Tag: Piper Press

Editor’s Notebook: Ensemble Judges/ SPA Nights/ Inveraray Show/ MacLean request/ Peter Bain/ Cancale

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This week’s anonymous contributor should be thanked for raising the matter of wandering ensemble judges. Personally I felt that he wrote well but was guilty of pipe band overthink. Get up close to the tenor drummers to see if they are integrating with those around them. Really? What is ensemble if it is not an assessment of the entire package, pipes and drums, and how well they work together? I…

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Games Round Up: Braemar, Blairgowrie, Birnam

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We are heading into the penultimate weekend of Highland Games piping with Braemar (Sat.) and Blairgowrie (Sun.). Entries are closed for both. At Blair, a graded event, there are 16 in the P/A Piob. Here is the draw: 1 Darach Urquhart 2 Cameron MacDougall 3 John McDonald 4 Eireann Ianetta-MacKay 5 James McPetrie 6 Sandy Cameron 7 Steven Leask 8 Andrew Donlon 9 Gordon McCready 10 William Rowe 11  Jacob Dicker 12 Sarah Muir 13 Matt Pantaleoni 14 Cameron May 15 Ben…

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The Ensemble Walkabout – An Opinion Piece

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The author of this article has asked to remain anonymous. We publish it in the interest of encouraging debate on this important topic for pipe bands….. The circles may have faded, the grass will have been cut. The shadows have more than lengthened on the outdoor pipe band season. Barring a trip to Peebles or Pitlochry, we’re done. I read the Editor’s review of the 2025 World Pipe Band Championships…

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Reflections on the Argyllshire Gathering – Part 2

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Argyllshire Gathering Day 1. I judged the Silver Medal with Robert Barnes and Donald MacPhee. We started at 9am sharp and finished at 4.30 with a short break for some lunch. The winner was Kyle Cameron, now a son of Tobermory on Mull. His tune was the shortest in the list, You’re Welcome Ewen Lochiel. The pipe was rich-toned and as rock steady as the finger. Kyle’s only fault was…

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Reflections on the Argyllshire Gathering – Part 1

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I think it would be fair to say that everything went off very smoothly over the two days of the Gathering held in Oban last week. It is no easy task to organise more than 100 highly motivated pipers and more than 30 judges and stewards, so all credit to John Campbell, Kilberry, Piping Steward, and Assistant Steward Torquil Telfer and their team. Conditions could have been kinder on Games…

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