2011 Piping Recitals at Tulloch Castle

The 2011 season opens with :

• Euan MacCrimmon on Saturday 15 January 2011 at Tulloch Castle, Dingwall
• Stuart Liddle on Saturday 12 February 2011 at Tulloch Castle, Dingwall
• Pipe Major Gordon Walker on Saturday 26 March 2011 at Tulloch Castle, Dingwall

Please arrive at 7.30pm for 8.00pm for the recitals.  Entrance is £10 for adults and under 15's pay £5

Inverness Solo Piping Results 2010

Junior MSR (under 18)

Craig MacKenzie 2010 Junior Champion

1. Craig MacKenzie (Dunballoch, Beauly)
2. Hannah MacDonald (Bettyhill)
3. Steven Barclay (Inverness)

Junior PIOBAIREACHD

1. Craig MacKenzie (Dunballoch, Beauly)
2. Steven Barclay (Inverness)

Senior MSR

1. Niall Matheson (Inverness)
2. James Gore (Bingley, Yorkshire)
3. Iain Marshall (Oban)

Euan MacCrimmon playing

Senior PIOBAIREACHD

1. Niall Matheson (Inverness)
2. Iain Marshall (Oban)
3. Kyle Morton (Dingwall)

Senior Overall Champion: Niall Matheson
Winner of the Waterside Hotel Cup and the Bratach a Phiobaire: Niall Matheson

Donald MacPhee Recital May 2010

Donald's recital was the last of the winter series which took off in January with Roddy Macleod.  This recital took place in Dingwall Town Hall, a large hall, slightly on the cool side at first but soon warmed up. Donald has a very friendly and informal style and chatted to the audience between sessions.  His piobaireachd was the Earl of Antrim, and very enjoyable it was too, played on a set of Henderson drones.  The second session he changed over to a set of Lawrie's for strathspeys and reels, hormpipes and jigs.  All very enjoyable on good sounding pipes. 

Young Niall Jack from Culbokie played two sessions of 15-20 minutes on a set of McCallums with a very nice tone.  Niall is an accomplished player and plays for fun rather than competition, which I have a deal of sympathy for.  

Turnout was good for a very wet 24hours in this part of Scotland and now we look forward to the restart of recitals in the month of October.

McCallum Bagpipes Latest News 17 May 2010

Kenny and Stuart have announced improvements to the McCallum Bagpipe range:

"We have been using a new alloy on the mounts instead of nickel, and in fact we have been using it since the end of last year. The mounts will be made by us, so it means we will be able to thread them, and therefore thread the wood as well, so that all the ferrules, ringcaps, projecting mounts and hemp retainers will be threaded from now on

All the projecting mounts have been threaded for several months, so the next logical progression was to thread all the parts.  The threaded mounts, which some people in the market place prefer, takes us on to the same level as some of the hand makers.

There won’t be any change in price -  See the brochure here

The alloy also won’t tarnish, which is another thing people dislike. Nickel can tarnish pretty quickly and once it gets too bad, it’s impossible to clean. We’re changing the imitation ivory as well, to a much stronger material, which again will be easier to thread, but wont chip. It’s a better colour than the whiter stuff we used before, and it looks more like ivory, so it has a lot of positives."

Andrea Boyd's Recital

Andrea (see left) took the Train Journey North, up over the snowy Drumochter Pass and onto Inverness.  This was a wonderful performance and quoting one listener: 'That performance was worth a lot of money'.  It was, and well worth the small entrance price. More of the recital in a moment..

The evening was introduced by Karla Urquhart from Muir of Ord.  Karla gave a very strong performance and showed herself to be in full control of her instrument.  You could see in her eyes the flashes of controlled smiles as she played for us.  Two excellent sessions from Karla and it was obvious why she won the under-15 March at the 2008 Northern Meeting.

Back to Andrea and lets start with her pipes, a set of glorious sounding Naill Pipes and Naill chanter, sheepskin bag, Ezeedrone tenors, cane bass and I am certain that was a Warnock Chesney pipe chanter reed.  Chesney go very well with the new Naill chanter (designed by Pipe Major Roddy MacLeod).  These chanters are being trialled by senior pipers in the QOH Association Pipe Band and I hear the feedback is extremely positive.  A great sounding chanter.  Andrea had set up the instrument to give off  it's best - steady drones, well tuned and a great overal balance in tone.  I was extremely envious!

