Bellingham Highland Games Recap

I won the Professional Solo Piping Aggregate on Saturday at the Bellingham Highland Games, with a first in the Piobaireachd and fourth in the March, Strathspey, and Reel.

The band played twice in competition on Saturday and got all firsts from the eighth judges. The band played again on Sunday, a wee show of 10 or so sets.

Here's are some nice high res photos of the band in action:

And here are videos from the band's two competition sets....

The Medley:


The MSR:

Limited Edition Autographed "Scottish Pipers" Book

Last year, I was thrilled to find out I made it in to Colin Baxter's new photo book Scottish Pipers. Colin is probably Scotland's most famous photographer, you've likely seen his great images of castles, glens, and mountains on calendars, postcards, and coffee table books.

I have obtained a limited batch of books autographed by Colin Baxter himself!

They are for sale until they are all gone. These would make a great gift for a piper or a fan of bagpipes or anything Scottish. The new book is his first on pipers and it has some great photographs.

Limited Edition Autographed Scottish Pipers Book
$11.99

Send me an email if you are interested in getting a copy of the book.

Here are a few images from the book. The cover (with mandatory Royal Stewart tartan and feather bonnet):

The title page (yours truly piping at Glenfinnan. A rare day of glorious sunshine!):

Home from Scotland!

I'm back from Scotland and excited to be back home and teaching my students. In the next few days, I'll be posting some more photos and stories from my trip, but in the meantime check out the list of some of my competitive achievements this year.

-42 top-six placings in solo competition, including 20 firsts and seconds.
-1st Place Open 'A' Piobaireachd Cowal Highland Gathering (The Glen Caladh Trophy) [first American Winner]
-1st Place United States Gold Medal Piping Championship [first two-time winner]
-1st Place Open Strathspey & Reel Birnam Highland Games
-1st Place Overall Points at Birnam Highland Games
-1st Place Open Strathspey & Reel Glenisla Highland Games
-1st Place Overall Glenisla Highland Games (P/M James McGregor Glenisla Challenge Trophy for Piper of the Day)
-1st Place Open Marches at Invergordon Highland Games
-1st Place Open Strathspey and Reel at Invergordon Highland Games
-1st Place Overall at Invergordon Highland Games
-1st Place Hornpipe & Jig at R.U. Brown Piobaireachd Society of South Australia Championships
-1st Place Overall at R.U. Brown Piobaireachd Society of South Australia Championships

Let the Games begin!

Summer is here and that means it's Highland Games season again. I will be performing at many of the local competitions this year. Comox, Victoria, and Bellingham have passed but many more remain. Coming up are:

Sons of Scotland Games - June 14
B.C. Games - June 28
Skagit Valley Games - July 12
Portland Games - July 19
Pacific Northwest Games - July 26-27

and then many, many more in Scotland (more info on those later).

Below is a photo from last weekend in Bellingham. The great shot was taken by my friend and piper and photographer Ken MacKenzie. Ken's bagpipe photo blog is Piperazzi (get it?)

Hey Look! I'm on the cover!

Well... almost!

I didn't make the cover, but I did make the title page of Colin Baxter's new book Scottish Pipers.  Colin is probably Scotland's most famous photographer, you've likely seen his great images of castles, glens, and mountains on calendars, postcards, and coffee table books.  

The new book is his first on pipers and it has some great photographs.

The cover (with mandatory Royal Stewart tartan and feather bonnet):

The title page (yours truly piping at Glenfinnan.  A rare day of glorious sunshine!):

The back cover (more feather bonnets!):

Sold Out Shows!

Last weekend's shows were a huge success. Both Friday and Saturday nights were sold out. Thanks to everyone who came out.

Here are some photos and a video from a friend who had front row seats.