Regrading Results Announced

As one of 10 member organizations of the Alliance of North American Pipe
Band Associations (ANAPBA), EUSPBA covers 25 states and the District of
Columbia in the eastern portion of the US. In turn, the EUSPBA is comprised
of 6 local branches:

• Alliance of North American Pipe
  Band Associations
• About the Branches

The Leatherneck Pipes & Drums has lost a long time friend and member.

Dr. Don Davidson past away on December 16, 2005.

We honor his memory HERE.

Scottish Free Sticker - Real Men Wear Kilts Stickers
Pickup your free gift from the Brobdingnagian Bards, free stickers that read, Real Men Wear Kilts! It’s a great way to celebrate your Celtic/Scottish cultural heritage. Just send a SASE for your free sticker.

The following Burns Suppers will be held at the Edmonton Scottish Society:

January 21, 2006
Robbie Burns Supper sponsored by the Edmonton Scottish Society. Tickets
$30 for members, $35 for non-members available from Al Jack 780-464-4714.

January 28, 2006
Robbie Burns Supper sponsored by the Clan MacNaughton Pipe Band, Tickets
$37.50 available at Scottish Imports on Whyte (780-433-6889) or from Stewart
at 780-987-5261.

Burns Suppers are held as a tribute to the memory of Scotland’s most loved
and most famous poet, Robbie Burns. Both dinners will consist of the traditional
Scottish fare including the haggis, served with ceremonial splendor. Further
information available from Bonnie at 780-461-9574.

Alberta Society of Pipers and Drummers

12/23/2005 : The list of Official Promotions for the 2006 season is now
avialable for download from the members page. One may download the list
in PDF format. The regrading appeals form is also available for download
in PDF format; the appeals form is also available from the forms page.

2006 season

Gordon Duncan’s funeral attracts hundreds of mourners;
service relayed outside at Church of Scotland, Pitlochry.

Nearly 500 pay respects

Pitlochry comes to standstill for Gordon Duncan’s funeral

Drambuie-Kirkliston disbands

The 2005 Grade 2 RSPBA Champions of Champions, Drambuie-Kirkliston Pipe Band, has chosen to disband rather than continue to search for other funding after losing its sponsorship from the Drambuie Liqueur Company. The band had been set to start its first season in Grade 1 after it was officially upgraded.

Read about this on the Piper and Drummer website.

Saskatchewan’s Pipe Band Association

The Canmore Highland Games’ annual Drum Major Training Course will be held
April 14-16, 2006.

Drum Major Training Information sheet

Drum Major Registration Form

Don’t miss the 2006 DELCO Workshop - one of the signature events of the
EUSPBA-MAB and an instructional highlight for many players. Date and location:
February 3-5 at the Holiday Inn, BWI Airport in Linthicum, MD. For information
and registration, see the Delco flier. Instructors are confirmed and listed
on the flier, and we have a great instructor corps this year.

Entry Form

Biographies of instructors will be posted here soon!

Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Association

GORDON DUNCAN, WORLD-FAMOUS PIPER DIES

Thursday, December 15, 2005 - The world of Scottish music was stunned to hear of the death of Perthshire’s
Gordon Duncan. One of the nation’s foremost pipers, the Pitlochry-born musician
was just 41. Described as “one of the most stunning and innovative pipers
of his generation” he was also a composer whose work received world renown.

He played with many top folk groups including Capercaillie, Wolfstone and
Ceolbeg, as well as several notable pipe bands, including The Vale of Atholl.
Through his CDs his music became known throughout the world, exposing a
wide audience to his contemporary leanings to and his folk band experience,
while also paying tribute to bagpipe tradition.

Ian Green, of Greentrax Recordings, paid tribute to him and said he and
studio felt as if they had lost a member of their family. He described Gordon
as an amazing composer and said he was one of the most innovative pipers
Scotland had seen. “He could play in competition style, but saw no restrictions
as far as the bagpipes were concerned,” Ian explained. “He had the most
amazing fast fingers and it was that combination of a great tunesmith and
innovative piping that meant he was in a different class. When his first
album came out another renowned Scottish piper Hamish Moore said, ‘This
man is precious and should be one of Scotland’s living national treasures.’
That for me just sums him up. He should have been recognised as a class
musician, but unfortunately outstanding traditional musicians often don’t
get the attention they deserve.”

Read more online at the Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Association website.

Changes to PlanetPipe Internet Radio broadcasts from February 2006.

Radio PlanetPipe broadcasts will be available only by subscription from
February 2006 .

This means that the service will be available as follows:

· A high quality audio stream will be available of the weekly radio show
every Friday evening UK time, only accessable if you have purchased a subscription.

· A podcast will be available every week containing highlights of the show
which will be sent to listeners who wish to be informed about the show.

Why will PlanetPipe only be available by subscription from February 2006?

We have invested significantly in growing our global listener base and setting
up a high quality internet broadcasting infrastructure. Like all businesses,
PlanetPipe incurs costs in producing the broadcast and managing the service.
We hope that our listeners will understand our reasons for introducing
this. We would like to expand the service both to improve and expand our
content, our international coverage, and our interactivity with our global
audience.

What will the subscription charges be?

