Embarrassing Emails and Another Resignation at the Solo Piping Judges Association

Adjudicator Mr Barry Donaldson has circulated new information on his dispute with the Solo Piping Judges Association. It has been sent to all of its 50+ member judges.  A copy has been obtained by Piping Press. When contacted by PP, Mr Donaldson said he had given the SPJA committee every opportunity of dealing with the matter internally but, in an effort to seize the initiative, they had circulated a statement…

European Pipe Band Champs Promo/ South Africa Soloists End of Year Meeting

Need a reminder of the summer’s pipe band contests? Below is the link to a promo video put out by the sponsors of the European Pipe Band Championships, Piping at Forres. It is ostensibly a plug for their commercial side but there are some good shots of bands, drum corps, RSPBA officials and adjudicators. The picture above shows Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia marching to the line at Forres last summer….

PP Ed's Blog: Piping Live-Worlds/ Anacrusis Debate/ Barry Donaldson/ Charles MacArthur

Well done to Piping Live for making such a significant contribution to the economy of Glasgow and the wider country (£2.5m according to last week’s press release). I found it amusing however that the festival’s organisers, the Piping Centre, could put out such a self-congratulatory notice and barely mention the Worlds! Here’s the full quote from Festival Director Roderick MacLeod: ‘We continue to break our own records, bringing in more…

Winter Storm Entries Top 300

The Midwest Highland Arts Fund (MHAF) Board of Directors reports: Today the previous record of 271 solo contest entries, set in January, 2017, was broken with 313 solo entries recorded for its upcoming Winter Storm, January 12, 2018, piping and drumming contests. The entry deadline was Midnight, December 15, 2017, and the record numbers are attributed, in part, to strong growth in the amateur piping and drumming contests. Returning for…

HISTORY: PIPERS, PIPING AND PIPE MUSIC IN THE SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS 1778 -1924, PART 4

Today we have the fourth and final instalment of our abridged excerpts from the above named book by Ian Hamilton Mackay Scobie. The book was published in 1924 and is now out of print. This excerpt talks of the origins of the famous Seaforth Collection of Pipe Music, one of the best regimental collections, and prized for its settings and variety of tunes. This excerpt also reveals early actions against the…