A few video clips to give the sense of the performance, sorry but I still cannot get the hang of the mobile phone used to capture these clips.  However, YouTube do a great job in sharpening the video.  I hope you enjoy them.  She gave us the full range of MSR, Hornpipes, jigs, Gaelic Airs, Cape Breton pieces (beautiful), however, I failed to video Andrea's outstanding playing of the Piobaireachd 'Lament for the Earl of Seaforth', so enthrolling was the performance.  This was a big miss by me and my apologies.

The audience came away full of admiration and praise for both pipers and many will chart their progress with real interest.  Karla (see below) is tutored by Trevor Dear, Dingwall.

New Pipe Banner Prize

At this year's Inverness Highland Games, the senior competing piper with the highest points will win a banner plus their cash prizes.  This banner, to be known as Bratach a' Phìobaire, and donated by the Inverness Piping Society, will be retained by the Champion Piper for a period of one year.  You can see an artist impression of the banner design on the Inverness Piping Society website.

Inverness Games 2010 to use CPA list of Piping Judges

The Piping Events at the Inverness Games (next on 24 July 2010) are run by the Inverness Piping Society (IPS). Registration of pipers, stewarding of pipers and awarding of prizes is done by members of the Society. The Society want to support competing pipers so that success in the Inverness Games will count towards their professional progression. The IPS therefore decided to use Judges for the Senior and Junior events, drawn from the Competing Pipers Association lists of Senior and Approved Judges.

Keep checking the Inverness Piping Society Website for latest details and Prize Money on offer.

McCallum Bagpipes Roadshow

Can the Highlands take any more of quality entertainment?  Yes we can!  A brilliant night in Dingwall RBL, with four pipers of tremendous ability holding the fort before the King of Pipers himself, Willie McCallum came on to let us hear how pipes should be played and sound.

This was an evening organised by 'Friends of the Lewis & Harris Piping Society' - a few of whom, it just so happens, are also members of the Inverness Piping Society.

The Roadshow was full of interest for me personally.  Not only watching and listening to experienced Scottish pipers, playing beautifully sounding instruments, but for many of us hearing a young talented Breton piper - Sylvain Hamon - playing Highland, Irish and Breton music.  It was wonderful.  Sylvain is pictured left wearing his traditional Breton waistcoat as he waits to come on and play.  See a clip on YouTube.


We even had a small pipes session during the evening with Rory Grossart and Stuart McCallum, Rory playing Fred Morrison small pipes and Stuart playing, I think, a German built electronic pipe (Redpipes Caledonia) which has a bag that fits under the arm.  Orange-red in colour to match your kilt flashes or handbag!

The stage was set to a backdrop of McCallum publicity, and for those in the audience there were freebies - McCallum hand towels (a must for every pipe box) and the McCallum baseball cap.  Quite a scrum at half-time!  I think goodies went to some members of Beauly Firth and Glens, Dingwall RBL, and The Army Cadets were not outdone.   Even the 'Old and Bold' of the QOH Regimental Association band will get a present from Santa to mop themselves after a blaw!

Stuart McCallum, who won major championships with ScottishPower Pipe Band and Strathclyde Police Pipe Band, and is now a Director and founder member of McCallum Bagpipes, started the evening off playing a beautiful sounding set of McCallums, equipped with MG drone reeds, chanter reed and McC² chanter.  Stuart is the man who oversees the technologically advanced production side of the bagpipe production, costly, but money well spent in my opinion.

Kenny MacLeod, who is known to frequent these 'pairts' in the summer, played himself on with a silver and ivory mounted set of McCallums.  Obvious enjoyment from Kenny as he strutted his stuff and showed why he was Pipe Major with Grade 1 outfits.  Very strong fingerwork and extremely entertaining - even on the Bongos!  Both Stuart and Kenny enjoyed a well earned pint drawn by the hands of the Dingwall RBL bar staff.

 

There was yet more to come, with Rory Grossart showing why he is seriously considering entering the solo competition circuit this coming year.  Being the man behind MG reeds, Rory played an impeccable instrument in terms of sound and tone.  Rory has written a very good article on reed manipulation and this can be found at the National Piping Centre website, take a look.  The other half of my life, one half  being the bagpipe and the other my wife, left the 10 megapixel camera at home (so which half am I talking about?).  So it was up to me to capture the essence of this great evening by using my mobile (3.2 mpixels) which is why the images and video are so poor.  My advice is to always wipe the grease from the lens before taking shots, oh, and read the manual, needless to say I never follow my own advice!  Back to Rory, here's a clip on YouTube.

I think Rory will be a strong contender in the prize lists and many of us who came to this Roadshow will follow his progress with interest.  A really very good piper and an excellent reed maker.  I now know why upturned reeds have their uses, thanks Rory.

