Tag: great highland bagpipe

Famous Pipers: Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies Part 6

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We conclude our feature on the late Pipe Major with the final excerpt of the interview given in 1999 where he talked of his many successes in the Former Winners’ March, Strathspey & Reel at the Northern Meeting at Inverness. The picture above shows Alasdair when he won the title of ‘Piper to the Lord Provost of the City of Glasgow’. Presenting him with the official banner displaying the city’s coat…

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Paterson’s Publications/ Wallace Bagpipes Promo/ South Florida Academy

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Today we publish the second of the late Geoff Hore’s features on two famous bagpipe music publishing companies. Last year we read of Logan’s of Inverness and in this second feature Geoff turns his forensic attention to Paterson’s Publications. This company is well-known to all pipers through their Scots Guards collections (and those of other regiments) and the Willie Ross books. Read more here. One of our advertisers Wallace Bagpipes…

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PP Editor’s Blog: Willie Paterson/ Clan MacRae Soc./Jim Cunningham/ Fife Police/ Reid’s Sticks

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Drummer Willie Paterson featured in a photograph of the Rutherglen Pipe Band (in pic below, top right in civvies) a few weeks ago. An old edition of Pipe Band magazine has this about him: ‘Not a great deal is known about Willie’s early days in the pipe band movement. ‘Alex McCormick met up with him in Glasgow in the early 1940s and they remained friends for many years. A very knowledgeable…

More PP Editor’s Blog: Willie Paterson/ Clan MacRae Soc./Jim Cunningham/ Fife Police/ Reid’s Sticks

New Recordings from Alasdair Gillies and Jimmy McIntosh/ Letter

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Two new recordings today. The first is from Jimmy McIntosh who has added part of Donald MacLeod’s composition, A Son’s Salute to His Parents to his audio archive. This is one of the set tunes for the senior piobaireachd competitions at  Oban and Inverness this year and may be of interest to contestants. It is one of Donald’s more difficult tunes. Of it,  Donald writes: ‘A tribute to my parents,…

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Famous Pipers: P/M Alasdair Gillies Part 5

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We continue with the revealing and informative interview given by the late pipe major in 1999. He focusses on his remarkable run at the Northern Meeting and offers some signal advice for all would-be champion pipers. To win one Former Winners’ title at either Oban or Inverness is a landmark in any piper’s career; to do it repeatedly, year after year marks P/M Gillies out as one of the piping greats of…

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