Additional 2021 News

Good Morning,

Well here are more announcements from the MWPBA Board. Look for for shortly as we go forward.

1. All of the Regionals leading up to our May 1st Day of Piping have been cancelled. We are still hoping that our actual Day of Piping on May 1st will go on. If it does, it will have a different format that is yet to be decided. More news will come out on this at a later date.

2. Band Playing Requirements will be reduced for the 2021 season. Due to the fact that the bands will not have the normal amount of time to prepare for the 2021 season, we are reducing the playing requirements for the entire 2021 season. The following requirements will be for the 2021 season only. We will return to the normal requirements in 2022. The band playing requirements for the 2021 season will be as follows:

Grade 2 1 Medley & 1 MSR

Grade 3 1 MSR

Grade 4 1 Medley

Grade 5 QMM (Unchanged)

All solo requirements will remain the same. We hope this will allow the bands to better prepare quickly for the 2021 season. We wanted to get this information out as soon as we could.

Keep a look out here for further announcements as we go forward. Let me know if you have any questions for now. Take care and stay safe.....

Jim Sim

2021 Alma Highland Festival Cancelled

Good Morning,

It is with a heavy heart that the Alma Highland Games announced Wednesday night that they are cancelling their event scheduled for May 28 & 29, 2021. This was very sad news indeed. I have contacted the Games to discuss doing something that weekend on a much scaled down basis. Hopefully we might be able to do something by then but we will have to see. I understand the Games' position as sponsorships and other contracts need to be signed. There is a lot of up-front money that goes into these things. I will certainly keep you posted of any talks or news regarding Alma.

The Milwaukee Games has informed me that they will make a decision by March 1 in regards to their Milwaukee Highland Games, scheduled for June 5.

Please look for other announcements this week in regards to our 2021 season. 

Thank you to those who replied to our musical requirements survey. Decisions will be made in regards to the survey very soon. This season will most likely be like no other. I think we will all have to be a little flexible with things. My hope and desire is that players and bands will be able to compete in some fashion and some where this year. However, this all must be done with safety and the players health in mind. We are trying our best to do the right thing.

Watch for another interview in our series in the next couple of weeks. It should be another good one. Keep practicing at least at home or on Zoom like there will be events in 2021. That is our goal!!!

Jim Sim

President

MWPBA

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! The site has been updated with band and solo registration forms for the 2021 season. The MWPBA decided to renew all of our member's registrations from 2020 to 2021, so if you or your band registered to compete with the MWPBA in 2020, you're still eligible to compete in 2021 at our events; no action is required by you. Please check the Registered Bands (2021) list and the Registered Soloists (2021) list for verification.

We will get the entry forms and other associated forms up soon, but here are some key dates in our calendar:

May 1 - Day of Piping; professional and amateur solo contests held in Chicago, IL

May 29 & 30 - Alma Highland Festival, Alma, MI (cancelled)

June 5 - Milwaukee Highland Games, Milwaukee WI

June 18 & 19 - Chicago Scottish Festival & Highland Games, Itasca, IL

More dates will be released as they are known.

MWPBA Video Series #3

The MWPBA is hosting several interviews with piping, drumming, and pipe band celebrities. These interviews will be instructional, educational, and historical. The third in the series is with Jack Lee, Pipe Sergeant of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and Gold Medal Winner (2001-Oban) We hope you enjoy the interview!

Video #3

MWPBA Video Series #2

The MWPBA is hosting several interviews with piping, drumming, and pipe band celebrities. These interviews will be instructional, educational, and historical. The second in the series is with J. Reid Maxwell, lead drummer of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band. We hope you enjoy the interview.

Video #2

MWPBA AGM 2020: Video link, minutes now available

Thank you to all who attended the 2020 MWPBA AGM on November 7, 2020 via Zoom. The meeting was short, due to the lack of a competitive band/solo season in 2020.

There were no new rule change proposals, keeping the meeting brief. There was an election of officers, a review of 2020, contest dates for 2021, and a few announcements

The 2020 AGM Minutes are now available.

For full details, please read the Minutes.

Link to video-conference recording of AGM: Zoom Meeting

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MWPBA members wishing to see a copy of the Financial Report should email the Secretary-Treasurer.

MWPBA Video Series #1

The MWPBA is hosting several interviews with piping, drumming, and pipe band celebrities. These interviews will be instructional, educational, and historical. The first in our series is with P/M Ken Eller. Ken talks about what he as an Adjudicator looks for in a pipe band performance from the piping as well as the ensemble perspective. We hope you enjoy the interview.

Video #1