The world
championship winning
Simon
Fraser University Pipe Band held their 16th annual
Piping
Hot Summer Drummer at Silver Star Mountain Resort,
Vernon, British Columbia this July, one of the world's
largest piping and drumming workshops. The workshop runs
two individual week-long residential courses, instructed
by pipers and drummers from the SFU organisation.
As
part of the workshops, organiser Jack Lee holds a
composition competition each week, with the winner
winning a pipe chanter and the runners-up winning a
practice chanter. McCallum Bagpipes was delighted
provide all 6 awards to SFU for the winners of the
contests.
Jack
has indicated that the winning tunes may debut at
The
Silver Cap competition, to be held in Todds Bar
Glasgow on Tuesday 10 August, 2010. You can download the
manuscript of both tunes by clicking on the links here:
'Fired
Up'
will feature Bucksburn & District Pipe Band and Boghall
& Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band in an end of season
concert on 9 October, 2010 at the Aberdeen Music Hall.
The concert,
one of the biggest undertakings Bucksburn & District
Pipe Band has ever tackled, will go down in the North
East of Scotland’s pipe band history as one of the
greatest events to take place there for over 20 years.
Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band are delighted to
have been asked to play at such an event and will take
with them a 40 strong Band to entertain the audience in
Aberdeen. The event hopes to attract a sell-out crowd
with Boghall & Bathgate being the main attraction with
performances from Bucksburn’s youth and senior Bands
where the experience and talents of Pipe Major Robert
Stewart and Leading Drummer Scott Niven will command
from the front.
Gus McAskill,
Bucksburn Band President, says “It’s great to have
such an event like this here in Aberdeen. To secure a
top class Grade One Band of the caliber of Boghall &
Bathgate Caledonia is wonderful, not only for Bucksburn
Pipe Band, but for the whole of the North East. Boghall
& Bathgate are a fantastic Band with very talented
players and are guided by 2 of the best in the business,
Pipe Major Ross Walker and Leading Drummer Gordon
Brown.”
We are pleased to
bring you some exciting news of improvements to
McCallum Bagpipes.
McCallum Bagpipes has
been using a new alloy on our 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. It’s a big step forward,
and will be a good selling point as well.
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.
The new alloy won’t tarnish, which is another thing
positive, as 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 material we
used before and it looks more like ivory, so it has a
lot of positives.
Finally; the biggest positive of all,
there
is no change in price!
Pipe Major Terry Tully of
St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band
was presented with a set of full silver McCallum
Bagpipes by Stuart McCallum at the bands 100th anniversary
dinner. The band made the presentation to Terry for his
outstanding service over the years. All of the
band's members had contributed to this fantastic gift.
Terry has led the
band to major championships successes in recent seasons,
topped off by a Champion of Champions title in 2008.
Last season, the band achieved its highest ever placing
at the World Pipe Band Championships, taking third place
with two fantastic performances.
Terry immediately struck up the pipes and played a tune
for the occasion's guests. You can enjoy Terry's first
set on his new McCallum Bagpipes here:
Congratulations to everyone
in the band on reaching their centenary milestone from
McCallum Bagpipes.
The
McCallum Bagpipes Roadshow
traveled to Dingwall recently to help
raise funds for the Donald Macleod
Memorial Contest.
Pictured with the McCallum Bagpipes
Roadshow team are Don Smith who
organised the event, Rona Lightfoot, and
Susan and Fiona Macleod, Donald’s two
daughters who travelled up from Glasgow
for the night.
Don Smith said
“The Roadshow was a great success
attracting a good and knowledgeable
audience, who were treated to crisp and
musical performances on well set up
pipes. I personally thought the evening
went well and hope you all enjoyed it as
much as I did. It is very much
appreciated that McCallum Bagpipes
agreed to donate the proceeds of the
evening to the Donald MacLeod Memorial
competition which is organised and run
by The Lewis & Harris Piping Society in
Stornoway each April.
The atmosphere of the evening was all
added to by the presence of Donald’s
daughters Susan and Fiona who had
travelled up from Glasgow for the
evening and a couple of renditions of
Susan MacLeod went down well.”
McCallum Bagpipes player Jonathon Richards found
Scottish conditions to practice in while in the mountains of
Almaty,
Kazakhstan.
"I
have played them in the mountains, although there is a risk
of avalanche and also when its very cold (minus 25) and very
dry. Occasionally one of the drones cuts out... but that
could just be my playing!" Jonathon said.
Jonathon
is in Kazakhstan in the capacity of Director of Music at
Haileybury Almaty, a brand new English speaking Public
school established in the country to cater for children of
well-to-do Kazakhstani families, as well as ex-pats. The
school offers a traditional British education and music has
a high priority. "Bagpipes have been used here for
centuries, although I sense that the early models, which I
have seen displayed in the Almaty Museum of Folk Music, were
unlikely to have had the same smoothness of tone that
McCallum Bagpipes produce."
Jonathon
pipes regularly at functions in the ex-pat community, as
seen above with his McCallum Bagpipes at a Burns
Supper held in Almaty.
Thanks to
Jonathon for the great story and for flying the McCallum
Bagpipes flag in Kazakhstan!
