Campbeltown piper wins main prize in national contest

Campbeltown piper Willie McCallum was the overall winner of the Premier Grade section at the Captain John A MacLellan MBE Solo Piping Competition in Edinburgh.

Willie took home the Captain John A MacLellan MBE Trophy at the annual solo piping competition, held at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming at Inchdrewer House earlier this month.

He won the aggregate prize after triumphing in the MSR competition and placing fourth in the Piobaireachd event.

Willie was not the only Campbeltown piper to take home silverware, with Sarah Muir winning the Open Hornpipe and Jig class, while Ross Conner placed fifth in the B Grade MSR contest.

Also flying the flag for Argyll, Inveraray piper Stuart Liddell won the Premier Piobaireachd competition, which gives him a place in the affiliated Captain John A MacLellan MBE Memorial Dinner and Recital Competition in 2024.

The Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming welcomed more than 90 competing pipers from C Grade up to the Premier Grade.

The full results of all competitions are as follows:

Premier Piobaireachd: 1 Stuart Liddell, 2 Iain Spiers, 3 Finlay Johnson, 4 Willie McCallum, 5 Roddy Macleod.

Premier MSR: 1 Willie McCallum, 2 Roddy Macleod, 3 Finlay Johnson, 4 Chris Armstrong, 5 Stuart Liddell.

Open Hornpipe and Jig: 1 Sarah Muir, 2 Roddy Macleod, 3 Willie McCallum, 4 Ben Duncan, 5 Scott McCaskill.

A Grade Piobaireachd: 1 Cameron MacDougall, 2 Ben Duncan, 3 Darach Urquhart, 4 Sarah Muir, 5 Gordon Bruce.

A Grade MSR: 1 Peter Macgregor, 2 Ashley McMichael, 3 Steven Gray, 4 Darach Urquhart, 5 Greig Canning.

B Grade Piobaireachd: 1 Andrew Ferguson, 2 Michael Fitzhenry, 3 Bradley Parker, 4 John Dew, 5 Ashley McMichael.

B Grade MSR: 1 Brodie Watson-Massey, 2 Bradley Parker, 3 John Dew, 4 Andrew Ferguson, 5 Ross Conner.

C Grade Piobaireachd: 1 Andrew Smith, 2 Cameron Macleod, 3 Daniel Johnstone, 4 Kyle Cameron, 5 Christopher McLeish.

C Grade MSR: 1 Ben Mulhearn, 2 John McElmurry, 3 Scott McKay, 4 Norman Gillies, 5 Jamie Brownlie.

The Premier Piobaireachd and Open Hornpipe and Jig competitions were livestreamed online and can now be viewed on the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming’s Facebook page.