Nicol - Brown Amateur Invitational
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The 2025 Competitors

The 42nd Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational
Piping Competition

Saturday, October 11, 2025
St. Mark Presbyterian Church
10701 Old Georgetown Road
Rockville, Maryland 20852

 

Admission is free, thanks to our generous donors.
Your donations are always welcome!

The 2025 Judges:

Willie McCallum (Bearsden, Scotland)
Alastair Lee (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia)

Friday, October 10, 2025

Our judges will begin the Nicol-Brown weekend with a brilliant benefit concert at 7:30 pm at St. Mark Presbyterian Church.

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Tentative Competition Schedule:
9:30 am 6/8 Marches
12:30 pm Piobaireachd
4:30 pm March, Strathspey, and Reel
6:30 pm Awards Ceremony

MCs for the Nicol-Brown Weekend:

Jim Feeney, Paula Glendinning,
June Hanley, and Ben McClamrock

Contest Stewards:

Luke Ashton, John Bertino, Olivia Corcoran,
Peter Kent, Thompson McConnell, JoAnn Scott,
and Chris Shepherd, Chief Steward

View the 2024 program and watch this space for the 2025 program.

You’re welcome to browse through our Facebook photo albums.

Scroll down for 2025 competition details and results.

 

The 2025 Prize McCallum Chanter

The 2025 Overall Nicol-Brown Championship

  1. TBA
    Prizes: The 2025 Nicol-Brown Champion’s Chanter — a McCallum McC2 blackwood pipe chanter with a custom-designed sole — donated by McCallum Bagpipes (Kilmarnock, Scotland); plus travel expenses up to $1000, donated by the NHSCOT Fund (Concord, New Hampshire), to be used to compete in a major solo contest in 2026 to be approved by the Nicol-Brown committee.
  2. TBA
    Prize: $500 piping scholarship donated by Doreen Forney (Vermont) in memory of Pipe Major Angus Macdonald.
  3. TBA
    Prize: $400 piping scholarship sponsored by Henderson Imports, Ltd. (Traverse City, Michigan).
  4. TBA
    Prize: $300 piping scholarship sponsored by Jane and Jim Spicer (Maryland).
  5. TBA
    Prize: $200 piping scholarship sponsored by MacMillan Pipe Band (Washington, DC).

 

The Nicol-Brown Chalice

The 2025 Robert Nicol-Robert Brown Chalice for Piobaireachd

  1. TBA (9 points)
    “Tune TBA”
    Prize: A bound Piobaireachd Society Collection, Volumes 1-16, donated by Jon Maffett from The Piper’s Hut (Pickerington, Ohio).
  2. TBA (7 points)
    “Tune TBA”
  3. TBA (6 points)
    “Tune TBA”
  4. TBA (5 points)
    “Tune TBA”
  5. TBA (4 points)
    “Tune TBA”

 

The Wm Ross Challenge Targe

William Ross Challenge Targe MSR Competition

  1. TBA (8 points)
    “March,” “Strathspey,” and “Reel”
    Prize: A McCallum Kintyre practice chanter with engraved presentation ferrule, donated by The Piper’s Dojo
    (Troy, New York).
  2. TBA (6 points)
    “March,” “Strathspey,” and “Reel”
  3. TBA (5 points)
    “March,” “Strathspey,” and “Reel”
  4. TBA (4 points)
    “March,” “Strathspey,” and “Reel”
  5. TBA (3 points)
    “March,” “Strathspey,” and “Reel”

 

The Donald MacLeod Silver Buckle

Donald MacLeod Memorial 6/8 March Competition

  1. TBA (6 points)
    “March” and “March”
    Prize: The Donald MacLeod Memorial Silver Buckle (above), created and donated by Stephen Walker of Walker Metalsmiths (Andover, New York).
  2. TBA (4 points)
    “March” and “March”
  3. TBA (3 points)
    “March” and “March”
  4. TBA (2 points)
    “March” and “March”
  5. TBA (1 point)
    “March” and “March”

Dress and Deportment

This prize is a special recognition for the effort and thought put into the presentation of performances, showing respect for the contest, the judges, the audience, and love of the music.

  1. TBA
    Prize: A $100 gift certificate for The Piper’s Hut in Pickerington, Ohio, sponsored by Charles McKee (Maryland).

Congratulations!

Each competitor will receive the coveted Nicol-Brown lapel pin.

Nicol-Brown Lapel Pin

Invitations to the Nicol-Brown Competition are based on overall season rankings and competitive results in solo contests sponsored by the piping and pipe band associations of North America; as well as results from contests that show the highest standards of amateur piping. Prizes in events with larger numbers of competitors are given special consideration. All invited pipers must have significant results at the highest amateur level in both Piobaireachd and Light Music. An invitation is held every year for the Grade One Piper of the Day at the New Hampshire Highland Games, provided that piper competed in Grade One Piobaireachd and Grade One Light Music events that day at the NHHG.

2025 Competitors

 

Invited but Unable to Attend

 

  • MAGNUS STONE (Natick, Massachusetts)
    2nd out of 73 Grade One pipers in the 2025 EUSPBA “Greatest Hits” Season Standings for combined Light Music and Piobaireachd as of September 1; 3rd Place in the 2025 MacGregor Memorial Piobaireachd Competition in Oban, Scotland.

THANK YOU!

The 2025 Nicol-Brown Contest will be made possible by the efforts of many volunteers, donors and sponsors who are generous in their support of amateur piping. We would love to add your name here:

2025 Dedications

  • Doreen Forney’s donation was given in memory of Pipe Major Angus Macdonald.
  • Catriona Hill’s donation was given in memory of her friend, Connie Powell, who loved piping very much.
  • Rick Woolard’s donation was given in memory of Ronald Morrison of South Uist.

Please contact Paula Glendinning or speak to one of the other committee members if you would like to donate a prize for this year or a future year. We welcome cash donations if you would like to sponsor a scholarship and/or help with the expenses of the Nicol-Brown. We are happy to designate your gift with a dedication in honor or in memory of someone. Let us know if you would like us to add a link or a dedication to your donation listing.
Email: nicolbrownchalice@gmail.com

The 2025 Nicol-Brown Chalice Committee

  • Judy Campbell
  • Jim Feeney
  • Paula Glendinning
  • June Hanley
  • Donald F. Lindsay, Founder
  • Ben McClamrock
  • Thompson McConnell, Treasurer
  • Steve Porter
  • JoAnn Scott
  • Chris Shepherd, Chief Steward
  • Will Shropshire
  • Jane Spicer

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