London Championship 2022 Results

A healthy number of pipers made the trip to the capital for the Scottish Piping Society of London’s 82nd annual competition held at the Caledonian Club, Belgravia. Bratach Gorm (7 tunes) 1 Bruce Gandy, Unjust Incarceration2 Iain Speirs, Colin Roy MacKenzie3 Alan Bevan, Salute to the Cairn at Borreraig4 Jamie Forrester, Phantom Piper5 Callum Beaumont, Daughter’s Lament Open Piobaireachd for the William Gillies Cup (6 tunes)1 Finlay Johnston, My Dearest…

Editor’s Notebook: Northern Winter School/ Worlds History/ Electronic Pipes/ Michael Egan/ Pipers Persuasion/ SPA

Another Northern Winter School at Loheide, Germany, drew to a close last night. There were more than 70 students for piping and drumming. At the conclusion each was presented with an assessment certificate based on their knowledge and ability. Among them was Bogdan a Ukrainian refugee. A good piper, he learned a four-part strathspey, an alien musical format to him, in less than a week, and was able to play…

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Piobaireachd Society News

The Society has announced that their popular ‘Talk Piobaireachd’ series will resume for the winter season 2022 – 2023. The discussions, open to all members, are online and attract pipers from around the world. ‘Talk Piobaireachd’ runs from November 2022 until April 2023 inclusive. The subject matter is the Set Tunes for the 2023 competitions at Oban and Inverness. The first presentation will be given by Dr Jack Taylor the…

History of the Worlds Pipe Band Championships – Part 3

Only 21 Pipe Majors have won the Grade 1 World Championships title since the competition has been run under the auspices of the RSPBA.  In that time only 14 different bands have won the title as some of them have been led by different Pipe Majors at different times.  These statistics illustrate clearly the extent of the challenge of winning the title, and perhaps also the leadership qualities required.  In…

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History of the Worlds Part 2 – the Scottish Pipe Band Association and the ‘Royal’ Title

The SPBA was formed in 1930 and ‘Royal’ status was subsequently conferred on the Association by HM The Queen in 1980.  The objectives of the Association from the outset, which still remain the same, were: The first competition to be run by the SPBA was at Forthbank Park, Stirling on 18 June 1932.  Fifteen Grade 2 bands competed: Scottish Motor Traction Co; Denny and Dunipace Ex-Service; Glasgow Caledonia; Lochgelly Public; Mar;…