Category: Reviews

Solo Piping Versus Bands and Thoughts on the B Piobaireachd at the Atholl Gathering

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As you may have read, the winner of the B Grade Piobaireachd at Sunday’s Atholl Gathering was Charles MacDonald from Inverness (pictured above on his way to victory). His tune was the Lament for Captain MacDougall, writes the Editor. He had a lovely pipe as far as could be discerned through the discordant hum of the bouncy castle generator directly opposite the platform. Charles’s finger was good apart from the odd…

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Weekend of Recitals and Concerts/ Cadet Pipes & Drums Beat the Retreat

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An important weekend of concerts and recitals tonight and tomorrow. Tonight sees Christopher Armstrong play in the Tulloch Castle Hotel in a recital organised by the Inverness Piping Society. Time: 7 for 7.30 tickets at the door; all welcome. Tomorrow we have the Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipes Band in concert in the Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen. This is sure to be a great night if the Boggies previous concerts are…

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Review: Grade 2 at the 2017 British Pipe Band Championships

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This summary of the performances at the Grade 2 British Championship follows last week’s prelim piece from our Special Correspondent. Here he gives us his thoughts on a hard-fought Grade 2 contest last Saturday at Paisley…. From Arena 4, the one nearest the motorway and the airport take off path. Brightening sky with the earliest contests facing rain just an hour or so earlier. During the grade the clouds ebbed and flowed,…

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Review: The 2017 British Pipe Band Championships Grade 1 Performances

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One of the first rules of journalism is ‘be there’ and if you want to give a detailed and accurate, albeit subjective, account of an important pipe band contest then that is exactly what you have to do. No amount of social media chatter, summary sheet perusal or YouTube re-runs is in any way a substitute to actually positioning yourself at a suitable coign of vantage and listening and watching the…

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P/M Robert Mathieson and the History of Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band

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The highlight of World’s Week this year will be the concert ‘Rise’ to be given by the 2015 World Champions, Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band (above). To set the scene, and help everyone appreciate the history of this iconic band, we are running an interview from eight years ago when they celebrated their centenary. Editor Robert Wallace is in conversation with the then Shotts P/M Robert Mathieson, now a…

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