Ross has 3 solo albums to date Wide Open in 2013, Remembering in 2015 and Sanctuary in 2017, he is currently working on his 4th which is due out in spring 2020. You would be surprised to know that bagpipe manufacturing is just as complex as any other musical instruments – you would find a one-man operation or a large corporation who churn out these instruments under different names and specifications. Andrew is an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon University, where he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (with honours) and a Master of Music, both in piping performance. In 2021 he was awarded his PhD from the University of St Andrews/The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. His dissertation, Competitive Scottish Bagpipe Repertoire from 1947-2015: Convention, Change, and Innovation, explores the development of competition piping light music repertoire and the decision-making processes of competing pipers. Andrew has presented on his research at universities, academic conferences, and piping workshops; the latter being an influence of his belief in a holistic approach to piping education. As a part of this holistic approach, Andrew’s musical teaching method is heavily influenced by Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Today, Andrew is a piping teacher and Piping and Drumming Qualifications Board assessor for The National Piping Centre in Glasgow.

As well as being one of Scotland’s leading pipers, David has, in parallel with his piping career, enjoyed a successful Highland Dancing Career. He has 192 major championship titles including 7 World Championships, 10 Commonwealth, 13 British Championships and has won championships in Scotland, England, Ireland, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand. David retired from dancing as the reigning World Champion and had only been beaten 3 times in his senior career, finishing 2nd each time. He is one of the most sought after dance pipers and lecturers in the field, regularly travelling the world imparting his knowledge of music and dance. Produced with the best quality from the UK, the P3 is yet another excellent bagpipe from MacCallum, a company renowned for quality and superior craftsmanship. He was commissioned in 2002 and was appointed the Director of the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming in April 2003. He was responsible for providing all the structured musical training for pipers and drummers in the British Army as well as advising the Higher Command and Commanding Officers regarding Pipe Band matters.If you don’t have a good instructor near you, there are instructors in North America and throughout the world who will teach online. Use every opportunity you can to travel to workshops and summer schools. Northern Meetings, Inverness – Highland Society of London Gold Medal, Bicentenary Gold Medal and Clasp (2), Former Winners MSR;

AJW Bagpipes – AJW is a highly regarded brand for beginner bagpipers, offering well-made instruments with great sound quality. Roddy MacLeod MBE is the Principal of The National Piping Centre. One of the world’s most accomplished competitive solo pipers, Roddy was tutored by piper and composer Duncan Johnstone and has won all of solo piping’s most coveted awards, many of them several times over. He is in keen international demand as a recitalist, judge and instructor.Steven has also kept busy as a writer whose portfolio ranges form solo bagpipe repertoire through to scoring for full Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 he took part in Creative Scotland’s ‘20for14’ project in which 20 writers across the arts were commissioned to create art which responded to Glasgow’s hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Steven’s ‘Bystander’ project culminated in a suite of 5 pieces fusing impressionism with old and modern folk practices which was performed as part of Celtic Connections and released as an album. One of the best features of this instrument is the adjustable pipe, which gives you the grace of customizing your fit and style of play. To verify you are getting the genuine collaboration model, the SL1 features a Stuart signed authentic signature. The bass top cord groove also carries a serial number for further identification of the brand. So if you are in doubt of the quality you are buying, these should put your doubt to rest. A beginner piper should start out on a good instrument, but one would want to wait before going for the "gold medalist" set-up. A new piper really shouldn't start out with a wooden chanter. Even experienced pipers can break these as the wood, while strong, is as thin as glass. Turning a wooden chanter from the bottom (or sole) can result in a spiral snap in the bore of the chanter. This destroys the chanter and cannot be repaired. A plastic chanter is best for beginners as you won't have to worry about replacing an expensive part early on into playing. Concerning hide and skin bags, a new beginner shouldn't start with this either. While hide bags will improve the sound of the instrument, they take a lot of dedication and knowledge to maintain. They require a manual installation and priming and will also need regular seasoning to keep the pores of the skin airtight. An investment like this should be for a more intermediate player who is looking to upgrade their tone. To begin learning, one should have a standard synthetic (or hybrid synthetic) bag to ensure ease of playing. The synthetic bags require less maintenance and last longer than all-hide bags. Alisdair is from Perth, Western Australia. He began piping at Trinity College, Perth at the age of 13 where he also received tuition from local pipers June Corcoran, John MacMurchie and Malcolm Brown. In 1996 which was his final year of high school, he was promoted to Pipe Major of the Trinity College Pipes & Drums where he led the band to various juvenile championship wins in Western Australia. In the same year he was also a member of the Grade 3 Armadale City Pipe Band when they won the Australian & South Pacific Pipe Band Championships.