This year’s Uist & Barra competition was cancelled due to the weather and we await details of a rearranged date. In the meantime a delve into the PP archives has revealed this cutting from the Daily Record of February 12, 1951, confirming that the contest was held even earlier all those years ago. These days it is usually on the first Saturday in March. Under the headline ‘Portrait of prize piper’,…
A treat for piobaireachd aficionados today with the posting on the PP Audio Archive of a performance of the Lament for Mary MacLeod by Donald MacPherson, writes the Editor. The recording was made by the BBC in 1977 during a recital Donald gave with P/M Angus MacDonald at the Eden Court Theatre, Inverness.We are grateful to Donald McBride, one of Donald’s former students. for passing it on. Donald’s playing reflects all…
An important, good quality video of a recital given by the late Donald MacPherson has been saved from the waste bin thanks to the inquisitiveness and diligence of an Irish piper. The recital was given by Donald in the Crookhaven Hotel in County Cork in 1990. Introduced by local stalwart Noel O’Mahony, Donald gives a brilliant demonstration of ceol beag and ceol mor. His mastery of the instrument and its…
Details have been announced for the 2015 Iain Dall MacKay contest to be held in Gairloch, Wester Ross, in September. The Iain Dall ‘Young Pipers’ Festival’ will be held in Gairloch Primary School on September 26th. The purpose of the festival is to encourage pipers aged under 18 to compete and enjoy their piping in a friendly and relaxing competition. There are eight classes: 1: March on practice chanter – primary…
The highlight of this year’s Piobaireachd Society Conference had to be the playing of Iain Speirs, writes PS Vice President Robert Wallace. Iain, the consummate professional, was asked to illustrate a paper given by John Shone on the life and career of one of the greatest pipers of all time, Donald MacPherson. With a beautifully set pipe, Iain thrilled the large number of attendees with outstanding performances of ceol beag, the urlars…
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