Save the Dates for the NEXT Nicol-Brown weekend! October 9–10, 2026
The Nicol-Brown concert and contest are held annually on the Friday and Saturday of Columbus Day Weekend / Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend. Come and be in the room where it happens! Bring young pipers and support the future of piping.
The 43rd Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational Contest will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2026 at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville, Maryland, co-sponsored with the wonderful people of the Institute of Musical Traditions. The weekend’s events will begin with a benefit recital from our two exceptional judges on Friday evening.
Judges’ Recital on Friday, October 9, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 pm for a 7:30 concert.
St. Mark Presbyterian Church
10701 Old Georgetown Road
Rockville, Maryland 20852
The 2026 Nicol-Brown Judges
Alan Bevan (Abbotsford, British Columbia)
Skip Cleavinger (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
Alan Bevan lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. He was the overall winner at the Nicol-Brown Invitational back in 1991. Alan’s other career highlights include winning the Gold and Silver Medals at the Northern Meeting, the Gold Medal at the Argyllshire Gathering, the Bronze Star for A Marches at the Argyllshire Gathering, the Jig events at both Oban and Inverness in the same year, overall winner at the Donald MacLeod Memorial competition, overall winner at the Masters Invitational on three occasions and winner of the Piobaireachd at the Glenfiddich Invitational. Alan has been a member of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band since 1995, and has been pipe major since 2013. He has won the World Championship with the band on several occasions. Alan has performed as a featured soloist at the band’s concerts at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, the Royal Concert Hall and SEC Centre in Glasgow, the Sydney Opera House, and both the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York. For many years, Alan has served as Leader of the Adjudication Subcommittee of the British Columbia Pipers’ Association. In his professional life, he is in-house counsel for a large insurance provider.
Skip Cleavinger has been piping for 50 years, studying Piobaireachd with Mike Cusack and Jimmy McIntosh. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Skip competed extensively in solo competitions. In 1991, he won the 10th Nicol-Brown Chalice for Piobaireachd. As a professional competitor, Skip won the St. Andrews Society of Philadelphia Gold Medal, the Stone Mountain Invitational Piobaireachd Competition twice and the Grandfather Mountain Professional Piobaireachd Competition. Between undergraduate and graduate studies, Skip moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where he played with the Grade 1 Dunvegan Pipe Band under the leadership of Scott MacAulay and Colin MacLellan. He later joined the City of Washington Pipe Band, and was able to be a part of the band that won the Grade 2 North American Pipe Band Championship at Maxville. Skip was a co-founder and playing instructor for the Louisville Pipe Band, and has recently served as a teacher and member of the Nashville Pipe Band. In 2000, Skip began an intensive study of the Irish uilleann pipes and now teaches and performs on highland pipes, uilleann pipes, tin whistle, and Scottish smallpipes. Living just north of Nashville, Skip has had wonderful opportunities to record and perform with outstanding artists over the years. His pipes and whistles can be heard on many recordings and film scores. Since 2003, he has appeared in more than 100 symphony orchestra performances throughout the United States and Canada. Now retired from public education, Skip continues to teach, record and perform. He and his wife Rebecca, an accomplished fiddler, formed the trio “North Channel,” whose repertoire draws from Scottish and Irish traditions. Together, they also founded Southcentral Kentucky (SKy) Celtic Arts, a community initiative offering instruction in highland pipes, uilleann pipes, tin whistle, and fiddle, with plans to expand into Irish and Scottish dance.
The 2026 Nicol-Brown Competition
Saturday, October 10
St. Mark Presbyterian Church
10701 Old Georgetown Road
Rockville, Maryland 20852
9:30 am to 6:30 pm
FREE ADMISSION with donations gratefully accepted for the benefit of the Nicol-Brown.
Ten of the finest Amateur pipers from across North America earned invitations this season to play in an elite solo competition consisting of three events: 6/8 Marches, Piobaireachd and MSR. The contest is dedicated annually to the memory of Robert U. Brown and Robert B. Nicol, the Masters of Piobaireachd.
Watch this page for details to be updated soon for 2026.
View a pdf copy of the 2025 program. If you would like to sponsor an ad for the 2026 program, see details and contact info on our Donations page.
Throwback to the 2020 and 2021 CONCERTS
The 2020 and 2021 virtual concerts are still available for free on YouTube for hours of great listening!
The 2021 concert was created with thanks to Roddy MacLeod, Bob Worrall, Jenny Hazzard, and Nick Hudson.
The 2020 concert was created with thanks to Jack Taylor, Sarah Muir, Patrick Molard, and Matt MacIsaac.
Special thanks to Eric Ouellette, Andrew Douglas, and The Piper’s Dojo for their work creating the videos and for their many years of support of the Nicol-Brown and its mission of encouraging amateur piping.
We love our donors!
The Nicol-Brown concerts and contests are made possible by donations from the EUSPBA, The Piobaireachd Society, and other generous sponsors and volunteers. Your donations to the Nicol-Brown are always welcome.