History: Eight Times World Champions, Clan MacRae Society Pipe Band

One of the great pipe bands of days gone by was the Clan MacRae Society. Piping and Dancing Magazine of 1936 detailed the for­mation of the now defunct band,  and its progress up the competition ladder …  The Clan MacRae Society Pipe Band was formed in the autumn of 1913 by the late Pipe Major Farquhar MacRae, under the name The City of Glasgow Pipe Band. The majority of the original members…

PP Editor’s Blog: Highland & Islands Festival/ Sandy Hain’s Music/ Old Results

Riona MacInnes of the Highlands & islands Festival has sent this: ‘We now have a Facebook page which is being regularly updated and if you have a look at that you will see that the syllabus is now available and the entries are to be in for 14th March. We are trying to be a bit more rigid this year about pipers changing their tunes at the last minute and I…

Be A Better Piper: Selecting a Good Instrument – a Very Important Decision

Forget the house or the car. The most important decision a piper has to make is the instrument he buys. Get it wrong and face years of  wasteful and expensive plumbing trying to make something out of a very bad situation. Get it right and you can have hours of musical satisfaction from an instrument that is easy to reed, steady, and an all round pleasure to play. In short,…

PP Editor’s Blog: Schools Funding/ New Letters/ Donald McKillop

The annual 214 Glasgow Co. BB Reunion is on March 4.) Three new letters added today on Willie Ross, Norrie Gillies and old pipes in North America. Read them here. If anyone is any doubt about the amazing work being done by the Scottish Schools Pipe & Drum Trust have a look at their website to see the amount of cash that is being invested in young pipers and drummers….

Uist & Barra Professional Competition Information Released

Details have been announced about the Uist & Barra  Professional contest to be held on March 5.  Invited pipers are as follows: Callum Beaumont, Glenn Brown, William Geddes, William McCallum, Niall Stewart, Gordon Walker, Angus MacColl, Gordon McCready, Finlay Johnston, Roderick Macleod, Stuart Liddell, Cameron Drummond, Faye Henderson, Alasdair Henderson, Iain Speirs. Judges for all three events (ceol mor, MSR, H&J): Ian Duncan, Stuart Shedden and Andrew Wright. Admission £12….