The SPSL have sent this…. The weekend of Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd November marks the 80th Annual Competition of the Scottish Piping Society of London. The SPSL Committee has been very active over the last six months planning this year’s Annual Competition, and is delighted to announce that entries are now open, via the online entry form on the Society’s website: http://www.scottishpipingsocietyoflondon.co.uk/ The Committee took the decision to streamline…

The Grade 1 Medley competition as always produced a varied range of tune selections, ingenuity, innovative approaches, intricate piping and drumming, quality playing to a very high level, and varied musical impacts.  For me the best musical performances were those which included a blend of traditional and contemporary tunes (melodic ones), tunes which fitted well together and avoided too long and complicated transitions, avoided complex harmonies and counter melodies where…

Niall West, Band Manager, Glasgow Police Pipe Band, sends the following announcement: Glasgow Police Pipe Band are delighted to announce the appointment of Alisdair McLaren [above] as Pipe Major. Alisdair has vast experience having previously been Pipe Major of Western Australia Police Pipe Band, before moving to the UK. He played during a successful period with Strathclyde Police before enjoying huge success with Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band. Alisdair is…

The RSPBA have announced the following dates and venues for next year’s major championships. British Championships – 23rd May at Paisley United Kingdom Championships – 13th June at Lurgan European Championships – 27th June at Inverness Scottish Championships – 25th July at Dumbarton World Championships – 14th/15th August at Glasgow A thought occurred whilst listening to last week’s Clasp contest at Inverness, and one which was not included in my…

Having sat through all the Grade 1 performances at the World Pipe Band Championships (WPBC) this year on both Friday and Saturday, I have prepared my summary in three separate sections – general comments about the event, thoughts on the Grade 1 medley performances, and some observations about the revised two-day format for Grade 1.  I should make it clear from the outset that I was sitting in the main…