On behalf of the Lowland and Borders Pipers’ Society, I extend our sincerest gratitude for the GDMT’s generous sponsorship of our recent Collogue weekend in Dunkeld. Your support was instrumental in making the event a resounding success, and we are thrilled to share some of the positive impacts your contribution helped us achieve.

This event brought together a remarkable array of performing musicians, ranging from Jeremy Kingsbury from Minnesota, USA and Chritian Tewordt from Germany to Finlay McDonald (Director of the Piping Centre) and Fionnlagh Mac a’Phiocair, as well as many up-and-coming highly talented youngsters and some outstanding local musicians. Mixed with the informed and valuable speakers, this created a unique and vibrant atmosphere, exposing our audience to a diverse and eclectic brand of music that they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to experience and quality research they might otherwise never have heard about. Those who attended pointed out the friendly, laid back nature to the entire weekend as well, something which can be too often lacking in events such as this.

The feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive, with many attendees expressing their delight at the variety and quality of the performances and presentations. Those who presented and performed have all commented that they felt well looked after and have stated freely and openly they would be willing to support our movement again. This is to a great extent thanks to the fact we had such valuable support in the form of sponsorship. The icing on the cake was the unrehearsed ‘musical stramash’ tribute to Gordon Duncan which followed on from a short speech delivered by Angus Clarke of the GDMT. There were many moments to cherish during the entire weekend and this was certainly one of them. As was young Lennox Munro’s short set which included five of Gordon’s compositions played superbly.

It was particularly heartwarming to have local youngsters performing during the event. Your sponsorship not only provided them with a wonderful platform to showcase their talents and share a stage with the some of the leading names in the wider piping world, but also enabled us to provide them with direct financial support. This contribution will greatly assist them in their ongoing musical education and development, ensuring that the next generation of musicians continues to flourish.

Further, by including a large event that was free – the recital in Dunkeld Cathedral – we were able to attract a wide range of attendees (many of them local), including those who might normally find such events to be beyond their financial means, and those who were hooked by our advertising and turned up to explore. This inclusive approach not only enriched the cultural fabric of our community but also provided a welcome boost to local businesses. All in all around 200 people participated and spent extra money in the village as a result of their time there.

Your commitment to supporting our modest LBPS community of a fairly niche piping tradition is deeply appreciated and has made a very real difference to our movement. We are deeply grateful for your partnership. It is through the generosity of sponsors like you that we are able to continue our work and make a meaningful difference to the cultural diversity of Scotland.

Thank you once again for your invaluable support.