Reflections on the Northern Meeting Part 2

Friday, after attending to duties with the juniors, I headed into the Clasp. The music and instruments heard here were alone worth the £27 admission, writes the Editor. I heard all but the first four performances. The top three performances were hard to split. Callum Beaumont had, for me, the sort of bagpipe you encounter but rarely. The top hand had a bell-like quality, chiming with the drones throughout the…

Reflections on the Northern Meeting Part 1

As I said in my short prelim piece, the Northern Meeting in Inverness is about more than just the piping. From the reception in the Town House last Wednesday to the Eden Court prizegiving on the Friday evening, fraternal feelings mixed with high elation and consolation. By the Editor It was heartening to see it. Though pipers grumble in private, in public they act with the best of manners and…

Northern Meeting/ Pitlochry Draw/ Cancale Pipers

The annual Northern Meeting piping competitions got underway last night with a reception in Inverness Town House, writes the Editor. It was a convivial gathering with refreshments gratis from the town council and music from last year’s Silver Medallist Brodie Watson-Massey and the Queen’s Own Highlanders ex-members band. Heavy rain did not dampen the occasion. It takes more than water to dilute the importance of this gathering of enthusiasts for…

Jack Lee Retires from Simon Fraser University Pipe Band

Pipe Sergeant Jack Lee, in an email to band members, announced that he is retiring from the Simon Fraser University competition pipe band. Said Jack: ‘It was been a terrific 50 year run but I have decided to retire from the competition band. I think the band is in a very strong position to move ahead and I anticipate more amazing moments in the future. I will be cheering you…

Raasay Piping/ UK Drumming/ Chatsworth Results

Ailis Sutherland from Kirriemuir and Angus Nicolson from Sleat in Skye were the first prize winners at the competition hosted by Isle of Raasay Distillers in the island’s community hall on Saturday, 6th September, writes Cailean Maclean. Ailis won the section for Piobaireachd/Seann Nòs/Slow Air tunes, the prize for which was a set of Highland Pipes in A, a copy of the legendary 1785 Black Set of Kintail, made by…