Category: Pipe Bands

Outcomes from the Latest RSPBA Board of Directors Meeting

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Take aways from the recent RSPBA Board of Directors meeting….. The association has formed a group to examine ways of reducing the time it takes for the March Past and prize announcements at contests, particularly the Majors. BoD have agreed that at the World Championship all qualifying announcements will held at the Needle on Glasgow Green.  Former Chairman Kevin Reilly will continue his involvement within the 850th celebrations for Glasgow…

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Readers Respond to Peter MacLeod Reel Query/ Scots Guards KO Date Change/ Talk Piobaireachd

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Dougie Pincock: ‘That Peter MacLeod reel [above] is known nowadays as The Highlanders’ Institute. It appears under that name in the ‘Bicentennial Collection’ of the music of both Peter MacLeods Snr. and Jnr. published in the USA by Donald Varella. ‘I learned the tune from Pipe Major Iain MacDonald of Neilston, and played it in the Glasgow folk group Kentigern in the late ’70s/early ’80s. Iain might well have had…

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Editor’s Notebook: 2025 Events Schedule/ Drum Tutor/ Mick Haggerty/ Peter MacLeod Tune

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Undoubtedly the larger gaps between next year’s Worlds, Oban and Inverness will pose challenges for overseas pipers, not least of which will be the cost of attending all three. But the search for fame and fortune always involves sacrifice. If I want to succeed at sumo wrestling, to Japan I must go. When family budgets won’t stretch, or you don’t have the air miles, then priorities and preferences come into…

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Online Entries Open for 2025 Argyllshire Gathering/ Graeme Johnston Results

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The 2025 Argyllshire Gathering takes place on August 27th and 28th and pipers can now enter online via the Gathering’s updated website. The closing date for all competitions, Senior Piobaireachd and Former Winners’ MSR included, is January 31st and no late entries will be accepted. In years past, senior competitions, given the lower numbers and automatic qualification, have not required this stipulation. Entry fees of £50 must be paid by…

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‘Pipe Band Reflections’ – Two Books Detailing a Lifetime in Pipe Bands

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Having spent literally a life time associated with pipe bands as a competitor, educator and adjudicator, it struck me that not a lot had been written about this musical genre, or certainly not in published book form.  When discussing piping and drumming with fellow competitors, all have their own historical perspective mainly based on the bands they played in or competed against.  These comments tend to be anecdotal in nature…

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