Tag: piping history

Northern Ireland News: James Frazer is Piper of the Year/ NI Pipers’ Solo Success/ New Band for Dromara

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The annual NI Piper of the Year solo piping competition took place recently at the Adair Arms, Ballymena, and was organised by the Northern Ireland Piping Society. The Society has been in existence since 1978 it promotes the ‘Piper of the Year’ title through an open competition in which senior and junior players compete together. Originally a three-legged competition it changed to a single event with a Piobaireachd section being…

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Editor’s Notebook: Peter MacFarquhar/ Joint Committee/ J MacDonald Chanter/ Solo Drumming

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Reader Lawrence Macduff has forwarded this fine picture of Peter MacFarquhar, subject of our earlier story, and well known to pipers as the composer of the popular jig, Kenny Gillies of Portnalong. Lawrence writes: ‘Here’s the image of Peter and his second wife Jean, taken as I recall near Kensaleyre on July 4th, 1970, when I was visiting them at their home. ‘Peter, having retired from seafaring around 1969 (I…

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Balmoral Winter Workshop Announced/ Drumming Post at Highlands & Islands Schools

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Balmoral’s upcoming Winter Workshop will be a three-day remote-learning session held via Zoom, writes Elaine Lee. The cost is $275 USD. Students who refer new students to us will receive $50 off the price of the workshop for every new student referred. Instruction will be provided in small classes, as well as one-to-one sessions with instructors. Our exciting line up includes Robert Mathieson, Derek Midgley, and Andrew Carlisle Robert, from…

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South African Brothers to Publish ‘Binneas is Boreraig’ Using Conventional Stave

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Piobaireachd or Ceòl Mòr, often thought of as the classical music of the Scots Highland Bagpipe, was for centuries passed from master to pupil by chanting the tunes to one another, writes Pat Terry. From about the year 1800, attempts were made to find suitable variations on conventional staff notation to record the music for posterity. One of the more highly regarded of these attempts was published in the 1960s…

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John Macdonald, Inverness, and a Chanter Gifted by Major Manson

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This story has a starting date. It seems that John Macdonald MBE (Inverness) was presented with a pipe chanter in 1942, some 81 years ago. He was about 76 years of age at the time and would have ceased playing in competition. I don’t know why he was presented with the chanter. Perhaps piping historians have the information. He was awarded the MBE in 1932 and died in 1953. Enter…

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