The Inaugural Peter MacLeod Memorial Recital

This past Friday (13/2/26) saw lovers of highland piping fill out the function room of Airdrie Working Men’s Social Club in Lanarkshire. The large audience was made up of people from all over Scotland and even a group who had travelled up from southern England to attend. The event was the very first held by the foundling charity, The Lanarkshire Piping and Drumming Trust.  By Dan Nevans The recital featured…

Editor’s Notebook: Bob Nicol/ Tonight’s Recitals/ RSPBA Website/ Solo Judging/ Balvenie Medal

Reading Duncan Watson’s article on Bob Nicol I thought, ‘they don’t make ’em like that any more’. Quite a character. To be a good teacher you must have a clear vision of how a tune should be played and RB Nicol clearly had that. Too many alternatives and the student becomes confused. But there is more to the man. When all we hear is of Nicol’s teaching we tend to…

Bob Nicol, A Blunt But Inspirational Teacher

Recent Piping Press posts on the judging of solo piping led to a response from Mr Neil Mulvie in which there was reference to an unnamed piper whose playing was criticised by Bob Nicol. The piper played the piobaireachd Beloved Scotland and apparently did not give enough value to the low A in the commencement to the tune and Nicol uttered the words, ‘he hasn’t got it’. By Duncan Watson This occasion was…

Pipe Band Judges Ensemble Seminar

Thanks to an invite from Robert Mathieson and John Reville, I was able to spend a couple of hours sitting in on last Saturday’s RSPBA judges’ online seminar. There were 62 participants, a mix of adjudicators and leading pipers and drummers. The subject was ensemble, something that has featured over that past while in these pages. Much of what I heard and saw was new to me, eye-opening even. By…

Editor’s Notebook: Solo Judging/ PS Books/ RSPBA Website/ Kintyre Travellers/ Drumming Masters

Reader ‘JW’ writes again re solo judging: ‘I must tip my hat to Neil Mulvie on his very truthful comments regarding SPJA judges and all the problems he was brave enough to mention. Neil has been right there for years and seen it all, or was he telling us something we all knew anyway? ‘Is it not time this was sorted out once and for all as it doesn’t seem…