Entry forms for the Scottish Pipers Juvenile contest are now online. The competition takes place at the Piping Centre Otago Street (formerly the College of Piping) on November 8. It returns after a hiatus of several years and it is hoped that young pipers throughout the country will support it. There are historic trophies on offer. Main sponsors are the Piobaireachd Society and McCallum Bagpipes. There are eight events for…
On request, the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust (SSPDT) have supplied figures regarding instrumental teaching in schools. It follows the furore two weeks ago over comments by a Head of Education in Ayrshire saying she would rather have pupils ‘on the tools’ than learning music. The 2024 figures show almost 66,000 Scottish schoolchildren receiving music instruction, demonstrating the ongoing appeal of these lessons, and likely reflecting the impact of…
The 34th annual amateur Piobaireachd Society competition for the Archie Kenneth Quaich will take place on Saturday, 28th February 2026, writes Peter McCalister. The venue is the rooms of the Royal Scottish Pipers Society, 127 Rose St North Lane, Edinburgh EH2 4BB, starting at 9.30am. Entries and enquiries to peter.mccalister1939@gmail.com. The closing date for entries is 12th January 2026. The winner receives the Quaich and the Piobaireachd Society pipe banner….
We are grateful to piping historian Jeannie Campbell MBE for forwarding this information following last week’s article on Donald Cameron’s powder horn…. A piping competition was held on 4th October 1839 in a Pavilion at the Great Agricultural Meeting, Academy Park, Inverness, in aid of funds of the Northern Infirmary. The prizes were: 1 ‘A Handsome Bagpipe’ made by Macdonald [Donald] of Edinburgh, to Angus MacKay, piper to WF Campbell…
To lose two Grade 1 pipe bands in one week is dispiriting news. Closkelt and Johnstone have gone to the wall both victims of a lack of numbers. Will those in authority wake up? How long has this column, and significant cadre of our readers, been banging on about the need to restrict sizes in Grade One? Don’t the bigwigs at the RSPBA realise that if you allow unlimited numbers…
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