Review – The Shasta Collection of Modern Piobaireachd

On being asked to review this recent publication I realised that I have stated many times in recent years that I am a supporter of modern piobaireachd composition. With further reflection the realisation dawned that many of the tunes in my repertoire I considered modern were approaching fifty years of age. I was facing an opportunity to take a look at much more recent compositions. The book reproduces the scores…

The Barriers to Good Pipe Band Adjudication

Former RSPBA Adjudicator Alistair Aitken OBE continues with his detailed look at the judging of pipe bands and how it can be improved. Read his first instalment here. What are the common barriers to effective pipe band adjudication?  Firstly, there is no doubt that the location and layout of a pipe band competition can be factors.  Contests can of course be held indoors or outdoors.  Indoor competitions can be easier…

Scots Guards Junior Solo Piping Results (updated)

A good entry for the Scots Guards Junior competition held at the Army School of Piping at Inchdrewer House, Edinburgh, today. Organiser P/M Jimmy Banks MBE thanked everyone for their attendance, the Army School for the premises and stewarding and also the sponsors, the Scots Guards Association, Pipe Dreams and Grants of Dalvey. Judges were: J Banks, B Donaldson, R MacCrindle, P MacGregor, R Wallace. The picture above shows P/M…

Review: The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Collection of Bagpipe Music

What a year it has been for Argyll piping: Inveraray winning the Worlds, Alasdair Henderson taking the Northern Meeting Gold Medal – and now a superb collection of bagpipe music courtesy the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. The book represents a 200 year long musical journey of one of the iconic Scottish regiments, perhaps no longer with the identity of yesteryear but with a corpus of pipe music which will ensure…

Northern Ireland Piper of the Year 2017

Ken Stewart reports…….The annual Northern Ireland Piper of the Year competition took place on Saturday 14th October 2017 in the Adair Arms Hotel in Ballymena. This is an invitation only competition and is promoted by the Northern Ireland Piping Society. Competitors are invited to play on merit and must have competed in both MSR and Piobaireachd competitions in Ireland during the current year. The Piobaireachd event took place in the…