The Piobaireachd Society of Antigonish was formed in November, 1996 to promote the learning and performance of Piobaireachd, the ancient music of the Highland Scots who settled in Eastern Nova Scotia in the 19th century. The Society meets approximately eight times a year and at each meeting members and guests enjoy performances by pipers who are studying Piobaireachd.

          Since 1997, the Society has hosted weekend workshops open to all pipers who wish to learn to play this great music, with participants coming from across the Maritime Provinces and beyond. Tunes taught are those selected by the Piobaireachd Society (Scotland) for the Silver and Gold Medal competitions held annually at the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban and The Northern Meeting in Inverness. These tunes have also been set for performance at the annual ACPBA Piobaireachd Challenge competitions held each May in Antigonish, Nova Scotia since 1990. The instructional workshops have been conducted by some of the best teachers in North America and, indeed, the world! These include Bob Worrall, Ed Neigh, John Cairns and Jim McGillivray of Ontario, Alasdair Gillies of Pittsburgh, PA, and Andrew Wright of Dunblane, Scotland.

         During the 2002-2003 instructional season, the Society has hosted its second two-day workshop conducted by Double Gold Medalist Andrew Wright of Dunblane, Scotland, President of The Piobaireachd Society (Scotland), and a one-day workshops by Bruce Gandy of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The Society�s final workshop for the current season with a second workshop by another world-renowned Double Gold Medalist, John Cairns of London, Ontario is taking place this weekend, March 29th and 30th.

         In June, 2000 the Society hosted a Pipers� Memorial at the South River Cemetery to honour the memories of two former Official Pipers of the Antigonish Highland Society. Each of the participating pipers were presented with a hard bound copy of �The Killberry Book of Ce�l M�r�. In June, 2001 the Second Annual Pipers� Memorial was held at St. Margaret�s Parish Cemetery, Arisaig, where nine pioneer pipers were remembered. On that occasion, participating musicians were presented with copies of  �The Book of the Bagpipe� by Hugh Cheape of the National Museum of Scotland. In 2002, the Pipers� Memorial was held at Maryvale and this time the performers were presented with copies of �The Art Of Piobaireachd� by Rt. Hon. Ian L. McKay of Wellington, NZ. Plans for the 2003 Memorial are not yet finalized.

         Over the years, the Society has awarded travel bursaries to local Antigonish pipers who have been selected to represent Atlantic Canada at prestigious solo piping competitions. It has also given bursaries for the study of Piobaireachd at summer schools such as St. Ann�s Gaelic College.

         The Society welcomes new members and the general public is always invited to attend student recitals and Society meetings. Notices of meetings, workshops, and recitals appear in the local media. For more information about the Society and its activities, contact the Society's piping instructor, Scott Williams by e-mail.