Keydet Piper’s Spring Competition Schedule

As I’ve been thinking about which games I’ll be attending this year, I’ve come up with a tentative list. As of now, this is what my schedule looks like.

March 27: Back Bay Solo Piping Contest, Boston, MA. Organized by my friend John Daggett, the Back Bay Contest is an indoor contest early in the season that is offering competitions in all amateur levels. It will be my first solo competition in grade 1, and I encourage other pipers to check it out. That same day is also the annual spring concert of the Stuart Highlanders Pipe Band, the EUSPBA’s new grade 2 band. Make a day of it: solos in the morning, band concert in the evening.

April 10: NHSSA Indoor Scottish Arts Festival, Concord, NH. I haven’t decided if I’ll be playing at this contest, but we’ll see how things are going once the entry form goes up. This has traditionally been the start of the season in New England, and the few years that I have attended there have been quite a lot of competitors. There are professional competitions this year for the first time, and they take place on Friday evening, with the amateur and bands competitions on Saturday. Also Saturday evening is a recital featuring the awesome piping prowess of Alasdair Gillies and the grade 1 Oran Mor Pipe Band from Albany, NY.

April 24: Celtic Festival of Southern Maryland, Prince Frederick, MD. This is usually the first competition of the season in the mid-Atlantic region, and it will be my first competition with MacMillan Pipe Band. I doubt I’ll be playing solos, but I’ll be there for sure. The grade 3 band contest is MSR.

May 15: Colonial Highland Gathering, Fair Hill, MD. The next band competition (medley this time), and I probably won’t be playing solos again. Maybe I will though; we’ll see how things are going.

That’s all I have on the schedule for now, though it is certainly subject to change. Check back for updates.