Category: Tuition

History: Argyllshire Gathering 1981

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This article is from the Oban Times of early September 1981. It is by Alfred Morrison their piping correspondent at the time. Alfred, affectionately known as ‘old Fred’, was the father of the Gold Medallist and bellows piper supreme, ‘young’ Fred Morrison. Alfred was a native of South Uist. It was there as a young man he received his piobaireachd tuition from visiting instructor RB Nicol, one of the Bobs…

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Editor’s Notebook: Band Sizes/ Piping Centurions/ SPA Professional/ Duncan Johnstone/ CLASP Results

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I hope the RSPBA AGM devotes a good bit of time to a serious discussion on band sizes…or at least appoints a working group to examine properly the reasons for the decline in the number of pipe bands in Scotland. With only six Grade 1 bands and reductions further down the pecking order, this is not something that should be dismissed lightly under the banner ‘it’s all been tried before…

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RSPBA AGM – Order Paper Analysed

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Our experts have had a trawl through the order paper for the RSPBA’s 95th AGM to be held this Saturday, March 14. This will be a hybrid meeting both online and in-person at Washington Street HQ. All bands who have paid their subs should have received an invite……… The order paper gets off to a bad start – the date on the front cover is 2025. The same applies on page…

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Scottish Schools Championship/ Stirling Junior Solos

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Young musicians from a record-breaking 172 schools across Scotland gathered in Kilmarnock last Sunday for the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships, marking the largest number of schools ever involved in the event’s 12-year-history, writes Lesley Wilkinson. Held at the William McIlvanney Campus, the Championships welcomed 51 bands and ten quartets from every corner of the country, with 90% of participating schools coming from the state sector. Organised by the Scottish Schools Pipes…

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Review of the 2026 Uist & Barra Professional

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Pity those who weren’t at Otago Street last Saturday for the 79th Annual Uist & Barra Professional. We heard two piobaireachd that would have won any competition anywhere – and I’m talking senior events at Oban/ Inverness – and some flowing ceòl beag that wasn’t to be sniffed at either. By Robert Wallace The two tunes I mention were from Callum Beaumont and Finlay Johnston. There wasn’t a gossamer strand…

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