Australian Pipe Band Championships Livestream

The 2016 Australian Pipe Band Championships at Knox Grammar School Sydney on 1 and 2 October will be live-streamed to the world. Pipe Bands Australia president Chris Earl said the national management committee had engaged Tim Kelly of pipebanned.com to stream the biennial signature event over the internet in 2016 with an option to extend the agreement for the 2018 and 2020 championships. Mr Earl said live streaming of the championships was…

PP Editor’s Blog: Highland & Islands/ May’s Funeral/ BB Championship/ MacArthur Book Deal

All roads lead to Oban this weekend for the annual Highland & Islands Festival. A good entry in all piping events. Check out the order of play for the seniors here. Check here tomorrow evening for results. Still on solo piping, the entry form for Ardrossan on June 9 can be downloaded here. Check out the updated 2016 Guide to the Games here. May McLellan‘s funeral will be held next…

Choice Tune: Dugald MacColl’s Farewell to France by John MacColl

We are indebted to Calum MacLean, Tobermory, Mull, for this unique, handwritten copy of the famous 2/4 march Dugald MacColl’s Farewell to France – handwritten by the composer himself, the great John MacColl. It was given to Calum’s grandfather by John MacColl and is rightly displayed with pleasure on the wall of Calum’s piping room. The tune was written to commemorate the safe delivery from WW1 of John MacColl’s son…

PP Editor’s Blog: PP Advertising/ Worlds Tickets/ FM Concert/ Johnstone PB/ Lochaber Gath./ Donald Bain

Firstly a message to those commercial enterprises that keep posting their goods on our Facebook page. I’m afraid you cannot get a free ride gents. Advertise with Piping Press and post all you like on our Facebook pages.  Producing Piping Press  costs – but is totally free to readers thanks to the generosity of our current advertisers. It is wrong that they should be expected to subsidise your enterprises too….

Review: ‘Ceol Mor: Light & Shade’ – Beauty and Drama in This New CD from Patrick Molard

By Peter McCalister Patrick Molard has done a masterful job in this new CD, bringing to life well-known (and previously unpublished) tunes with the help of a small group of musicians. He rightly calls the album ‘light and shade’: there are moments of beauty and drama throughout. The first piece is an unpublished tune from the Campbell Canntaireachd (Patrick is a noted master interpreter of this manuscript) One of the…