Dear Members of the Robert Burns Society of Charleston,
The purpose of this newsletter is to bring you up to date on our first third of the year activities in our Gaelic Performing Arts Program.
As you may be aware, we sponsor 21 performing arts competitions around the world, including Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Thanks to the generous support of the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts Programme, Burns Society members, and other supporters, we are ablespend some $150,0000 a year in delivering our performing arts program.
New Zealand
On March 20th, the Harold McIsaac Memorial Prize for Best Grade 3 Pipe Band, sponsored by the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships held in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand, was won by Canterbury Caledonian Society Pipe Band.
The Band is a highly successful competition band and a key developmental pathway for the society’s Grade 1 band. They are current, elite- level competitors, winning the Grade 3 Championship this year and previously in 2021 at New Zealand Pipe Band Championships.
On March 29th, the Murray Henderson Clasp Piobaireachd Competition put on by Comunn Na Piobaireachd (The Piping Society) of New Zealand and held in Wellington, New Zealand was won by Greg Wilson playing Lament for MacLeod of Colbeck.
Piobaireachd (pronounced pee-brokh), often termed ceòl mòr (“big music”), is the classical music of the Great Highland Bagpipe. It consists of a slow theme or “ground” (urlar) followed by a series of increasingly complex variations, acting as a profound, often somber art form distinct from light music like jigs or marches.
It is an ancient, highly structured form of solo piping that focuses on emotion and expression rather than dance rhythms. Many tunes date back to the 15th through 18th centuries, often linked to specific Scottish clans or historical events.
There are essentially three types of Tunes: Laments: commemorating a death or tragedy (e.g., Lament for the Children). Salutes: Honoring a person or event. Or Gatherings: Intended to summon a clan for battle.
Greg is an internationally recognised soloist piper, a multiple Clasp winner at the acclaimed ‘Northern Meeting’, a Gold Medalist both in Scotland and New Zealand. He is a multiple times New Zealand piping champion. Greg is a piper of distinction. He has, and continues to, provide mentorship, leadership and guidance for a number of New Zealand based Celtic Performing Arts organisations.
Greg is arguably one of the finest pipers in the world. We are pleased that he has accepted our invitation to come to Charleston to participate in our internationally important Joseph MacDonald Memorial Prize for Piobaireachd on June 5th.
On April 2nd, the AWR MacDonald Memorial Prize For the best Grade 4A Pipe+ Band in the Australian Pipe Band Championships held in Perth, Western Australia, was won by Perth Metro Pipe Band.
Established in 2006, the Perth Metro Pipe Band is a competitive pipe band performing in Grades 3 and 4. The band competes regularly and plays at events for local charities, school fêtes, ANZAC Day parades, and worldrenowned acts such as André Rieu and John Farnham.
Perth Metro has won numerous local contests, including state championships in Grades 2, 3, and 4, and is the 2026 Australian Champions in Grade 3. Internationally, the band travelled to Glasgow, Scotland, in 2016, where it won the Grade 3B World Pipe Band Championships. In 2018, it placed third in Grade 3A, winning its qualifying heat.
Conclusion
The Scottish performing arts world begins slowly for us, with only three competitions in the first four months of the year. However, the next four months will be much busier with 12 competitions planned. We look forward to sharing the result of these competitions with you.
Please remember that our Scottish Performing Arts Classic will be held in Charleston on June 5th and 6th at the South Carolina Society Hall where 12 of the finest pipers, fiddlers, and harpists in the world will be competing. For more information, please visit our website (https://burnscharleston.com/).
The Robert Burns Society of Charleston Inc. is recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to celebrating and sustaining Scottish-American heritage in the South Carolina Lowcountry. This commitment includes the promotion of historical awareness, cultural expression, and military traditions associated with Scotland. The Society fulfills its mission by hosting educational and cultural activities, supporting the mastery of traditional Scottish arts—such as Highland Bagpiping, Highland Dance, Scottish Fiddle, Scottish Harp (Clàrsach), and the Scots Gaelic language—and by providing grants and scholarships that support academic advancement within the Scottish-American community.
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