Archie Kenneth Entries/ Pipers’ Persuasion

The 31st annual amateur piobaireachd competition for the prestigious Archie Kenneth Quaich will take place on Saturday, 25th February 2023, writes Dr Peter McCalister on behalf of the Music Committee of the Piobaireachd Society. The venue is the rooms of the Royal Scottish Pipers Society, 127 Rose St North Lane, Edinburgh EH2 4BB, starting at 9.30am. Pictured above is Tom Peterkin the 2022 AKQ winner. Competitors should submit two tunes with…

Editor’s Notebook: Northern Winter School/ Andrew Wright/ French Piper/ Sun Belt/ Howard Memorial

To Germany’s Northern Winter School today for another week of hard work imparting the finer, and not so finer, points of the art of the great Highland bagpipe. The school, at a youth hostel about an hour north of Hannover, is growing in strength and sells out almost immediately it is advertised. That is due to the quality of the teaching and the marketing and organisational ability of the Principal,…

New Mentoring System for Solo Judges/ George Sherriff Competition

The Solo Piping Judges’ Association is to establish a Mentoring System for Judges, writes Secretary Roderick Livingstone.  Following the Association’s AGM it has been decided that a pool of Senior Judges who are prepared to volunteer their services as mentors to new judges will be formed.  The mentoring process will be available to all new judges irrespective of their initial grading on acceptance. New judges will be required to fully participate…

Festival of Juvenile Solo Piping

Gerard McClumpha, Event Co-Ordinator: Results from our competition held yesterday at Auchenharvie Academy, Stevenston, Ayrshire. It was our usual full packed, competitive event – only just glad to be back up-and-running again, after missing the previous two years. Junior Champion was Owen McCreadie and Senior Champion Gregor Grierson (pictured). 14 yrs & Under 1 Archie Johnston, Oban High 2 Owen McCreadie, Boghall & Bathgate 3 James Silcock, Falkirk Schools4 Caelyn…

Lochnell Championship Underway

The prestigious Lochnell Intermediate Piping Championship got underway at 10am this morning with seven of the country’s top young talents aged under 22 vying for the title. The event is taking place in Lochnell Castle, a picturesque setting on a spit of land on the Argyllshire coast. The venue is courtesy the Earl of Dundonald and the competition is hosted by his son Lord Archie Cochrane. The competition is modelled…