IN the US the Midwest Pipe Band Association report that at the recent Chicago Highland Games they trialled a ‘concert formation’ for the Grade 2 and 3 Medley contests (see picture above). The feedback from bands and audience has been very positive, so much so that the organisers plan to use the same arrangement in 2016. All I can say to that is well done to all concerned. Here’s what…
Forty years ago I was at Corby, in Northants, for the World Pipe Band Championships (yes, the fated we wuz robbed event). Last weekend saw me back there almost to the day to judge the solo piping. Thanks to the influx of steelworkers in the 50s and 60s, Corby has a strong Scottish heritage, and a few thousand turned out for the games and pipe band competition. Before proceedings got…
Today we end our look at the life and times of piping genius Angus MacKay, how he was consumed by mental illness and eventually escaped from an institution and drowned in a river in south-west Scotland. There are tributes and an assessment of the life of the man who more than any other laid the foundation of our modern piping tradition. Final day for entries to the National Mod piping…
Carnegie Mellon University is looking for a new drumming instructor for its Pipes and Drums. Professor of Music, P/M Andrew Carlisle, the recent winner of the top US solo piping prize, the USPF, said : ‘Carnegie Mellon University is seeking a drumming instructor to lead the drum corps of its ‘Pipes and Drums’. The creation of this new drumming position is a huge step forward by the University. For many years, Carnegie Mellon…
A good crowd of 60 or so gathered at St Mary’s Church in Haddington last Sunday to hear 17-year-old Brìghde Chaimbeul from Skye give a very well-received piping recital. Brìghde played a wide-ranging set of tunes on both the Highland pipes and smallpipes. She began with a selection of 6/8 marches, including MacLeod of Mull and MacNeill of Ugadale. She then played some hornpipes and jigs and continued with the MSR, Braes of…
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