Bagpipe News

The music and pageantry of the Highlands were on display today in an annual event that draws thousands to the Kilgore area. The Celtic Heritage Festival was held on the grounds of Kilgore Intermediate School. The 15th annual event featured bagpipe music, arts and crafts and traditional, Celtic folk music. Direct descendants of Scottish clans were on hand to celebrate their heritage. The festival continues from noon to dark on Sunday.

Read More online at KLTV - Texas

Highland games at Rural Hill Farm give a glimpse of Scotland, Ireland

HUNTERSVILLE NC - APRIL 21-23, 2006

Mad Max McDougald was armed to the hilt, the Scottish pirate carrying a hatchet, a sword and three knives hidden about his body.
See audio-enhanced slide show presentation here.

Dressed in a black tri-corner hat and wearing an eye patch along with his Scottish kilt, it was 49-year-old Nathaniel Ellis-Maxwell McDougald III who brought Mad Max to life as he made his way through the Loch Norman Highland Games on Saturday.
He’s attended 12 of the past 13 events in Huntersville, dressing as various Scottish characters, and this day he chose the guise of a pirate.

“Most of the pirates were Scotsman or Irish,” McDougald said.
With his character of Max a returning favorite at the games, many people called to him as they passed through the rainy festival grounds.

Bagpipes played through the air, with more than 20 bagpipe bands on the field. A fiddle could be heard in one distant tent. In another tent a group of girls began a Highland dance, as they spun around the stage.

Read more online Independent Tribune

Games Website http://www.ruralhillfarm.org/

Greg Wilson wins Clasp, Iain Robertson Gold Medal

Greg Wilson claimed yet another Clasp with his victory in the Comunn na Piobaireachd NZ’s Clasp event held in Hastings at the weekend. This event was held indoors for the first time on the Friday evening before a very large appreciative audience. Greg played The Old Men of the Shells. George Mason was second playing Lady MacDonald’s Lament, Brendon Eade with The Old Men of the Shells was 3rd and Marion Horsburgh was 4th with Pride of Barra.

Read more online Comunn na Piobaireachd NZ

CROWN POINT: Police officers raise money for trip to capital

“We think we are pretty good, and it is a lot of fun for us,” said Ray Borchert, president of the pipe band.

Before members could don their brown and gold kilts — which match many members’ Lake County uniforms — they had to get permission from Scotland’s Buchanan clan. Members of the group also serve on the Crown Point, Lake Station, Thornton and Flossmoor police departments.

…

“It’s not cheap,” he said. “The kilt is about $500 because of the pleating, and the bagpipes cost about $2,000 each.

“Every man pays for his own, and it gets expensive. But it’s worth it. It is a throw back in history. It’s a tradition for law enforcement to wear the plaid, and we are proud to do it.”

Read More online at Northwest Times Online

Warm sunshine and record attendance numbers poured onto the Lyon College campus at the 27th annual Arkansas Scottish Festival during its three-day run Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Jimmy Bell, Lyon’s director of Scottish Heritage, estimated that 10,000 people attended the event this year, up from last year’s previous record of 8,000.

“I believe 10,000 was the most ever at this festival,” he said. “All the vendors were very happy. Some even wanted to pay me now for next year’s spot.”

The festival featured bagpipers, clans, dancers, drummers, falconry exhibitions, athletics, sheepdog demonstrations and musical entertainment. Vendor booths offered everything from Scottish and American foods to clan regalia, kilts and Claiborne broadswords.

Read the entire article at Guard Online

NEW SHOW NOW UP - 21st April 2006

This week we have Breabach in the studio to talk about their pipe based
band. We will also have a couple of exclusive tracks from their demo and
chat to them about their forthcoming album.

We have some music from Brian Donaldson, Flook and Paddy Keenan as well
as a track from the new CD from the Whistlebinkies, “Albanach”.

From next week, the Piobaireachd of the Week will be for subscribers only.
So if you have not subscribed, be sure to check out this weeks guide through
by clicking here. POTW3

Flook

Brian Donaldson

The Whistlebinkies

Breabach

Paddy Keenan

Calum Kennedy

PlanetPipe Radio Show

21 April Show NOW AVAILABLE

CLICK LINK TO LISTEN: Piobaireachd of the Week

POTW4
POTW2

Join in the Feis as we once again showcase Piobaireachd (Gaelic for: the
playing of the bagpipe; pronounced PEE – b’ rukh), the classical music of
the Great Highland Bagpipe and Ceol Beag (light music). Featuring, Roddy
MacLeod, MBE (Scotland) - one of the world’s most accomplished solo-pipers
– who won piping’s most coveted awards and many of them several times over.
Roddy is a former Pipe Major of the world renowned Scottish Power Pipe Band
and founding director of piping at The Piping Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.
The concert also features former Oban Gold Medalist Iain Speirs (Scotland);
solo and band piping legend Bill Livingston (ON); North American Gold Medalist
Roderick MacLean (NS); and New Brunswick’s own Silver Medalist Andy Rogers.

