The lead article in the latest issue of Piping World Digital - A Blaze in the Glens of Argyll: Inveraray & District Pipe Band - pays tribute to the remarkable series of top flight successes by Inveraray & District Pipe Band and to its Pipe Major, Stuart Liddell.
It reminds its audience that this 4 year-old band is triple world champion – at Novice, Juvenile and Grade 2. It also celebrates the fact that, in 2009, in its first year after promotion to Grade 2 (straight from the Juvenile Grade), it swept the boards at every single major championship on its way to winning the Worlds at the first attempt at that level.
The article also pays attention to the srength in depth in piping and in pipe bands in Argyll, placing the credit for this with Argyll & Bute Council’s decision a while ago to invest seriously in piping tuition in its schools.
The tutors it singles out for praise for their achievements are: Craig Campbell from Cowal, Ian McKerral from Kintyre, Angus MacColl from Oban and – of course – Stuart Liddell from Mid Argyll.
The article sees the challenges to the other successful Argyll Pipe Bands as being led by Inveraray & District and by Kintyre Schools.
In another article in the issue – on Jack Lee, the celebrated solo paper who is also Pipe Sergeant of the five times World Champion Grade I Band, Simon Fraser University from Vancouver – the writer notes that only the very best pipers can ‘do the double’.
This means competing at the highest level both as a solo piper and in a pipe band. The difficulty of doing well in both disciplines is evidently that playing in a band requires a piper to ’round out’ and to play at high tempo (which it it says critics describe as ‘wooden playing) which can be monotonous.
Very few specialist solo pipers can prevent their style in that discipline from being affected by the style of playing in a band. Jack Lee is one who can. Another is Stuart Liddell, recognised as one of the best in the world.
Inveraray and District Pipe Band’s Pipe Major won the Clasp at this year’s Northern Meeting and will be competing for the Glenfiddich title later this month – effectively the World Champion title for solo pipers.
Piping in Argyll is in good hands with these talented musicians passing on their skills.
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