About half way through the South Florida school with good progress on all fronts. Temperatures here in the 80s with a nice breeze. Quite a contrast with the UK. The big hit at last night’s pub ceilidh was Andrew Elliot (Field Marshal) the bass and tenor teacher. Andrew did a spot with tyro teacher Jack Williamson (P/M St Andrews Society Band, Kansas) which had the audience transfixed. A great party…
Next month sees the annual Duncan Johnstone Memorial competition held at the Piping Centre. A few weeks ago piper, composer and adjudicator Stuart Finlayson, New Zealand, regaled us with tales of the late master piper who was so influential on so many people. Today we begin the first part of an interview conducted by our Editor Robert Wallace in 1996 shortly after Duncan had been awarded the Balvenie Medal for…
To the US for some sun at the South Florida Pipe & Drum Academy at Boca Raton. I should have something to report – all good I hope. Around 50 students, 28 for piping with class sizes kept to five or six. This will be our fourth annual school and I think we are beginning to make an impression. Certainly standards improve year on year. Many thanks to our sponsors…
The Piobaireachd Society have announced the draw for the Archie Kenneth Quaich, their annual amateur ceol mor contest to be held next Saturday 3rd March. Start time is 9.30am in the Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society rooms at 127 Rose Street Lane South, Edinburgh. Two tunes are asked for. Pipers will be informed in the final tuning room which tune has been selected for them to play. The draw: 1 Helen Thompson,…
I am always struck by the gratitude of students. At last year’s Northern Winter School Horst Krauss presented me with this fine book ‘The Bagpipe – The History of a European Folk Instrument in Pictures’ by Fritz Schneider. The well-written text is in four languages, including English, and is graced with beautifully reproduced photographs. It says this about the GHB: ‘The British brought the Scottish bagpipe to the once worldwide…
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