Snow falls on cedars here on the North German plain as the 2024 Winter School draws to a close. It was a rewarding week of long days teaching and long evenings round the hostel campfire. Pictured above is one of the 60+ piping students, 16-year-Niklas Helmke. He was placed second in the Under 18 Piobaireachd at Inverness this year and will be back again in 2025. This lad tunes accurately,…
Dougie Pincock: ‘That Peter MacLeod reel [above] is known nowadays as The Highlanders’ Institute. It appears under that name in the ‘Bicentennial Collection’ of the music of both Peter MacLeods Snr. and Jnr. published in the USA by Donald Varella. ‘I learned the tune from Pipe Major Iain MacDonald of Neilston, and played it in the Glasgow folk group Kentigern in the late ’70s/early ’80s. Iain might well have had…
Undoubtedly the larger gaps between next year’s Worlds, Oban and Inverness will pose challenges for overseas pipers, not least of which will be the cost of attending all three. But the search for fame and fortune always involves sacrifice. If I want to succeed at sumo wrestling, to Japan I must go. When family budgets won’t stretch, or you don’t have the air miles, then priorities and preferences come into…
The 2025 Argyllshire Gathering takes place on August 27th and 28th and pipers can now enter online via the Gathering’s updated website. The closing date for all competitions, Senior Piobaireachd and Former Winners’ MSR included, is January 31st and no late entries will be accepted. In years past, senior competitions, given the lower numbers and automatic qualification, have not required this stipulation. Entry fees of £50 must be paid by…
President Logan Tannock and organiser Gary Nimmo of the Scottish Pipers’ Association: We are delighted to share the entry form for the 2024 Veterans Competition to be held in the National Piping Centre, McPhater St., Glasgow, on 6th December 2024 at 7pm. Competitions are for slow air, 2/4 march and medley selection. Each performance must be between six to ten minutes and can include one, two or all categories at…
Recent Comments