Preston Lodge Competition

Lee Moore reports: Preston Lodge High School Pipe Band are holding a Solo Piping and Drummmg Competition at Preston Lodge High School Prestonpans on Saturday 29 November 2014. The competition is open to all young Pipers and Drummers resident or attending a school in East Lothian. There will be some fantastic prizes on offer and it is a great opportunity for all young pipers and drummers to come along and show off their musical talents in…

Poster Reveals Details of 1785 Contest

What did pipers play in solo competition almost 230 years ago? A poster from the 1785 competition held in Edinburgh for the Prize Pipe reveals all. It tells us that 50 pieces of ceol mor were heard during the gathering; it proves that the tunes we play today were in common currency back then; it shows that despite Culloden, its shameful aftermath and the Act of Proscription, piping continued to thrive in…

Northern Ireland Piper of the Year – Critique

This contest, run by the Northern Ireland Piping Society, was held in the ballroom at the Adair Arms Hotel in Ballymena, and despite a hum from the cooler behind the bar, it proved an ideal venue for a piping competition; plenty of floor space, plenty of audience space and a draughtless ambience. There were very few listeners in for the piobaireachd in the afternoon  (not unusual, even in Scotland) but the…

News: George Ackroyd Contest South Africa

Gareth Rudolph reports: Just to let you know it is the George Ackroyd Challenge Solo Piping Contest this Saturday 11 October 2014 and is being held at the Transvaal Scottish HQ in Parktown, Johannesburg. This year sees the introduction of the first Amateur Piping contest to be held prior to the Open contest. Hopefully this will be the start of something really worthwhile for solo piping in SA. Re George Ackroyd I…

PP Editor’s Blog 3/10/14

I’m building a database of Gold Medallists and it can be viewed here. Still to do Northern Meeting. I am trying to include as many of the tunes played by the winners as possible and would appeal to readers to send me on the names of tunes for inclusion, as many as they can remember. Please email them to pipingpress@gmail.com ** To the John MacLellan Memorial competition tomorrow for a…