Kyle Coughlin
of Toronto Police Pipe Band won the 2010 PPBSO (Toronto
Branch) Amateur Solo Piping Knockout Series held in front of
a packed audience at the Moss Park Armoury, Ontario on
Saturday 6 March, 2010.
McCallum
Bagpipes was pleased to support the competition, after
meeting with Rob McKenzie of the PPBSO while in Lorient,
Brittany last summer. A
McCallum MC² Solo
Chanterwas donated to the competition to be
awarded to the winner. Kyle (pictured above) is a very
talented young piper and Rob reports that he will put his
new chanter to very good use.
Eric
Bruce, Grade 5 piper of the day and winner of a McCallum
Bagpipes practice chanter. He is 12 years old, from
Richmond Hill, ON
Sam Goodwin, Grade 3 piper of the day. Sam lives in Toronto
and
studies piping with Gail Brown. He won the top prize - a
McCallum MC² Solo
Chanter.
Alex Seto, Grade 4 piper of the day and winner of a
McCallum Bagpipes practice chanter. Alex studies with
Jim McGillivray at St. Andrew's College in Aurora Ontario,
and won the Grade 4 March contest against a field of 16
competitors.
Liam Melville, Grade 2 piper of the day and winner of a
McCallum Bagpipes practice chanter. Liam lives in Refrew
Ontario, plays with the Arnprior MacNab Pipe Band, and
studies with Ross Brown.
McCallum
Bagpipes would like to congratulate all of the prize
winners.
Robin Robertson is
a 13 year old, Grade 3 piper from Calgary,
Alberta, Canada traveling with his parents for
the year and sharing the music of his
McCallum Bagpipes in some pretty unusual
places.
When planning our trip Robin insisted he bring
his pipes along as he wanted to continue to play
and it made it his own journey rather than
simply travelling along with Mom and Dad. We
started in Australia, having the opportunity to
play with the Launceston St. Andrews Caledonian
Pipe Band and enjoy a weekend workshop with the
majority of Tasmanian pipers and drummers. The
next stage of the trip brought our family to
Kathmandu, Nepal where we've spent the last 5
months.
Here we live in a close cluster of houses so
practices cannot go unnoticed and before we knew
it, Robin was involved in all manner of events
to perform on his pipes. He's played at a
Hindu wedding, a German Bakery's Christmas
event, several schools, a running of the
Himalayan Hash House Harrier group and private
functions. In each case, just assembling the
pipes stops traffic. Although there are pipes
among some of the Gurkha members of the British
Army, they're a rare sight here. At the school
events, Robin has delighted the kids by playing
several tunes before completely disassembling
the pipes for demonstration purposes, then he
reassembles and continues to play. The kids are
mesmerized by this display and performance.
At a hilltop Hindu temple, an elderly Nepalese
gentleman, offered to play his reed horn for us
as we headed out for the day's trek. To his
surprise, Robin responded by pulling out his
practice chanter. As the wordless conversation
began and the instruments were mutually
explored, they began to alternate, playing for
one another, tune after tune on these strangely
related instruments. The tunes were quite
different but the broad grins matched very well!
The most recent and perhaps most anticipated
performance was at the Himalayan Hoolie, a
Robbie Burns celebration held at the Stirling
Club of Kathmandu. Piping in the faux haggis (the organizers were unable to import the
required delicacy in time for the event this
year) and providing several sets for the group,
Robin had the opportunity to don his kilt and
kit, tuck in his Kukuri (Gurkha knife he's
wearing as a Skian Dubh) and enjoy the company
of people who had some prior experience with
pipe music.
The travels continue and next we'll be looking
for an opportunity to pipe with others in
Brittany, France. When Robin returns home and to
the Ogden Legion Pipe Band in Calgary, he'll be
thrilled to be among his friends again but the
experiences he's having as a young solo piper
abroad are sure to stay with him for years to
come!
Brian McKenzie of Seattle
struck silver not once, but twice at this years MHAF Winter
Storm Silver Medal, held in Kansas City on Friday 16
January, 2010. Brian's first place with his 'Lament for Mary
MacLeod' won him the MHAF Silver Medal for Piobaireachd,
$500 cash and a set of Sterling Silver mounted McCallum Bagpipes.
Other competitors in the prize
list, namely Will Nichols, Elizabeth Sheridan, David Wilton
and Derek Midgley won wooden models of theMcCallum MC² Solo
Chanter. Brian is pictured above receiving
his awards from MWPBA President Drew Hoinacki and James
Moore of Henderson Imports.
McCallum
Bagpipes has been a strong supporter of the Midwest
Highland Arts Fund's Winter Storm weekend and is proud to
sponsor the solo piping events. Congratulations to all of
the prize winners and to everyone at MHAF on creating a
wonderful day of piping.
Thanks to
Henry Spangler of MHAF for providing the photography.
Willie
McCallum of Bearsden won the
prestigious Gordon Duncan Memorial Invitational
Solo Piping Competition in Glasgow's National Piping Centre
on Sunday 17 January, 2010. With one first and two third
placings, Willie took overall first place and chalked up yet
another top spot for the
McCallum MC² Solo
Chanter.
