History: P/M William Fergusson, Dornie Ferry and Loch Duich – Part 1

We are grateful to piping adjudicator John Don MacKenzie for this feature on one of the great pipers and composers of yesteryear, P/M William Fergusson. The above picture is of Loch Duich and Glen Shiel and is dated 1907. Willie Fergusson (1885 – 1949) was born in Arbroath. As a youth, and now living in Glasgow, he became a pupil of Farquhar MacRae. He firstly was in a Boys’ Brigade band but…

Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust Summer School

Lee Moore writes: SSPDT are holding a five-day piping and drumming workshop from Mon 24 – Fri 28 July 10 am – 3pm each day. The summer school is open to all young pipers/chanter players, snare drummers and bass and tenor drummers in East Lothian, writes Lee Moore.  The venue is Port Seton Community Centre. Please note the change of venue which offers us great facilities to run our school. The…

Piobaireachd by the Sea/ New England Pipe & Drum Academy Workshop

The organisers of the ‘Pibroch by the Sea’ event have announced a masterclass by Jimmy McIntosh and Herve Le Floc’h. Other details: This will be the 13th year of the popular event held at the Breton seaside. Dates are September 16 and 17. The Saturday Masterclass begins at 9.30 and costs €30. Venue is the Ecole de mer Hériot – Port-Mer (direction camping municipal). Lunch included in fee. Cheques to Christian VILLEJIQUEL…

Review – Grade 2 at the 2017 UK Pipe Band Championships, Belfast

There may have been some turbulent arrivals into both Belfast airports early on, and the young stars of the future in the novice grades probably faced the cloudiest and most inclement elements of the day, writes our Special Correspondent. A brightening sky and warming breeze blew the clouds out of Stormont and the cricket field was at its best as lunchtime arrived. Grade 2 started at 2.30pm in Arena 2,…

PP Ed’s Blog: Old Pipes v New/ Gordon McCready/ Strathallan School/ Drumlough PB

I read the other day that according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences an extensive study has shown that audiences actually prefer the sound of newer violins over those made by master craftsmen such as Antonio Stradivari. Violin acoustics expert Professor Claudia Fritz, of the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, asked seven world famous soloists to play at concert halls in Paris and…