Piobaireachd Society Approached Regarding Running of Silver Chanter

There is uncertainty over the future of the prestigious Silver Chanter recital competition. The National Piping Centre has run it for the last five years after taking over from Skye Piping Society. It was initially moved from Skye to the Centre in Glasgow but last year was held at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college on the island. The Centre has stated that due to funding cuts they can no longer…

Atholl Gathering 2023 Results: Updated with Juniors, Pictures and Comment

The Atholl Gathering was held today (May 28) in the grounds of Blair Castle, Perthshire. More than 60 solo pipers, junior and senior, competed. There were graded senior contests for piobaireachd. Light music events for March, Strathspey and Reel and Hornpipe & Jig were open. The ceòl beag was split into four heats with four pipers in each progressing to the final. Three tunes were asked for in ceòl mòr…

Editor’s Notebook: Practice Time/ Low G Taorluath/ Sgian Dubh/ Internship/ Coronation Tune/ Results 1996

How many of you come close to following the guidance in this practice table? I suspect not many will manage the five hours a day. The maximum I could ever do, in say the run up to to Oban and Inverness, would have been two hours. For my pupils I recommend a minimum of an hour a day. This can be split into three sections: 20 minutes on the practice…

Gordon Castle, Fochabers, Results

Thirteen played in the adult competitions. Eight played in the various junior competitions. The weather was cool and remained dry. The competition boards were rather close to each other and this caused the bagpipe sound to be slightly adversely affected, but nevertheless the playing generally was very good. Of course it is always a danger at games venues that there will be extraneous sounds. It is to the credit of the…

End of Year Recitals for Piping Students/ Black Watch Tune Search

Students on the Royal Conservatoire / National Piping Centre Traditional Music degree course take to the stage for their end-of-year recitals on 1st and 2nd June, writes John Mulhearn. These public recitals are a major component of the course assessment and are part of the wider RCS Traditional Music Recital Festival. Commencing on Tuesday 30th May, the festival takes place at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts and is free to attend.  Piping…