The event
consists of a gruelling three-leg performance fought over by world
class invited competitors, who are required to play individual sets
of Scottish, Irish & Breton music.
Also in the
prize list wasformer winner and McCallum Pipe
Chanter
player Sylvain Hamon of Brittany, who took third place
overall. Other competitors included Xavier Boderiou, former
winner Alexis Meunier, Stuart Liddell & Alen Tully.
McCallum
Bagpipes was delighted as ever to be sponsor of this
fantastic
competition organised by the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust.
Our thanks also to John Slavin for the photography.
The
2009 George Sheriff Memorial Invitational Solo Piping
Competition was won by Richard Gillies from Portland, Oregon
(right) on 21 November, 2009.
The 'Sheriff
Memorial' takes place every year in Hamilton in Ontario,
Canada and brings 10 of the year's best amateur soloists
together to compete at what is now established as a
prestigious date in the North American piping calendar.
Richard won
the event with first places in the Piobaireachd and 6/8
Marches and third in the March, Strathspey & Reel. Richard
won a full set of McCallum Bagpipes which he can be
seen here with. Organiser Bob Worrall reported that the
competition was a great success and added that Richard is
delighted with his new McCallum Bagpipes.
McCallum Bagpipes player Cameron Neve, a piper with
Greater Manchester Army Cadets Pipe Band won the
Seumas MacNeill
trophy for the juvenile march competition at the recent
North West England Piping Society Competition. The
competition was judged by Pipe Major Gordon Walker and piper
Kevin McNulty, both from Mauchline & District Pipe Band, who
performed a recital at night after the competition.
Cameron
is pictured above with Allan Hamilton, who presented the
prizes on the day. Our thanks to Owen Nash for providing the
story and picture.
McCallum
Bagpipes was once
again pleased to support the Aberdeen & District Piping
Society Practice Chanter Competition for young, developing
pipers in the area.
Prize-winners in the
front row are Alistair Webster who was 1st in the
Chanter event, Kierin Addison who was second in the
Piping and overall winner Lewis Maitland
Each of the prize winners received a McCallum
Bagpipes practice chanter and the overall winner
won a McCallum Bagpipes pipe bag. Absent from
the picture is secretary Robert Thomson, who George
Greig would like to thank for his hard work in
organising this year's competition.
Congratulations to all of the prize winners from
McCallum Bagpipes.
McCallum Bagpipes player Brian Young has been practicing
hard for the Scottish remake of the epic film Titanic. Just
a bit bit of fun on our part, but Brian was kind enough to
send in a some pictures of him on the bow of his ship 'Tyco
Decisive' in the Gulf of Aden.
A keen
piper with Maine Public Safety Pipe & Drum Corps in the USA,
Brian is able to maintain his piping practice schedule
on-board the vessel, which is his home as well as his work
while he is on the Arabian Sea.
Brian's
ship is large enough that he can practice with his
McCallum Bagpipes on deck without disturbing his
colleagues. Brian told us "The
Captain says me and my pipes are an excellent anti-pirate
device...".
Pictured
here on the left with fellow piper Brendan Murphy, Brian
told us more about his band
and himself. Brian said "The Maine Public Safety Pipe &
Drum Corps is a non-profit organization made up of
public safety members and their families -(Military,
Police, Fire, Dispatch). Our mission is to honour all
public safety personnel both locally and nationally by
providing Scottish music for funerals and memorials
without any cost. We also represent the men and women of
Maine's Public Safety by participating in a variety of
events, such as funerals, memorials, fairs, community
events, parades, Highland Game & gatherings.
I started taking lessons in
2001 and joined the Corps in 2008. As a kid growing up
in New York, my father (an Irish New York City Police
Officer) brought me into New York City to hear the NYPD
Emerald Society Pipes & Drums perform at many events.
Ever since then, I had always wanted to take up the
pipes. Right after the events of 9/11, I was compelled
to learn.
Currently, I am in the US
Merchant Marine; I sail as a Chief Engineeraboard an
American-crewed, ocean-going cableship. We have layed,
buried and repaired fiber-optic communications cables
all over the world. As of November, 2009, we are in the
Arabian Sea, installing a cable from Djibouti to Oman
and India. I have been going to sea since 1987.
Since joining the MPSPDC, I
have been bringing my bagpipes out to theship. I
practice every day in the bowels of the engine room. The
diesel engines drown out the tunes, but it's a great way
to 'escape' from the day's work."
We are
always keen to hear good news stories about where
McCallum Bagpipes end up. Thanks to Brian for getting in
touch and keep up the good work protecting the 'Tyco
Decisive' from pirates!
Willie
McCallum of Bearsden won an outstanding sixth title at the
Springbank Invitational Solo Piping Competition held in
Campbeltown on Saturday 12 September, 2009, chalking up
another success for theMC² Solo Chanter,
which he developed with McCallum Bagpipes.
Willie took
second place in the Piobaireachd, and two firsts in the
March, Strathspey & Reel and 6/8 March to guarantee his
overall winner status.
