Donald Morrison Archive: Seton Gordon on John MacDonald, Inverness, and Black Mark for the Piobaireachd Society

The featured letter, a copy of which Donald held in his papers, is from Seton Gordon and is dated January 5, 1973. It was to Col. John McEwing, a piping enthusiast in the US and the man responsivble for so much good work in the Pacific North West. He was the original director of the Coeur d’Alene Piping School in Idaho where taught such luminaries as James Campbell, Kilberry, RG…

Editor’s Notebook: Band Practices are Go/ Dan’s Book Controversy/ Wedding Disaster/ Ivory Pipes

The way now seems fully open for pipe bands in Scotland to practice and perform. From September 3 the following applies under covid law: ‘These regulations (which come into force on 3 September 2021) amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (‘the principal Regulations’). ‘Regulation 2 amends ….requirement to wear face covering in certain indoor places [and] inserts ‘rehearsing for a performance’ as an activity falling within the…

Review: Piobaireachd is for Everyone by Dan Nevans

Reading of this book, I imagined it would make ceòl mòr more accessible to pipers who had little interest in it, hopefully inspiring them, and that it would help listeners gain greater enjoyment from performances. This has been attempted in the past and proved a tall order. There have been publications on the theme of piobaireachd appreciation before and Seumas MacNeil’s ‘Piobaireachd’ [available here] is one of the more successful….

Editor’s Notebook: Young Champ Finlay/ Stress When Playing/ Scottish Schools Latest/ Pipers Memorial

Well done to Finlay Johnston and Gordon Bruce for the cycle ride in aid of cancer research in memory of Finlay’s dad Tommy. They raised just under £5,000 from the effort which started at the Piping Centre in Glasgow and ended at Oban’s Corran Halls. The picture above is of Finlay, a champ in the making, from 20 years ago. He holds the juvenile trophies from the Scottish Pipers’ Association…

Significant Correspondence and Response to Focal Dystonia Request/ New Drum Instructor for CMU

A request for information on focal dystonia from one of our Australian readers, Ken MacDonald, has prompted a good deal of interest and response, some already carried in our comments section but repeated here. Clive Douglas: ‘Good to hear some positive comments regarding focal dystonia. I’ve suffered for over 30 years and I’ve never managed to overcome the condition. I noticed a woman called Ruth Chiles claims to be able…