Category: Tuition

‘Pibroch by the Sea’ – A Unique Piping Experience on the Breton Coast of France

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Well I’m pretty sure the weekend we’ve just experienced is unique in the piping world. It begins when you are welcomed off the ferry at St Malo by a piper. The place is Brittany in west France. We are here for the annual ‘Pibroch au Bord de la Mer’, piobaireachd by the sea, event. The setting is Cancale, the village from where Louis XIV sourced his oysters, but which is…

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The History of the Clan MacRae Society Pipe Band – Part 1

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Farquhar MacRae (1859-1916), winner of the Gold Medal in 1898, was a member of the (Blythswood) Highland Light Infantry (3rd Volunteer Battalion HLI) from the 1880s and for many years thereafter he was pipe major.  Towards the end of 1908 this battalion was renumbered, becoming the 7th Volunteer Battalion HLI.  That year, at Cowal Games his band placed fifth in the Argyll Shield Open Competition (World Championship), just one example…

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Review: The Northern Meeting 2023

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All the excitement of top class piping competition was contained neatly in Eden Court Theatre and its environs for the 2023 Northern Meeting. The NM committee and staff could not have been more welcoming, putting nervous pipers, inquisitive visitors, doddery judges at their ease the moment they stepped through the theatre’s glass doored maw. The bar prices were reasonable too so people were more inclined to hang around chatting in…

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Lawrie and Thow Pipes for Sale/ Pitlochry Games/ NZ PB Champs./ Capt. John Contest

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Two sets of ivory pipes plus other instruments and chanters are on offer from reader Tom Smith. Get more information here. Pictured above is a detail of the Lawrie set. Pitlochry Games The final Highland Games of the summer will be held at Pitlochry on Saturday (Sept.10). The new piobaireachd event sponsored by the Piobaireachd Society has a full complement of entrants, capped at 15. The organisers have opened a…

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Jack Taylor Looks Back at His Gold Medal Win of Half a Century Ago

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To win a Gold Medal is the high point in any piper’s career. Fifty years ago, on September 14 1973, Dr Jack Taylor made his own little bit of history when as an ‘unknown piper’ he took the coveted award at the Northern Meeting in Inverness. Today, on the eve of the 2023 Meetings, Dr Taylor recounts to our Editor some of his memories from that important day half a…

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