Roddy MacLeod MBE
Roddy is the Principal of The National Piping Centre, a position he has held since the Centre opened in May 1996. During this time the Centre has grown to become a World Centre of Excellence for the teaching of the Highland Bagpipe through developing and implementing a number of initiatives such as the BA (Scottish Music - Piping), the National Schools Piping Project, the Highland Bagpipe Tutor Book and more recently the establishment of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.
Roddy has won all of the major solo piping events, many several times over including the Glenfiddich Piping Championship on 3 occasions and remains active as a competing piper. He was Pipe Major of the ScottishPower pipe band from 1995 until 2005 - one of the world’s leading Grade 1 pipe bands. Roddy was awarded the MBE for services to piping in 2003 and the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award for Music in 2004.
Margaret Dunn
Margaret began piping at the age of 8 and was initially taught by her father Con Houlihan and when she was 10 she began taking lessons from Stephen Power (ex Scots Guards). Margaret moved to Scotland when she was 17. In 1998 she was accepted into the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama where she studied for 4 years and graduated with an Honours Degree in Scottish Traditional Music. While Margaret was at the Academy she also joined the Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band and, with them, won the World Pipe Band Championships in Grade 1 in 2000. She is now Pipe Major of Cullen Pipe Band who won the World Pipe Band Championships in grade 3B at the 2007 worlds.
In 2004, Margaret passed her Institute of Piping Graduate Certificate with distinction.
Prizes won to date include:-
1st MacGregor Memorial Piobaireachd (22 and under) Oban 1999
1st B Grade March, Oban 1999
1st Duncan Johnstone Memorial Piobaireachd 2001
1st B Grade Piobaireachd, Inverary 2003
1st Strachan Memorial MSR, London 2000
1st A Grade Strathspey and Reel, Oban 2003
Runner up in the Silver Medal, Argyleshire Gathering.
Winner of the Silver medal at the Northern Meetings 2007
1st A Grade March Argyleshire Gathering 2007
Finlay MacDonald BASM
Finlay started piping at the age of ten with tuition from his father, Pipe Major Iain MacDonald of the Neilston and District Pipe Band.
With Neilston Pipe Band he has travelled World Wide playing at concerts and festivals as far a field as Japan, China, Russia and all over Europe.
After 3 years studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Finlay was in the first class to graduate with a BA Scottish Music. Having specialised in performance and composing, he has been in demand as a performer and has toured with top Scottish Bands such as Def Shepherd, Battlefield Band, Old Blind Dogs and the Kate Rusby Band. Based in Glasgow, Finlay has been popular as a session musician recording on as many as 20 albums in many different musical generes including Jazz, Classical and Traditional.
His first solo album was released in 2000 to critical acclaim and after that formed the “Finlay MacDonald Band”. This band combines the idioms of Contemporary Piping with Jazz, Funck and Dance. The album “Pressed For Time” was released in 2003 and the band have been touring in Italy, France and Spain with great success.
