The 79th annual London Championship is held today at the Kensington Conference Centre. Events this year have been reduced with no ‘C’ grade, no CLASP amateur contests, a combined Piobaireachd for A and B grades and a combined JB Robertson March and premier MSR. This has reduced costs in particular the cost of judges. Another benefit will be time afforded for socialising before during and after the competition. In the past this was…

By Pipe Major The Chevalier David Waterton-Anderson, KSG, KMM, OLJ, OMLJ   Having completed a thesis on tartan, worn a kilt from age six, being a current life member of the Scottish Tartans Authority and a member of the Incorporation of Weavers of Glasgow, and a piper from age seven, perhaps readers may understand why I feel qualified comment on Highland dress.  Much of what has been discussed so far…

The Times had a story yesterday stating that classical music has increased in tempo over the years. According to independent research, performance time of Bach’s double violin concerto had fallen from 17 minutes in 1961 to 12 minutes in 2016. Has the same accelerando affected piping? Perhaps in ceol mor. Perusing the Masters of Piobaireachd series you can listen to tunes played at what I would suggest is a more…

WO2 Pipe Major Peter Macgregor reports…. Under the direction of Major Gordon Rowan, the 2018 annual Army Piping and Drumming Championship was held at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming at Inchdrewer house over the weekend (October 27/28). The contest started with a graded solo piping, drumming and bugling competition on the Saturday followed by a mini band competition on the Sunday along with the prize giving…

Calling all composers. There is exactly one month left to get your composition entered for the John Cruickshank VC tune competition. First prize is £1,000. Entries close November 30. There has already been a considerable number of submissions. The contest is for a pipe march, of any time signature, to commemorate Mr Cruickshank’s heroism during WW2. It has been brought to our attention that these heroics featured in the boy’s…