The Balmoral Classic

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 2011 US Junior Solo Championships

The Balmoral Classic championship is the only solo bagpiping and bagpipe band drumming competition in the US exclusively for those under 18 years of age. Entrants are required to apply and meet strict standards based upon amateur upper grade competitive successes.

The competitions are part of the Balmoral Classic, a US celebration of Highland bagpiping and drumming held annually in Pittsburgh.

Bagpiping entrants compete in two styles: Pìobaireachd, the classical music of Highland bagpiping, and MSR (march, strathspey, and reel), the traditional bagpipe competition medley. Drumming entrants compete in two styles: Hornpipe & Jig and MSR. The Overall is a combination of scores from Pìobaireachd and MSR for piping, and Hornpipe & Jig and MSR for drumming.

The competitors are awarded points for tempo, tone, rhythm, execution and expression by piping and drumming adjudicators, senior champions themselves.

Alexander Schiele of Snohomish, Washington (left) and Petey Lowrie of Brunswick, Ohio(above) took the overall prizes in the piping and snare drumming sections, respectively.   Photos: Lynette Castelucci

Balmoral School of Piping & Drumming is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization founded and maintained in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since 1979. The school conducts one and two week-long sessions in bagpipe music at college campuses throughout the US each summer, bringing together world champion Highland piping and drumming instructors for students beginning through advanced. It is the Balmoral School’s mission “to raise the standard and promote the appreciation of bagpipe music in the USA by providing world class instruction, cultivating excellence in youth, presenting innovative musical events, and fostering tradition.”