The Piobaireachd Society has announced that this year’s amateur piobaireachd competition for the prestigious Archie Kenneth Quaich will be ‘live’ but online. Society members will be able to tune in to the 28 performances from 9am (BST or GMT+1) on May 22. The results will be announced at another online event on June 2nd. MC for the day is AKQ organiser Peter McCalister. Judges are Society members Iain Speirs and…

The following is from an Oban Times of early 1951…. Pipers and dancers from a’ the airts, including a large contingent from Scotland, arrived at the headquarters of the London Scottish regiment in Buckingham Gate for the annual competitions of the Scottish Piping Society of London All day long the notes of the piobaireachd, the classic pipe music of the Gael, the merrier strains of marches, strathspeys and reels, and…

It was touching to read and study the photographs in Avi Bloomenstiel’s piece last week, featuring, as it did, two of the greats of piping we have lost in the past few months, Jimmy McIntosh and Iain Morrison. I spoke to Jimmy shortly before he died and later received an email from him regarding Iain’s passing: ‘My health and head are catching up with me. I saw you had a…

This bagpipe belongs to noted professional piper Andrew Hall, Northern Ireland, London and now Glasgow. They are a set of Naills model DN3ES, aged imitation ivory mounts and hallmarked Sterling silver slides.  The pipes are as new and were made in 2018. They are in excellent condition as the photographs show (see link). They have had very little playing but have a superb, steady tone. Bought as an additional set. Selling as…

This new digital book, ‘The Fyrish Collection’, is by double Gold Medallist Niall Matheson (pictured). It has more than 50 tunes covering every genre of pipe music from ceòl mòr to jigs and reels. Piobaireachd highlights include Niall’s well received tunes Salute to P/M Alasdair Gillies and Salute to the 51st Highland Division. The composer’s other works have already met with considerable acclaim. They are steeped in Highland character and lore,…