The end of the year approaches

Well here we are, nearing the end of calendar year 2009. The solo piping competition season wrapped up around the end of October, and the regrade committee has been reviewing requests for competitors and bands for 2010. My request for grade 1 piping is in, and all I can do at this point is wait. I was hoping the results would have been posted by now, but we’re still waiting to hear. Monday the 14th is what I’ve heard lately, so I’m hoping that’s the date.

The season won’t really get started until April, but there are at least a few sanctioned competitions that are happening before then. The Back Bay Solo Piping Contest at Northeastern University in Boston on March 27 is being organized by my friend John Daggett, and he’s done a great job of getting things together for that contest. I know he has had some generous donations of prizes from piping retailers, and he’s excited to see the event come together. I’m excited as well, as that will be my first competition of the season, and hopefully my first competition in grade 1.

I have a lot of work to do before March, which is why I won’t be attending the indoor competition in Albany, NY on January 9. This is being organized by the Oran Mor Pipe Band, and is the first sanctioned competition of the year. I won’t be in playing condition by that time, but I’m considering going as a spectator. Because I spend so much time at a competition worrying about my own events, I rarely get to hear other players, so this might be a good chance to do that. There is a companion event on March 27, which unfortunately conflicts with the Back Bay contest. Good news about both contests: the events don’t start until 11:30 am, which means competitors and spectators alike get a chance to sleep in!

Here’s a fun video to leave you with: Stuart Liddell doing what looks to be an informal recital in Hamilton, Ontario back in November. He plays his version of The Battle of Waterloo with an extra note (low E), as well as Thuderstruck, which is one of his popular flashy tunes. Before he gets there he plays Scotland the Brave and a seasonally appropriate tune, so enjoy.