The 2012 Balmoral Classic US Junior Solo Bagpiping and Solo Snare Drumming Championships will be held on November 10, 2012, in Pittsburgh, PA, as part of the 6th Annual Balmoral Classic gathering.
Applications must be received by October 5. Entry forms and more information can be found on the Balmoral Classic website.
The Balmoral Classic championship is the only solo bagpiping and Scottish snare drumming competition in the US exclusively for those age 18 and under. 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.
Piping judges are James McColl, James Bell, and Donald McBride. Drumming judges are Gordon Bell, Jon Quigg, and a third judge soon to be announced.
The winner of the Piobaireachd event will receive a set of bagpipes donated by Inveran Bagpipes, and the MSR event winner will receive a set donated by McCallum Bagpipes. The overall winner of the drumming contest will receive a Premier HTS 800 snare drum donated by Henderson Imports of Traverse City, MI.