A long day of piping in the Nevis Centre, Fort William. Some very good playing with many pipers at the top of their form as you would expect a few days before Wednesday’s Argyllshire Gathering at Oban. Mid-afternoon Robert Wallace gave his tenth Lochaber Gathering Lecture. This year the subjects were the outstanding composers Peter MacLeod, Snr. and Jnr. with musical illustrations from Colin Campbell, Aberlour. At the close, prizes…
Thanks to Les Hutt, Inverness, for reminding me of the Glenurquhart and Invergordon Games tomorrow (see Comments). There’s certainly plenty of opportunity for pipers this Saturday to get out and have a tune and I hope as many as possible will take advantage of the last few weekends of the games. Les’s old band were the Monktonhall Colliery and he learned his piping under Willie McBride, a fine piper and a first…
Those who have not entered for Lochaber should remember that one of the classic Highland games takes place up in the north-east on Saturday. Buried away in deepest Strathdon, Lonach Gathering has a tradition stretching back well into the 19th century. That tradition is reflected in the customs such as the March of the Lonach Men (below) that precedes the games and is upheld with vigour and interest to this…
A week from now pipers from all over the world will converge on the town of Oban in the West Highlands for the annual Argyllshire Gathering piping competitions. Wednesday, August 26, sees the piobaireachd competitions with categories for the young professional, the MacGregor Memorial, the Silver Medal, Gold Medal and Senior Piobaireachd for previous winners. In the evening we hear the peak of professional ceol beag with the Former Winners’ March,…
We conclude our extensive coverage of the World Pipe Band Championships with a detailed look at the Grade 1 final from editor Robert Wallace. There are comments on the individual band performances and some suggestions as to how an already excellent competition could be improved. Read the article here and also check out our other features on the Worlds by clicking the relevant headings on this page. Going by yesterday’s readership figures…
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