Also
competing were Gordon Walker, Dougie Murray, Niall Stewart,
Jimmy Murray, Roddy MacLeod, Angus MacColl & Stuart Liddell.
Joeri Besnyoi is Pipe Major of the fast growing Concord Pipe
Band from the Netherlands. The band is currently playing in
Grade 3A after playing in Grade 4B only in 2006.
Joeri has been playing the pipes since he was 10 and last
year he was getting trouble with his top hand. Focal
dystonia was prognosed witch is a neurologic problem of
which one in 200 musicians suffer. The condition results in
the fingers not doing what you want them to do. For example
when you want to play a 'high G' gracenote, you will also
lift your 'F' finger.
After
experimenting Joeri noticed that playing in a different hand
position he could play with no problem. He contacted
McCallum Bagpipes and Stuart offered to help him with
making a special chanter by putting the hand in a different
position.
The chanter was ready in April this year and Joeri could
play again after 6 months of not playing. The chanter has
valves which are made by one of the best flute makers in
Amsterdam. The sound is just as good as a normal chanter.
Tuning is different as screws are used instead of regular
tape.
Joeri wrote: “Stuart I would like to thank you, Kenny and
the rest of the McCallum team for all your help and time to
get me playing again. Also I would like to thank Rory
Grossart for his knowledge and advice. All the best, Joeri
Besnyoi"
McCallum Bagpipes enjoys a close relationship with
the piping and Bagad culture of Brittany and the company is
always keen to support the development of the art in the
region. McCallum Bagpipes was delighted to donate a
set of AB4 deluxe bagpipes to Festival de Cornouaille for
the winner of the junior solo piping event held in Quimper
on 17 August, 2009.
The
overall winner of the junior competition was
Anne
Clemence Van Langhenhove, who was presented her new set of
AB4 deluxe bagpipes by Yann Pelliett, owner of Ti Ar
Sonerien one McCallum Bagpipes' Breton Distributors.
Many congratulations to Anne, we hope you enjoy many
years of success with your new bagpipe. We also wish the
Festival de Cornouaille continued success with their event.
Angus
McColl of Oban won the 2009 Todds Bar Challenge sponsored by
McCallum Bagpipes, which was held in the University
of Strathclyde on Thursday 13 August, 2009.
A large
audience packed out Todds Bar for the annual piping event
organised by Willie McCallum, which brings together some of
the world's top soloists for an afternoon of top class
piping as part of Glasgow's Piping Live festival.
Todds Bar has
continued to prove itself as the perfect venue to host this
event, with enough space and facilities to handle the large
numbers who attend.
Stuart
Liddell, Alasdair Gillies and Alan Bevan lined up against
Angus, who emerged as winner of the event for the second
year in succession. Angus is pictured here receiving his
award from McCallum Bagpipes Director Stuart
McCallum.
The annual
College of Piping California Summer School took place this
June, coinciding with San Diego Highland Games. The summer
school is organised by John Keys and attracts piping
students from all over North America. The California Summer
School of Piping offers intensive instruction by four
Scottish professional pipers and one talented American
piper, in the playing and maintenance of the Great Highland
Bagpipe.
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.
To help
support the financing of the summer school, McCallum
Bagpipes provided the College of Piping with a full set
of McCallum Bagpipes to raffle. The bagpipes were won
by Jim Rusk from Sterling, Colorado.
Having
arrived by air, train and road, the various members of the
McCallum Bagpipes Roadshow
put the jigsaw together in Muhlhausen, which is a small town
near to Heidelberg and Frankfurt. On Saturday evening, 25
April, 2009 we played before a packed and enthusiastic
audience who clapped and whooped through the repertoire of
solo, small and group piping.
The
visit was memorable with the perfect organisation and
hospitality of Kilts & More owner Donald McPhee, "Many
thanks for the concert, it was very well appreciated by
everyone! 164 paying guests, so in total over 200 folks
thoroughly enjoyed an entertaining evening, a night to
remember."
McCallum Bagpipes is a well respected company in Germany
and events like this certainly helps keep up a good
relationships with existing customers and potential
customers. The
donation of €1500 (takings at the door) was very well
accepted by the BAG and will be used to sponsor the All
German Pipe Band Championships. The kind donation will be
mentioned on the BAG website and discussed in the BAG Forum.
"It
was a real pleasure meeting Willie and Sylvain in person for
the first time, you're great guys and a pleasure to know.
You're all great guys and welcome here any time!”
All
expenses were paid by McCallum Bagpipes and Kilts &
More, and a great night was had by all.
Ian
Lyons enjoyed more major success with his competing chanter
of choice - the
McCallum Pipe Chanter over the Easter weekend in
Hastings, New Zealand, winning the
Comumn na
Piobaireachd New Zealand Gold Medal.
In addition to taking the
prestigious Gold Medal, Ian competed
in several other categories, placing 2nd in the Open March,
Strathspey & Reel, 3rd in the Open 6/8 March, 3rd in the
Open 2 x 2/4 Marches and 4th in the Open Strathspey & Reel
competitions.
Ian is pictured (right)
with his spoils from the day. McCallum Bagpipes
wishes Ian many congratulations.
