Edinburgh piper and Fettes College piping instructor Alasdair Henderson has been crowned Overall Champion at the 2026 Glenfiddich Piping Championship, held at Blair Castle in Blair Atholl on Saturday 31 October.
Alasdair, who lives in Edinburgh, teaches piping at Fettes College and previously taught at George Heriot’s School. He is also Pipe Sergeant of Inveraray & District Pipe Band, which he joined in 2010, taking up his current role in 2014.
The Glenfiddich is widely regarded as the most prestigious competition in solo piping and known as the world solo piping championships. Only ten of the world’s finest pipers receive an invitation, having qualified through major competition successes during the year. Alasdair secured his place by winning the Piping Live! Masters Solo Competition in August.
Alasdair won the Piobaireachd and placed third in the March, Strathspey and Reel to take the overall title for the first time. Stuart Liddell was second overall and fellow Edinburgh piper Iain Speirs third.
Alasdair said: “Receiving the award on Saturday was the best day of my piping life! I’ve worked an entire lifetime towards this and it feels fairly surreal at the moment.
“I was very happy with the way I played on Saturday and thought I put two really good runs together. I feel honoured to receive this prestigious title and trophy.”
Originally from Dunoon, Alasdair learnt the pipes from his uncle, P/M Jim Henderson. His family’s piping connections include P/M John McLellan DCM of Dunoon, the composer of Lochanside and The Road to the Isles, who also taught Jim as a boy.