The subscription charge will be £ 0 .99 and US$ 1 . 6 9 a show, which will
be deducted on a per show basis

Our mission is to produce the best quality piping entertainment on the planet
and hope that our listeners will continue to support us in our journey.

NEW SHOW NOW UP - 17 December, 2005

We have a varied show for you this week full of interviews and a little
bit of controversy.

We are delighted to welcome one of English piping’s virtuso performers,
Jon Swayne, to the show. Jon talks to us about the English piping tradition
and we feature some of his recommended music – very different to the Scottish
and Irish tradtitions, and well worth a listen.

John reflects on some of his experiences with Donald MacLeod, and we have
an archive recording of Donald talking to Rona Lightfoot about whether ladies
should be competing against their male counterparts. We at PlanetPipe are
pleased that things have changed!

We also have an interview with pipe bag maker Keith Bowes who talks extensively
about manufacturing and maintenance of sheepskin bags.

Bothy Band

Matt Molloy

Moebius

Fienhandle

PM Donald MacLeod

Roddy MacLeod

PM Robert Matheson

The MSYTERY TRACK

Well done to Alex Titus from Long Island,last week’s winner of the mystery
prize.

The Piping Times reports that Piper Gordon Duncan (41) found dead alone at his
home in Pitlochry, Perthshire; police called yesterday afternoon but no
suspicious circumstances; funeral Church of Scotland, Pitlochry, Weds.,
Dec 21 at 12.45pm; obituary to follow in PT; condolences to family..

Dec 11 - Order of play for the Feb 11 Pro Piping KO Semi Final round:

Andrew Bonar
James P. Troy
Jori Chisholm
Andrew Douglas
Danielle Millar
Micah Babinski
Alan Walters
Keith Paton

Dec 11 - Complete Results from yesterday’s Mini Gathering, and from yesterday’s
round of the Pro Piping Knockout, have been post. See Results.

On this week’s show, we have a fantastic interview with Greg Wilson ‘live’
from New Zealand . We promise a very interesting chat with one of the World’s
great Piobaireachd players – and Greg reflects on his experiences of competing
amongst the global superstars of piping from a New Zealand base.

Well done to Micah Babinski from Mercer Island, WA, last week’s winner of
the mystery prize. Visit the website of Planet Pipe to listen to the interview.

The MidAtlantic Branch will be hosting the Delco MidAtlantic Workshop on
February 4 & 5, 2006. This year’s instructors include: Bob Worrall, June
Hanley, Paula Glendinning, Mike Rogers, Jon Quigg, Matt Bell, Gavin Lindsay,
Marc DuBois, Kevin MacHeffner, and another Piping Instructor to be announced.
The Workshop will be held at the Holiday Inn - BWI.

The Gilchrist Challenge

In conjunction with the workshop, the Branch will be holding three competitions.
The Gilchrist Challenge is open to pipers under the age of 22. The winner
will receive a round-trip ticket to compete at the MacGregor Memorial at
the 2006 Argyllshire Gathering in Oban.

The John Murray Challenge

The John Murray Challenge is being expanded this year to include all snare
drummers under the age of 22. The winner will receive a $500 scholarship.

The workshop will also host a new competition this year: a Grade III Pipe
Band Challenge. Up to 10 Grade III Pipe Bands will compete in a 3-5 Minute
Medley competition during the Saturday night ceilidh. The performance will
be recorded and critiqued by the judges during the Sunday morning session.
This is an unsanctioned event, but cash prizes will be awarded.

The registration form is available for download from the Branch website.

Congratulations to Andrew Walker who will be representing the MidAtlantic
Branch at both the Sandy Jones Invitational Amateur Grade I Piping Championships
on February 11th and the Metro Cup Amateur competition on February 18th.

The latest copy of the Branch newsletter is now available from the Branch website.

— Thompson McConnell, MidAtlantic Branch Chairman

Maj Archie Cairns Cup

The Ottawa Branch PPBSO Website Maj Archie Cairns Cup is on January 8th, 2005, 7:30 p.m.

Judge/Recitalist…. Bob Worrall

“B” Division piping…. slow air, four parts of a 6/8 March (one/two tunes)

Time: 7:30 pm. - all competitors are asked to be registered by 7:15 pm.
If you can’t make it by 7:15, please contact any of the Ottawa Branch executive in advance to reserve a spot in the draw.

Place: The Walkey Road Armouries, 2100 Walkley Road, between St. Laurent Blvd and Conroy Ave (the Armouries are on the south side of Walkley Ave, right beside the Walkley Bowling Centre parking lot).
Cost: $5.00 for everyone (competitors included)

*** NOTE: do not park in the reserved parking spots, the Armouries are a 24/7 facility ***.

The Chanter Safe Special

This case not only thoroughly protects chanters - it also looks great and only costs about as much two reeds! The Chanter Safe features polyethylene construction, a lockable flip-top lid, protective foam at each end and a carrying handle.

Extremely light-weight and compact, The Chanter Safe is the perfect gift for the piper who has everything else! It will also fit many sizes of whistles and flutes.

The product is not on the website at the moment but keep checking by going to the General Website Link. There is also a special buy now link Buy Now Link