The
McCallum Bagpipes Roadshow headed west on the weekend of
Friday 27 and Saturday 28 February, 2009, stopping off in
Campbeltown and Inveraray.
Soloists Rory Grossart, Willie McCallum, Stuart McCallum,
Sylvain Hamon, Steven Leask, Kenny MacLeod and McCallum
Bagpipes MC Allan Hamilton took to the stage for
appreciative audiences in support of the Kintyre Piping
Society and Inveraray & District Pipe Band respectively,
with both organisations collecting the proceeds towards
their funds. McCallum Bagpipes also underwrote all of
the expenses for both recitals.
Watch
out for McCallum Bagpipes Roadshows near you.
Willie
McCallum of Bearsden won the 2009 Metro Cup Invitational
Solo Piping Competition held in Newark, New Jersey on
Saturday 21 February, 2009.
Willie
was playing a brand new set of McCallum Bagpipes with
his own McCallum MC² Solo
Chanter
and this was Willie's first success without his trusty
Henderson pipes, which he had played for 25 years. Willie
won last year's Metro Cup playing his Henderson pipes, so he
was particularly delighted to maintain his high standards
with his new set of McCallum Bagpipes. McCallum
Bagpipes is proud to have Willie playing McCallum
Bagpipes and we wish him many successes in the future
with his new instrument.
The
prestigious and exciting Gordon Duncan Memorial Invitational
Solo Piping Competition took place in Glasgow's Central
Hotel on Sunday 25 January, 2009.
The event
consists of a gruelling three-leg performance from world
class competitors, who are required to play individual sets
of Scottish, Irish & Breton music.
Alexis Meunier
of Brittany made a clean sweep of the disciplines with three
first places to become overall winner.
McCallum
Bagpipes was delighted once again to be sponsor of the
competition.
Celtic
Connections hosted its largest ever audience for the Annual
Piping Concert at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 24
January, 2009.
1,253 people
came to Glasgow to enjoy
Strathclyde Police Pipe Band and the newly crowned Grade
2 World Champions
Bagad Cap
Caval performing two hours of fantastic live Scottish
and Breton music. Both bands play McCallum Bagpipes
pipe chanters and have enjoyed terrific competitive
successes respectively.
The concert was
the first of two Celtic Connections events heavily featuring
McCallum Bagpipes pipe chanters that weekend, the
other being the annual Gordon Duncan Memorial Solo Piping
Competition, which took place on Sunday 25 January, 2009 in
the Central Hotel, Glasgow.
Despite
6 inches of snow, the recent Aberdeen & District Piping
Society Practice Chanter Competition for youngsters
supported by McCallum Bagpipes went very well.
The
picture shows Aberdeen & District Piping Society President,
Dr George Greig flanked by the judges John Stewart (L) and
Duncan Watson. The youngsters are (left to right) Karla
Chalmers, Adam Newlands (winner of the under 9 class),
Andrew McInnes (winner of the 12 and under class), Sean Lee
Borwick, Alexander Walker and Victoria MacKenzie.
Well done to
all the participants - keep up the good work!
Bobby
Durning of Milltown, New Jersey, was the overall winner of
the 13th annual George Sherriff Memorial Amateur
Invitational Solo Piping Competition which was held in St.
Paul's Presbyterian Church, Hamilton, Ontario on Saturday 15
November, 2008.
Bobby
came out top of a field of 12 pipers to take first place and
he won a set of AB3 Deluxe bagpipes presented by McCallum
Bagpipes.
Fifteen
year old Ryan Praskovich of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania won the
2008 Balmoral Classic US Junior Solo Bagpiping Championship,
receiving the top prize of a set of McCallum Bagpipes.
He also received a trophy and a two-week full scholarship to
Balmoral School of Piping and Drumming.
The national competition, which was open to the public for
viewing, took place Saturday 15 November, 2008 at Hillman
Center for Performing Arts in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. It
is the only US piping competition for pipers 18 years of age
and under. An invitational tournament, entrants are required
to meet strict standards based upon amateur upper grade
competitive successes.
Congratulations Ryan, we hope your new set of McCallum
Bagpipes bring you many more wins in the future.
McCallum
Bagpipes employee Sylvain Hamon won the Fort
Invitational Competition, held on 15 November, 2008 in
Dungannon.
The annual event
is scheduled around the same time as the William Kennedy
Festival in Armagh, an event which has grown steadily in
popularity over the years. Sylvain's win marks another first
place success for the
McCallum MC² Solo
Chanter.
Ian
Spiers of Edinburgh was the latest piper to win a top award
using a
McCallum BagpipesPipe Chanter at the
Scottish Pipers' Society of London competition held in the
city on Saturday 1 November, 2008. Ian won the prestigious
Bratach Gorm, securing himself an invitation to compete at
the Glenfiddich Piping Championship in 2009.
Overall
winner was Gordon Walker, fresh off the back of a second
Glenfiddich title. Gordon also played the
McCallum BagpipesPipe Chanter.
Everyone at
McCallum Bagpipes is delighted for both Ian and
Gordon.
