2026 Glass Chanter Presented

The Glass Chanter, awarded annually to the piper who achieves most points at Scotland’s North Highland Games, has been won for the third year in a row by Angus MacPhee, Inverness, writes Steven McCabe The trophy and other prizes were presented to Angus last Friday night, 6th November 2026, during his very well received recital for Inverness Piping Society at Inverness Golf Club. The 2026 Glass Chanter, was kindly sponsored by…

Review: The Raasay Concert in Pitlochry Town Hall

The evening which was to feature a range of different bagpipes started with a bang. Angus MacColl played one of the copies of the Black Set of Kintail that Hamish Moore has made.  These pipes can be found in Inverness Museum and are dated to 1785.  This particular set, in the key of A and made in mopane wood, was presented to Rachel Gray as her prize for winning the…

Amateur to Professional Pathway: Readers Respond

We have had a number of letters regarding last week’s series of articles by Adam Aitchison on the need for an approved structure for those wishing to make the progression from amateur to professional ranks. (Read Adam’s articles starting here.) Unfortunately the responses have all been made anonymously. We assume the writers are afraid their competitive success may be compromised by their putting their heads above the parapet (a common…

‘Masters of Piping’, a Masterwork by Seumas MacNeill

A new edition of writer Seumas MacNeill’s celebrated book, ‘Masters of Piping’, has been published by the Piobaireachd Society. The original work was issued in 2006 sponsored by the Society in honour of Mr MacNeill, for 20 years its Honorary Secretary. It was based on a radio series he made for BBC Radio Scotland. The new revised edition has been produced in co-operation with his son Rory and PP Editor…

Success of Long List of Senior Tunes for Oban and Inverness Being Assessed

In 2023 the Piobaireachd Society recommended a long list of 50+ set tunes for the senior piobaireachd events at Oban and Inverness. The five year experiment ends next year and assessment has begun. When launched the idea of a comprehensive list of tunes thought suitable for this level of competition was popular with audiences. They were guaranteed a raft of classics as they took their seats at Corran Halls or…