by Megan Canning | Nov 13, 2013
Sarah Muir
Soloists from Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band featured in the prize list last weekend at the annual Scottish Piping Society of London (SPSL) competition held on Saturday, 2 November 2013, in Kensington.
The annual SPSL solo event in London is the final big competition on the solo piping calendar in the UK each year. It is one of just a handful of prestigious qualifying competitions for entry to the elite Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championship, and is largely considered one of the most important non-invitational solo events in the world after the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering. The competition divides its players into CPA graded categories, and pipers compete in both Piobaireachd and light music events. A handful of Shotts pipers participated this year, and featured in the list were Pipe Sergeant Glenn Brown who was 3rd for Premier and A Grade Piobaireachd, and Sarah Muir who was 4th the B-Grade MSR event.
Perhaps the biggest representation of the Shotts band, however, was in the form of Andrew Hall who is the current president of the SPSL. Andy joined Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia at the beginning of the 2013 season as one of the band’s travelling players, and is active in promoting piping in London and the south of England. As current SPSL president, Andy and the SPSL team have been active in building upon the long-standing success and status of the annual SPSL competition by launching a new website for the Society. The new website includes features aimed to enhance audience experience during the competition itself, including the provision of articles and interviews which the audience members could access on their phones and tablets while they listened to the event. For those unable to make the competition, the website has featured the beginning of a roll-out of recordings from the day itself, and it remains the SPSL’s intention to continue to promote unique and relevant material from SPSL events and region-relevant news on their website on a regular basis. Congratulations to Andy Hall and the SPSL team, including Daniel Del Piccolo, for working hard to actively promote such an accessible and well-run solo piping competition.
To listen to recordings from some of the top pipers- including Shott’s own Sarah Muir and Glenn Brown- stay tuned to the new SPSL website as more recordings become available. Alternatively, you can follow SPSL activity on Facebook and Twitter.