The 2005 concert attendance became the second largest paid audience in the
world for a Piobaireachd only performance. A must see event! Friday, June
2, 2006 at the Kenneth C. Rowe Heritage Hall, Pier 21 National Historic
Site. Showtime is 7:00 PM. Tickets are $30.00 + HST.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD OPENS THE HALIFAX CELTIC FEIS Friday, April 21, 2006
Halifax, NS - The 78th Highlanders Halifax Citadel Pipes and Drums are Atlantic
Canada’s most successful pipe band and they will be making their first public
concert performance in over 10 years at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, on
Thursday June 1, 2006 at 7:30pm.

“The 78th Highlanders Halifax Citadel have won pipe band championships at
the highest levels in Atlantic Canada, won both Canadian and North American
championships in 2003, and have competed at the World Pipe Band Championships
in Scotland various times over the last fifteen years. It is time for the
group to perform at home in Nova Scotia”, says Pipe Major Roderick MacLean.

The June concert, entitled “Changing of the Guard”, celebrates the 100th
anniversary of the departure of the last British garrison from Halifax and
the full assumption of responsibility by Canadians for our own defense.
Celebrations are also planned for this historical event at the base of the
Halifax Citadel in July 2006.

The “Changing of the Guard” Concert will feature vocal and instrumental
soloists, high energy Highland and step dancing, and an ensemble of traditional
Celtic musicians from Nova Scotia. Performances by the 78th Highlanders
Halifax Citadel Pipes and Drums, The MacQuarrie Highland Dancers, Glenn
Graham, Troy MacGillivray, Dave MacIsaac, Patricia Murray, and Damien Moynihan.

From the evocative tone of the Scottish air to the toe tapping twist of
the reel, there is something Celtic for everyone on the opening night of
the Halifax Celtic Feis!

The “Changing of the Guard” Concert is proudly sponsored by The Scottish
Lion, The Changing of the Guard Committee, Parks Canada, and the Halifax
Regional Municipality.

Tickets are $25.00, including HST, and can be purchased through the Rebecca
Cohn Box Office, Little Scotland, and the Halifax Celtic Feis website and
box office. Seating is reserved with show time beginning at 7:30 PM.

For more information and media inquiries contact: Scott Long, Production
Manager, Halifax Celtic Feis, Ph. 902.444.3000, slong@hypemc.com or Roderick
MacLean, Pipe Major, 78th Highlanders Halifax Citadel Pipes and Drums, Ph.
902.422.5979

The Halifax Celtic Feis is an international festival celebrating our rich
Celtic heritage through music, dance, and the arts being held June 1-4,
2006. For more information visit: http://www.halifaxcelticfeis.com

Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Association

The ACPBA has agreed to post some of the results of this work on it’s website beginning in October 2004. Some of the articles will be out-takes from my books, “Pipers of Nova Scotia: Biographical Sketches 1773 to 2000″ and “Pipe Bands of Nova Scotia: 1898 to 2000″ while others will be of more recent vintage. All stories have been edited for release on this website.

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

4/8/2006
Roddy, Willie, Alasdair tops at MacLeod Memorial
Annual Stornoway invitational event

3/27/2006
Carlisle wins Irish Silver Medal
Limerick event held by Irish Piobaireachd Society

3/27/2006
Drummond, McRitchie come up big at Duncan Johnstone
Memorial contest for B- and C-Grade pipers

The California Summer School of Piping offers intensive instruction by five Scottish professional pipers and one or two talented American pipers in the playing and maintenance of the Great Highland Bagpipe

The school is open to all ages and to pipers of all levels of skill from raw beginners to competition players. Each student is placed in a class of 8 to 10 students within their level of experience and skill.

Emphasis is placed on marches, strathspeys, airs, reels, jigs and hornpipes. Optional classes are offered in the afternoon, such as piobaireachd, reedmaking, pipe band techniques, and bagpipe maintenance.

Nightly lectures and recitals are offered by the instructors demonstrating prize-winning piping and presenting some interesting history about bagpipes and piping.

School June 16-24, 2006 - Click for More Info

Sunday June 25, 2006

Edmonton’s largest and oldest Scottish Festival

Piping, Drumming, Band and Highland Dancing Competitions;

Clan Tents; Sheep Dog Demos; Scottish Food & Wares.
At Grant MacEwan Park,
3105 - 101 St. S.W., Edmonton
For further information Call: 988-5357

Edmonton Scottish Society Highland Games Info

Stuart Cassells joins the College of Piping teaching staff

Originally from Falkirk, Stuart started playing at the age of 8 years old and went on to play in Grade One Pipe Bands by the time he was thirteen, including the famous McNaughtons Vale of Atholl Pipe Band and The Royal Burgh of Stirling Pipe Band.

After winning nearly all the major juvenile solo Bagpiping Championships he played on the much respected album, “Young Pipers of Scotland” - at the age of just 17. His achievements continued when at 18 he became one of the youngest ever Pipe Majors. Today he is reading for a degree in The Great Highland Bagpipe at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow.

Stuart won the coveted award BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2005, at Celtic Connections in Glasgow.

Gary Carruthers wins both Piobaireachd (MacCrimmon’s Sweetheart) and MSR at SPA ‘C’ grade comp.
held at College of Piping

May 13th, 2006, 8:00 a.m.

Winchester Indoor Games
Winchester, Ontario

St Lawrence Street (beside hospital)

Entry forms here

The Winners of the 2005 - 2006 Ottawa Branch Knock Out Contest. See full
results on our the PPBSO - Ottawa Results Page

http://www.ppbso-ottawa.org/results.htm