SPA Juveniles and Victorian Pipers Association, Australia

The Scottish Pipers Association has announced the playing order for Saturday’s (November 8th) Juvenile contest being held in the Piping Centre (the former College of Piping building) in Otago Street, Glasgow. Events begin at 9am. All welcome. Admission £5 for adults, £2.50 for children. The draw: Download a PDF here. Judges are Derek Fraser (15 & Under Piob.), Peter Hunt (ceòl beag), Tom Johnstone (16-18 Piob. and 15 & Under…

Gala Recital Announced

A recital headlining Champion Piper Stuart Liddell is to be held early next year. The venue is Airdrie Working Men’s Club in Lanarkshire. The date is Friday, February 13. Supporting Stuart will be Cameron May, and a quartet from 16 times World Champions, Shotts & Dykehead. By Dan Nevans The recital is entitled ‘The Peter MacLeod Senior Memorial Recital’. Peter MacLeod Sr., originally from the island of Lewis, was Pipe…

Editor’s Notebook: Grading and the Games/ Glenfiddich Winner/ Northern Winter School/ SPA Juveniles

Reader Ben Greeves from Northern Ireland has commented on the recent rule adopted by the Competing Pipers’ Association whereby they will not consider results for their grading process unless these were achieved before an adjudicator accredited by Solo Piping Judges Association. I think many of the solo competitions in Ireland North and South are before SPJA judges, Ben. Recently Logan Tannock did the Piper of the Year in Ballymena and…

Another Band Folds/ Piobaireachd Society News/ RSPBA Annual Fees

Another pipe band, the Vale of Atholl Grade 2, has folded. However, the name will continue with the organisation’s newly-promoted Grade 3b band. P/M Jamie Falconer has also decided to leave the band organisation. In a statement the Vale said the decision to disband had not been taken lightly. Focus will now be on building up their 3b band with a programme of youth development. The statement read: ‘The decision…

‘Beyond Binneas’  – A New Look at a Famous Piobaireachd Collection

The ground breaking piobaireachd collection ‘Binneas is Boreraig’ (BiB), was published by Dr Roddy Ross some 60 years ago, and aimed to capture the playing of the master piper Malcolm Macpherson.   By Pat Terry It employed notational devices that pipers familiar with the notation used in many other collections of ceòl mòr found strange [colour coded, three-line stave].  In 2022, Chris Terry (a pupil of John MacFadyen) set out…