Piping Press

It is with great sadness that we report the passing Leading Drummer Alex Connell formerly of the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band. Alex’s friend Jim Collins: ‘It is with great sadness and I learned of the passing of Alex, a great drummer, mentor, tutor, and friend. He will be sadly missed by many. My condolences to Molly and his family. My thoughts and prayers are with you in these sad times.’…

Competitors have been announced for the Donald MacDonald Cuach Piobaireachd Competition held on Sleat, Skye. The competition is now in its 33rd year. It takes place in Armadale Castle Stables Café on June 7 and will be livestreamed via their website and Facebook page. Tickets are available in advance (£10, under 16s free). The pipers and tunes will be: Callum Beaumont – A Ghlas-mheur (The Fingerlock) Glenn Brown – Sean…

Inverclyde District Council, the promoters of one of the first pipe band contest of the season at Gourock, have sent this… International interest is building in the Gourock Highland Games with enquiries from tourists from as far afield as Spain, France, Canada, Australia and the United States. Many of the visitors are planning their itineraries around the games and are looking for accommodation in the local area. The annual event,…

Eighty years ago this year pipe band drumming started its great leap forward. The man behind it was an Irishman by the name of Paddy Donovan. In this article Allan Chatto charts the life and times of a man whose influence on the drum corps is still felt today……… At the Cowal Games, Dunoon, Scotland, August 1939, the massed bands stood waiting for the announcement of the results of the…

If it is true that only five pipers played in the Silver Medal qualifier held in British Columbia last weekend it does not necessarily follow that the winner does not deserve his place in the 2020 SM competition. A good tune is a good tune wherever it is delivered. However, poorly attended qualifiers such as that in western Canada will throw up a perception of unfairness among the majority of…