Gordon Walker
won a second consecutive Glenfiddich Piping Championships
title at Blair Atholl on Saturday 25 October, 2008. Gordon
finished ahead of former winner Willie McCallum. Gordon
Played the
McCallum BagpipesPipe Chanter and Willie
played the McCallum MC² Solo
Chanter. Congratulations to both
pipers on their well deserved successes.
Australian
piper Ian Lyons won the New Zealand Silver Chanter on
Saturday 25 October, 2008 playing a
McCallum BagpipesPipe Chanter. Ian
travelled from his home in Victoria, Australia to compete in
the event. The picture above shows Ian being congratulated
by Richard Hawke. Congratulations on a fine win, Ian.
Drummers Alliance celebrates 21 years of organising
major drum events and this year they have a superb line-up
arranged forThe Beat 2008, which will take place at
the Sheffield Carling Academy on Sunday 19 October, 2008
12.30 to 5 pm.
In
association with Hardcase, special guests include Eric Ward
of Eric Ward
Percussion with his team of drummers who between
them have a wealth of experience from the Pipe Band World -
Cameron Ward (snare drum), Alan McGeachie (bass drum),
Stevie Kilbride of McCallum Bagpipes (tenor drum) and
Pipe Major Don Bradford.
Between them they have performed across the globe in major
pipe band solo competitions with some of the greatest pipe
bands – Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia (UK), ScottishPower
(UK), Strathclyde Police (UK) and Bagad Brieg (France).
Other special guest drummers include Pete Ray Biggin (Mark
Ronson, Amy Winehouse, Incognito), Pete Riley (session,
educator), Concord Street Noize and the final of the Beat
2008 young drummer competition, trade/exhibition stands and
much more.
Tickets priced at £9.50 in advance or £12 cash on the door.
When
pipers of the of the Sultan of Oman's military pipe band
began losing teeth and suffering injuries due to their
Bagpipe mouthpieces during bumpy camel rides, they turned to
McCallum Bagpipes for a solution - bendy blowpipes!
McCallum Bagpipes researched the situation and found
that the perfect solution was to manufacture a blowpipe
capable of adapting to the animals’ movement.
Stuart McCallum said: “I was amazed when our distributor in Oman told us they wanted camel-friendly pipes.
“I designed the device using computer technology. It’s a flexible plastic tube that bends as the camel moves and can be adjusted in length depending on how tall the piper is.
“There’s a padded bit on the tip as well for extra comfort.”
Oman's armed forces and police have two camel-mounted bands who were delighted to receive their new prototype.
Kenny MacLeod said: “One of the Royal Guard’s three pipe bands play on camels and the Royal Oman Police also have camel-mounted pipers.
“We stayed in the Royal Guard officers’ mess in the capital, Muscat. We didn’t meet the Sultan but we did see the brigadier who oversees all the military music and he liaises directly with his ruler. The Omanis explained some of the pipers had lost teeth while playing so they were delighted with the prototype."
McCallum Bagpipes is now preparing a massive order
for the product.
The
Northwest Of England Piping Society, under Owen Nash and
his friends invited the pipers of McCallum Bagpipes
to perform on Saturday 5 April, 2008, in Manchester at
the Spring Recital. To help the funds of the Society all
the participants offered to perform free in front of an
audience of some 100 persons who were treated to solo
contributions from Allan Hamilton (who then compered the
night's ongoings), Stuart McCallum, Kenny MacLeod
and Rory Grossart.
After an
interval, Stuart and Rory also played a selection on
Small-Pipes (accompanied by Kenny on
drums!). Thereafter, Silvain Hamon and then Willie
McCallum played solo spots to the delight of the
audience. The evening ended with all the players piping
as a group which was highly appreciated.
Owen
declared the recital as 'the best yet' since he began
having them in '92.
World famous
piping group The Red Hot Chilli Pipers have been presented
with scorching new custom pipes by McCallum Bagpipes
as a reward for their success.
In the last
year, the group has performed in more than 150 shows all
over the world, won BBC's When Will I Be Famous? competition
and brought out a platinum selling CD 'Bagrock for the
Masses'.
The unique
McCallum Bagpipes pipes have a strong red theme, with
red mounts and red trim. as well as every set being
personally engraved.
Stuart McCallum
said "We asked the guys if they would like their own
unique pipes as a special reward from us for their services
to piping and to celebrate their platinum disc sales. The
group is definitely playing a big part in the recent
bagpipes uprising across the world. The finished product is
a very unusual set of pipes and while traditional pipers may
not like them because they look quite bling, it's what the
band were looking for".
The band have
another busy year ahead of them and will debut their new
pipes at Ewan McGregor's star-studded Burns Supper in
London.
McCallum Bagpipes
was once again pleased to support the second annual
Strathclyde Police Pipe Band Junior Solo Piping Competition,
which was held in Smithycroft School, Glasgow on 23
February, 2008.
Almost
150 pipers competed in the competitions, which were
adjudicated by band members past and present.
Pictured above is the Under 15 overall winner Bradley Parker
with Allan Hamilton. Bradley travelled from Northern Ireland
to participate and his trip was proved worthwhile with his
first place. The full results can be found by
clicking here.
