Stuart Samson MBE

Captain (Retired) Stuart D Samson MBE

Stuart Samson was born in Laurencekirk and has been playing the pipes since the age of 8. He enlisted into the Army in 1978, as a junior piper and joined the Drums and Pipes of The Gordon Highlanders in 1980. He was appointed Pipe Major of the Gordon Highlanders from 1990 – 1994 and then went on to carry out several Pipe Major appointments including the Pipe Major of the Highlanders and the Warrant Officer Class One Senior Pipe Major at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming. 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. During this time he was also responsible as the Director of Army Bagpipe Music, for coordinating the musical programme and display for the Massed Pipes and Drums at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. He has considerable experience in this field having first performed in the Tattoo in 1979 and many times thereafter as a piper and Pipe Major. Stuart has also been successful on the solo piping circuit over the years, winning the Silver Medal at the Argyllshire Gathering in 1988 and being placed second in the Gold Medal in both Inverness and Oban in 1995 and 1998 respectively, gaining an invitation to the Glenfiddich Championships in 1998. Stuart completed his Army service in April 2008 having served 30 years and was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June this year in recognition for services to Army Piping and a distinguished career. Stuart is currently a part time Instructor at the National Piping Centre teaching on the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland BA Scottish Music – Piping Degree. In addition to this Stuart is also the Director of Music for the Massed Pipes and Drums at the Basel Tattoo in Switzerland, which takes place annually in July and The Berlin Tattoo in Germany which takes place in November.

Stuart Samson is not available for lessons.

John Mulhearn

27 year old John from Troon, Ayrshire, began his piping career at the age of nine, initially receiving tuition from his father, Brian. After a short while he started regular lessons with retired Strathclyde Police Pipe Sgt., and double Gold medalist, Angus J. MacLellan, receiving extra tuition in the summers from John D. Burgess among others. After a successful junior career in which he won most of the major prizes – including the Carnoustie Championship and MacGregor Memorial – and one year in the senior ranks – being runner-up in the Dunvegan Medal, and third in the Oban and Inverness Silver Medals – he decided to give the pipes a rest for five years. Last year he started competing once more, winning the Duncan Johnstone MSR among other prizes.

Aside from traditional piping John produces experimental electronic music based on pipe tunes. An album of his material is scheduled for release in the near future.

Glenn Brown

Glenn Brown is 27 years old and originally from Milton, Ontario, Canada. A teacher at The National Piping Centre, Glenn’s Pipe Band back ground includes eight seasons with his mother Gail Brown’s band The Milton Optimist’s. This Band won the Juvenile World Championship in 1994, followed by the Grade 3 World Champion title in 1997. In 1998 Glenn joined the Peel Regional Police Pipe Band at age 14. From there he joined The 78th Fraser Highlanders, based in Toronto for a further two years. In the autumn of 2001 Glenn became a member of Shott’s and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band where he spent the next six years. During this time the band won two Grade 1 World Pipe Band Championships. For the 2008 Season Glenn returned to be the Pipe Major for the Grade 1, Peel Regional Police Pipe Band, based in Brampton, Ontario. He is currently a piper for the ScottishPower Pipe Band, based in Glasgow. As well as his band piping Glenn has studied Ceol Mor and Ceol Beag with Mr. Willie McCallum for the past nine years.

His Solo Piping achievements are as follows:

Canadian Gold Medal for Ceol Mor, 2006
A Grade Piobaireachd at the London Championships, 2006
American Gold Medals for Ceol Mor and Ceol Beag at Kansas City Winter Storm, 2007
Cameron Gillies Recital Challenge, 2007
Dunvegan Medal for Ceol Mor, 2007
A Grade March, Strathspey and Reel at the London Championships, 2007
A Grade March at The Argyllshire Gathering, 2009
Runner Up in the Gold Medal at the Argyllshire Gathering, 2009
Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal at The Northern Meeting, 2009

Callum Beaumont

Callum comes from Bo’ness, West Lothian and currently is an instructor at the National Piping Centre.
His tutors include Bert Smith, Tom Speirs and Willie McCallum.
Callum has played with the Lothian and Borders Police Pipe band, Shotts and Dykehead, Simon Fraser University and more recently Inveraray and District Pipe Band. His pipe band prizes include winning the World Pipe Band championships three times, twice with Simon Fraser University and once with Shotts and Dykehead.

Callum’s solo piping achievements include;
1st Highland Society of London Gold Medal – Oban 2011
1st Silver Medal – Oban 2006
1st Open Piobaireachd – Cowal
1st Open Jig – Oban 2011
1st Macgregor Memorial – Oban
Placed 2nd – London Medallion Former Winners MSR