Glenfiddich Piping and Fiddle Championships explained

The Glenfiddich Piping and Fiddle Championships are musical competitions for the bagpipes and fiddle. Both competitions take place annually in late autumn, at the ballroom of Blair Castle at Blair Atholl in Perthshire, Scotland.[1] Entry to each championship is by invitation only, to those who have won various recognised major UK solo competitions held throughout the year.

The Glenfiddich Piping Championship

The Glenfiddich Piping Championship was established in 1974 to inspire and stimulate individual pipers, and to seek the best overall exponents of the Ceòl Mór or piobaireachd (the great music) and Ceòl Beag (the little music).

The championship was founded and continues to be run by William Grant & Sons.,[2] distillers of Glenfiddich and other whiskies.

Ten of the leading pipers in the world, all of whom will have won important awards since the previous October, are invited. Each of them submits a list of six piobaireachd, and is required to play one of them. They also submit lists of six marches, strathspeys and reels, and play one of each, twice through.

Qualifying Events

Competitors gain an invitation to the Glenfiddich Championship by winning one of the following events:

In the event that an individual wins more than one of these events, 2nd or 3rd place prize-winners from the event are invited, with the exception of the Gold Medal competitions.[3]

There are prizes in each discipline, and an overall championship prize.

2012 Championship

The Glenfiddich Piping Championship 2012 was won by Iain Speirs of Edinburgh.

Other 2012 finalists included returning champion Roddy MacLeod M.B.E. of Glasgow, Callum Beaumont of Bo'ness, Murray Henderson from Kirriemuir, Finlay Johnston from Glasgow, William McCallum from Bearsden, Stuart Liddell of Inveraray, Euan MacCrimmon of Isle of Skye, Gordon Walker of Ayr and Canadian-based piper Jack Lee from Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.

Previous championships

Previous Glenfiddich Piping Championship Winners from the last 49 years:

The Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship

The Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship was added in 1989 to the existing Glenfiddich Piping Championships – to reward, encourage and perpetuate the art of fiddle playing throughout the world.

Eight finalists are hand selected to compete following successes throughout the year, with each finalist giving a recital incorporating all the various styles of composition including a set of tunes by a specific composer – a new composer is chosen annually.

In 2016, the Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship was discontinued. A celebratory non-competitive event was held at Blair Castle in which all previous champions were invited to perform.

2015 Championship

The Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship 2015 was won by George Davidson of Tarves in Aberdeenshire.[5] Second place went to Maggie Adamson of Fladdabister, Shetland, and third place went to Mari Black of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

2014 Championship

The Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship 2014 was won by Mari Black of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.[6] Second place went to George Davidson of Tarves in Aberdeenshire, and third place went to Maura Shawn Scanlin of Boone, North Carolina, USA.

2012 Championship

The Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship 2012 was won by Maggie Adamson from Shetland.Second place went to Erin Smith of Aberdeen, and third place went to Ronald Jappy of Findochty.

Previous championships

Glenfiddich Fiddle Championships winners:

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Music review: Glenfiddich Piping Championship . Gilchrist . Jim . 3 November 2009 . The Scotsman. 8 December 2010 . Edinburgh.
  2. News: Young fiddler is finalist in prestigious national championships. 15 September 2010. The Shetland Times. 8 December 2010.
  3. https://www.competingpipers.com/competition/references/
  4. Web site: Glenfiddich Piping Championship - The National Piping Centre . 2023-11-20 . www.thepipingcentre.co.uk.
  5. Web site: Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship . 28 November 2015.
  6. News: Glenfiddich piping and fiddle champions crowned . . 26 October 2014.

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