McCallum Bagpipes
would like to congratulate Strathclyde Police Pipe Band on
running another excellent event.
The Metro Cup
competition which is held annually in Newark, New Jersey was
won by Willie McCallum on 16 February, 2008 playing the new
McCallum MC² Solo
Chanter.
Willie took
first place with the best aggregate place, coming second in
the Piobaireachd and first in the Medley.
Congratulations Willie from everyone at the McCallum
Bagpipes factory.
The second annual Gordon Duncan Memorial Solo Piping
Competition sponsored by McCallum Bagpipes took place
in Glasgow's Central Hotel on Saturday 26 January, 2008.
A large attendance saw Andrew Carlisle from Ulster take the
overall winner prize in one of the most challenging events
of its kind. Players have to perform a set in Scottish,
Breton and Irish formats, the overall winner being decided
from the best aggregate result.
Willie McCallum won the Scottish leg of the competition
playing the
McCallum Solo Chanterwhich continues to impress on the solo stage.
McCallum
Bagpipes congratulates all of the participants on making
the competition a great success.
The
popular piping Web site
pipes|drums has voted the new McCallum Solo Chanter as
'New Product of the Year' in its New Year honours. Here's
what they had to say:
"The debut in
August of the new Willie McCallum-designed pipe chanter was
met with excitement, especially after it was revealed that
McCallum had already been playing and winning with the new
product around the Scottish games, which he of course won
handily. Modern techniques and technology have quickly
expanded the two-product solo chanter market to at least a
half-dozen realistic options for top pipers."
The new
McCallum MC² Solo
Chanter
featured strongly amongst the prizes at the Scottish Pipers
Association solo piping competition on Saturday 15 December,
2007.
Sylvain Hamon
(pictured above)
won the March,
2nd in the Strathspey & Reel, also 2nd in the former winners
March, Strathspey & Reel and won the overall best piper of
the day.
Kevin McNulty
won 2nd prize in the March and first in the Strathspey &
Reel, while James MacPhee won 3rd prize in the former
winners March, Strathspey & Reel.
At McCallum Bagpipes, we always welcome customer interaction
as part of our goal to deliver the highest quality products
and services. We have been listening to your feedback about
our Web site and have launched a new version that is more
interactive than ever.
You've been asking for easier navigation and more close-up
detail of our products. So we've teamed up with our Web and
print designers
Hot Stuff Web Design and
DesignFolk to deliver our high quality brochures online
in PDF format, which allow you to have full control over
the amount of detail you wish to see.
We have also brought things right up-to-date with the
introduction of an
RSS feed. Now you will be able to receive
news from McCallum Bagpipes straight to your RSS browser.
Windows Media
Players embedded around the site allow you
to see and hear our world class instruments.
Other new additions to the McCallum Bagpipes Web site
include our drum supplies and highland dress services.
Gordon Walker of
Cumnock, Ayrshire won his first Glenfiddich Solo Piping
Championship at Blair Castle on Saturday 28 October, 2007.
Gordon won the event with the highest aggregate result to
win one of piping's highest accolades. Gordon plays the
McCallum chanter and MG Reeds drone reeds.
Eight times
Glenfiddich winner Willie McCallum won first place in the
March, Strathspey & Reel event, playing the new McCallum
Solo Chanter.
McCallum
Bagpipes would like to congratulate both Gordon and Willie
on their achievements at the Glenfiddich.
A quartet of
pipers from St Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band of Dublin won the
Piping Live! International Quartet Challenge held in Glasgow
Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday 7 August, 2007. The group led
by Alen Tully beat off stiff competition from 5 other
invited bands from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Scotland
and the USA.
Prizes for
the competition were donated by McCallum Bagpipes and
presented by McCallum Bagpipes director Kenny
MacLeod.
Top
soloist Robert Watt had the pleasure of presenting a full
set of McCallum Bagpipes to a lucky winner at
Flagstaff Arizona Highland Celtic Festival, which took place
on the weekend of 21 & 22 July, 2007.
The event which
was sponsored by McCallum Bagpipes, involved
instruction and performances from Robert himself and Captain
Bruce Hitchings before a full set of bagpipes was raffled
as a star prize.
Before the
winner was revealed, the pipes were played by Robert.
Click here to view his performance of 'The Mason's
Apron'.
The lucky
recipient of the bagpipes was Keith Williams, a piper of
only 2 years who was coincidentally about to purchase the
very same set. Keith had this to say about his new
instrument:
"I want to extend all the people at McCallum a very special
thank you for producing such a beautiful instrument and
donating it to the event. I will do my best to make it sound
as good as it looks."
Congratulations
on receiving your pipes, Keith. Everyone at McCallum
Bagpipes wish you many years of enjoyment
and success
with your new instrument.
McCallum
Bagpipes director Kenny MacLeod was in Quimper, Brittany
in July to represent the company at the annual music
festival held in the town.
As part of the
line-up of events, a solo piping competition was held, which
McCallum Bagpipes was pleased to sponsor. The solo
piping competition was won by a young French piper, Francois
Kervadec.
