Soon he swaps the leathers for his furry onesy and heads off to the woods to join his ursine friends Yogi, Pooh and Paddington for his well-earned hibernation….he is the Piping Press’s MacStig. But we couldn’t let him go before he completed his report on the World Solo Drumming…. It was after the weekend that was, with a reflective moment on a grey skied beach, the sheer depth and strength…

The Shasta Piping Society in the US, in association with Burley Bagpipes, British Columbia, have announced the details of their composng competition for 2019. As before, the judges will be PP Editor Robert Wallace, Bill Livingsatone (Canada) and Chris Terry (South Africa). This competition calls for copies of original piobaireachds to be submitted by composers to the panel.  The piobaireachd submissions must be original to the composer(s), of any style,…

There were two juvenile solo competitions in Scotland last weekend. We have already reported on the Festival of Juvenile Solo Piping. The other was the Army Cadet Forces piping competition at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh. The above picture shows Pipe Major John A. McLaren and Cadet Rory Robson of 1 Highlanders Pipes & Drums, Inverness, who took first places in the piobaireachd events. Both John and Rory are from Invergordon and play for Ross…

The 2019 Florida Pipe and Drum Academy has relocated to Jacksonville in the north-east of the state. Here are the details: Florida Pipe & Drum Academy 2019; Dates: Feb 13 -17 inclusive. Venue: The Fire Academy of The South / Florida State College Jacksonville @ 2700 Firefighter Memorial Dr., Jacksonville, Fl 32246. Tuition: $500; deposit $250; fee includes lunch. Further info and registration at www.pipeanddrumacademy.com The teaching team is as before: myself, Barry Donaldson,…

The World Solo Drumming coverage last weekend precluded our celebrating the memory of the late P/M Angus MacDonald who would have been 80 last Saturday. Here is an obituary from the Guardian newspaper which appeared shortly after his death in June 1999….. Few Highland bagpipers have more persuasively or widely exemplified the highest expressions of their art than Pipe Major Angus MacDonald, who has died aged 60.  Steeped in the…