Regular Season contest dates announced

The list of band and solo contests for the 2023 MWPBA regular season has been announced.

Check out the details on the Contests page.

Entry open for the Swinton professional and McHugh amateur contests

Entry forms are now posted for the PM Ian Swinton Open (May 6) and the Terry McHugh Memorial Amateur (March 25) solo piping contests.

Macalester Winter Warmup Solos

Save the date - Feb 4, 2023 - all amateur solo piping events contest in Minnesota!

* The top 5 finishers in Grade 4 Piobaireachd will be invited to compete in the afternoon with a FULL TUNE. The top prize is a 16-book bound Piobaireachd Society Collection, donated by the members of the Minnesota Piobaireachd Society.

Sign-up using using the Preseason Solos form.

MWBPA Rules updated for 2023

The MWPBA contest rules have been updated for season 2023, and you will find it on the MWPBA home page under "THE ASSOCIATION". All MWPBA members are expected to be familiar with the contents for their disciplines.

As announced at the AGM, for 2023 there have been changes for solo piping contest music requirements and Grade 1 band MSR requirements.

For solo piping contests:

Grade 5: no change
Grade 4: 6/8 march is removed; a Strathspey/Reel event of 2-parts each is added
Grade 3: Jig event is removed
Grade 2: Hornpipe/Jig event is replaced by 4-parted Jig only event
Grade 1: no change
Open: no change to events, but all events are now submit 4

For solo drumming contents:

All solo drummers are now permitted to be accompanied by recorded music or live music.
For live accompaniment: Solo Snare, Solo Tenor, and Solo Bass drummers must be accompanied by one or two properly attired pipers but no accompanying tenors or basses. Solo Tenor and Solo Bass drummers may have one optional properly attired snare accompanist.
For recorded accompaniment: Solo Snare, Solo Tenor, and Solo Bass drummers may use recorded instead of live accompaniment. Solo Snare drummers should be accompanied by a recording of one or two bagpipers but no tenors or basses. Solo Tenors and Solo Basses should use a recording of one or two bagpipers and one optional snare drummer, but no tenors or basses.
Any soloist using recorded accompaniment must provide a device capable of operating without external power and which can broadcast the audio recording at an adequate volume to be heard over their own performance by both the competitor and the judge(s) of the event.

For band contests:

Grade 1 bands MSR set composition requirements have change - one MSR with maximum 4-parted tunes, and the other MSR with minimum 4-parted tunes
The band contest entry form will now required all bands in all grades to include their music selections with their entry. This is mandatory for MSR selection in band Grade 1 and 2, but also useful information as a courtesy for the announcer to share with the audience for all all grades. Bands in Grades 1 and 2 have until the final date of entry to submit any changes to selections.

There are no changes to other band contests.