Francois won a
set of McCallum Bagpipes as his first prize, which
was presented to him by Kenny MacLeod. Francois was
delighted with the award and played them straight away. Well
done Francois.
The first major
pipe band championship of the 2007 competition season took
place in Dumbarton on Saturday 19 May, 2007 and was won by
Strathclyde Police Pipe Band under the leadership of Pipe
Major Donald Mackay playing McCallum Bagpipes pipe
chanters.
This is the
band's fourth championship win since 2003 playing
McCallum Bagpipes chanters.
Making it a
double for McCallum's, Johnstone Pipe Band won the Grade 3
championship.
Many
congratulations go to both bands on their respective
successes from their friends at McCallum Bagpipes.
Strathclyde
Police Pipe Band held their inaugural Junior Solo Piping
Competition in Glasgow on Saturday 24 February, 2007.
McCallum Bagpipes director Stuart McCallum who is a
member of the band, was delighted to donate the star prize -
a full set of McCallum Bagpipes.
The overall
winner of the competition was Keith Bowes Jnr of Inchinnan.
Keith is pictured above receiving his new bagpipe from Pipe
Major Donald Mackay and McCallum Bagpipes
representative Allan Hamilton.
Canadian
soldier Corporal Ryan Pagnacco, was seriously injured in a
US 'friendly fire' incident in Panjwaii, Afghanistan in
September, 2006. He received shrapnel wounds to both legs,
right arm, right hand and lower back.
Ryan is a keen
piper and plays a set of pipes on loan to him from
from the
Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada reserve band.
When McCallum
Bagpipes heard that family and friends were fundraising
for a new set of bagpipes for him, the company offered to
donate a full set of McCallum Bagpipes and
accessories which was gratefully accepted.
Ryan was
presented with his new personally engraved bagpipes by
family and friends as a surprise on Tuesday 30 January,
2007.
Click here to see Ryan receiving and test driving his
new instrument.
The inaugural
Gordon Duncan Memorial Solo Piping Competition was held in
Glasgow on Saturday 28 January, 2007. The event was devised
in commemoration of the much loved and missed piper Gordon
Duncan. Gordon himself played and endorsed McCallum Bagpipes,
so the company was proud to lend its support to the
event.
A unique feature
of the competition was that every piper performed sets in
Breton, Irish and Scottish sections.
The overall
winner was Sylvain Hamon of Brittany.
۰
New to McCallum Bagpipes
Click on the photograph of our brochure to
view our new range of threaded mount McCallum Bagpipes.
Willie
McCallum of Bearsden won the
prestigious Gordon Duncan Memorial Invitational
Solo Piping Competition in Glasgow's National Piping Centre
on Sunday 17 January, 2010. With one first and two third
placings, Willie took overall first place and chalked up yet
another top spot for the
The
2009 George Sheriff Memorial Invitational Solo Piping
Competition was won by Richard Gillies from Portland, Oregon
(right) on 21 November, 2009.
McCallum
Bagpipes
After
experimenting Joeri noticed that playing in a different hand
position he could play with no problem. He contacted
McCallum Bagpipes and Stuart offered to help him with
making a special chanter by putting the hand in a different
position. 
The
overall winner of the junior competition was 
Angus
McColl of Oban won the 2009 Todds Bar Challenge sponsored by
McCallum Bagpipes, which was held in the University
of Strathclyde on Thursday 13 August, 2009.
Nightly
lectures and recitals are offered by the instructors
demonstrating prize-winning piping and presenting some
interesting history about bagpipes and piping.
McCallum
Bagpipes was proud to sponsor this year's Scandinavian
Open Pipe Band Championships which took place this May in
Denmark.
Ian
Lyons enjoyed more major success with his competing chanter
of choice - the
Willie
McCallum of Bearsden won the 2009 Metro Cup Invitational
Solo Piping Competition held in Newark, New Jersey on
Saturday 21 February, 2009.
The
prestigious and exciting Gordon Duncan Memorial Invitational
Solo Piping Competition took place in Glasgow's Central
Hotel on Sunday 25 January, 2009.
Celtic
Connections hosted its largest ever audience for the Annual
Piping Concert at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 24
January, 2009.
Ian
Spiers of Edinburgh was the latest piper to win a top award
using a
When
pipers of the of the Sultan of Oman's military pipe band
began losing teeth and suffering injuries due to their
Bagpipe mouthpieces during bumpy camel rides, they turned to
McCallum Bagpipes for a solution - bendy blowpipes!
The
popular piping Web site
Top
soloist Robert Watt had the pleasure of presenting a full
set of McCallum Bagpipes to a lucky winner at
Flagstaff Arizona Highland Celtic Festival, which took place
on the weekend of 21 & 22 July, 2007.
McCallum
Bagpipes director Kenny MacLeod was in Quimper, Brittany
in July to represent the company at the annual music
festival held in the town.
Canadian
soldier Corporal Ryan Pagnacco, was seriously injured in a
US 'friendly fire' incident in Panjwaii, Afghanistan in
September, 2006. He received shrapnel wounds to both legs,
right arm, right hand and lower back.
