Photographs

We are grateful to RSPBA adjudicator Harry Stevenson (pictured) and to Tommy Johnston of Pipe Dreams for supplying the following information on our historical Irish bands feature of a week or so ago. Main Picture (above): This is the Red Hand Brian Boru  Pipe Band with Trevor Forster as Drum Major. They played the Brian Boru pipes which had been  developed by Henry Starck the famous pipemaker in London. Brian Boru…

Delaware to New England – Editor’s Letter from America

We are now well into the week at the New England Pipe & Drum Academy. Small but perfectly formed, with friendship, wonderful food and hard study the unfailing mix for a successful week. Tonight Tommy (Johnston) and I are off to the Stuart Highlanders band for a workshop. This is the band which recently had a Grade 1 standing but who are now down in Grade 5. How things can…

London Cut ‘C’ Grade and Amateur Contests from this Year’s Event

The Scottish Piping Society of London’s President Andrew Hall: Saturday November 3rd 2018 marks the 79th Annual Competition of the Scottish Piping Society of London. The SPSL Committee has been very active over the last few months in planning for this year’s Annual Competition and is delighted to announce that entries are now open, via the refreshed SPSL website: www.scottishpipingsocietyoflondon.co.uk Last year was one of our largest annual competitions, where…