Willie McCallum is still for me the no.1 piper in Scotland, classically correct and such relaxed fingerwork.  His drones were as perfect as you can get and he played faultlessly to an entranced audience.  The only criticism is that we could have heard more and more of Willie's playing.  But the evening had to draw to a close and Willie left to join the others as they all played matching McCallum chanters to finish off a really good evening's entertainment and at £8 a head, worth every penny.

At left is Kenny MacLeod on the 'Bongos' during the final session with all 5 pipers on stage playing McC² chanters.  Watch them on YouTube!

A big thanks to McCallum Bagpipes for generously putting on this Concert, in aid of the Donald MacLeod Memorial Competition.

What Talented Pipers!

Gordon Walker and young Brighde Campbell from Sleat, Isle of Skye entertained a big audience in Dingwall's Tulloch Castle Hotel.  Well over 90 people braved the dark February evening to hear these two very gifted and musical pipers perform.  Gordon played his silver mounted Naill bagpipe with a McCallum chanter.  What a sweet sound!

Both pipers played two sessions, which is unusual for the junior support piper, but Brighde was up for it.  The evening was full of quality 2/4 Competition Marches which would have pleased many of the audience drawn from east and west, north and south.  Many facing a long journey home, but the smiles on the faces of the audience showed that they knew they had been truly entertained.

National Piobaireachd Champion

Charles MacDonald, Ross & Cromarty Schools Pipes and Drums Band member and also a member of Inverness Piping Society, returned north from the 2010 Open Piping Competitions held in the National Piping Centre in Glasgow with the 1st Prize for the under-15 Piobaireachd. Charles played an outstanding 'Mary MacLeod' to take the prize, our congratulations.  The February competition was open to pipers from across the UK and Ireland, so Charles had stiff competition to shrug off!
Charles has started coming to the Piping Society meetings in Inverness and is one of the band of young pipers who do so.  The atmosphere is quite relaxed and a good place to practice - in front of a 'home crowd' would be a fair description.

CD's of Bagpipe Music for Sale

Gordon Walker will bring a selection of CDs featuring his bagpipe playing when he comes to Tulloch Castle on Saturday 27 February.  The CDs will be on sale during the interval, so come prepared.  You might spot one you didn't have!

Tulloch Castle Recital Go-Ahead

Tulloch Castle's Grand Hall will be the venue for Gordon Walker's recital on Saturday 27 February.  The admission prices are £8 for adults, £4 for juniors.  Members pay £6 for adults and £2 for Juniors.  I would advise coming at 7.30pm, the programme will start at 8.00pm.  Bring along a friend, maybe someone who has never been to a recital before, do your bit to widen interest in the music of the Highland Bagpipe.

Piping Society reduces recital admission charges

During a very recent Committee discussion regarding venues in Dingwall, it was agreed to reduce the admission charges from those proposed at the AGM, as follows:

Adult non-Member admission reduced from £10 to £8
Adult Member of the Society admission reduced from £8 to £6 (upon production of membership card)
• Juvenile non-Member admission unchanged at £4
• Juvenile Member admission discounted to £2 (upon production of membership card)
  

Membership of Inverness Piping Society is open to all those interested in the music of the Great Highland Bagpipe and annual subscriptions are applicable from 1 Jan to 31 Dec are as follows:

• Adult (19 years and over) £7 per annum
• Juvenile (18 years and under) No charge on production of Membership Card

Becoming a member of the Society will ensure that you are kept informed of recitals and other piping related events that we are either organising or have been passed information on. If you are a lapsed member and wish to renew your membership, you can do this at any of our recital evenings or email a request to invernesspiping@gmail.com

Dingwall to be blitzed by big drones

After the finish to 2009 when we could not fit any recitals into our calendar, and which seemed to have alarmed many piping enthusiasts in the Ross-shire area, we have exciting news.
As you already know, the year of 2010 starts with Pipe Major Roddy Macleod, MBE in the Royal British Legion, bringing joy back into your life after the short daylight, heavy snow and ice.
Then just when you have managed to get your senses back to normality, Gordon Walker will take you on another high.  Pure joy.
The McCallum Roadshow hits the Royal British Legion in March with Willie McCallum and piping friends plus a drummer.
Start saving as rising star Andrea Boyd will come north to Dingwall's National Hotel on the evening of Saturday April 17, and this promises to be the recital you will remember for a long time.
To complete the first half of the year, that firm favourite in the Highlands, Donald MacPhee will give an evening piping recital in Dingwall's Town hall on Saturday 29 May which again promises to be a sell-out.  Don't say you weren't warned and keep an eye on the website for up-to-date news regarding these and other events.