• Bagpipe Maintenance

• Solo Performance Technique

• Solo Instrument Setup

• Band Tuning

• Tune Composition

• March Strathspey & Reel Playing

• Solo Jig Playing

• Music Theory / Harmony Composition

• Piobaireachd

• Stick Control

• Snare Drum Setup

• Competition Master Classes

• How to select a solo competition tune

• and much more!

Bruce Gandy

Bruce makes his living teaching piping full time at home Halifax Nova
Scotia with an ever growing stable of students coming to his work office at
the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site or his computer as he is one of the
most in demand teachers on the growing “skype“ network with over 40
students coming online to see him. Bruce is one of the top solo competitors in the world, and is currently Pipe Sergeant of 78th Highlanders Halifax Citadel grade 1.  Learn more at www.brucegandymusic.com 

Kristin Tillery

Kristin started playing Scottish Tenor approximately in 1999. She was part of the, now, Kevin R Blandford Memorial Pipe Band (grade 3) through the 2010 season. In 2011 she joined the Grade 1 LA Scots Pipe Band and continues to lead their tenor corps to success.  

Duncan Millar

Flank drummer for the past twenty years with SFU, Duncan Millar has won several grade one pipe band championships. Included are four World Championships, and four World Drum Corps Championships (North American, South American, New Zealand, and Australian championships).

Duncan has performed in numerous large venue concerts and competitions for SFU, including Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and the finals at the World Solo Drumming Championships.  North American solo drumming awards have also been achieved over the same time frame, highlighted by final round appearances at the World Solo Drumming Championships.  Duncan is a lawyer in Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, Canada and a drumming and ensemble adjudicator with the British Columbia Piper’s Association.

Andrew Carlisle

Andrew is originally from Ballygowan, County Down and joined FMM in 2003. He is one of the world’s leading soloists and has won numerous prizes including the Gillies Cup for Piobaireachd at London, the A Grade Strathspey and Reel at Oban, the Senior Piobaireachd and overall at Cowal, the US Gold Medal for Piobaireachd and Light music, the MacCrimmon Trophy, and three All-Ireland titles. Andrew is Professor of Music and Director of Piping at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA. During his time there, he has transformed the University Pipes and Drums into a successful Grade 3 band.

Rob Boyd

Rob plays in the Silicon Valley Pipe Band and other bands have included the Irish Pipers of San Francisco, Prince Charles Pipe Band, Dunvegan Pipe Band, Monterey Scottish Pipe Band and the Lockheed Pipe Band beginning in 1975. He was taught originally by his uncle, Dick Boyd, and also benefitted from excellent instruction from Ozzie Reid, Stuart McAlpine and Jimmy McColl.  Rob served for years as a WUSPBA judge and also taught at the Balmoral School of Piping at Sonoma State University. His awards include a prize in the US Silver Medal contest in Kansas City, the MSR at the Nicol-Brown contest in New York, Jigs at the Vancouver Indoor and overall aggregates at Pleasanton and throughout the Western US. 

Adam Blaine

Adam started learning bagpipes at the age of 11 under the instruction of Gerald Tetrualt and Dr. Al Walker of the Plattsburgh Police Pipes and Drums. He attended the Ontario School of Piping and Drumming for 4 summers, where he was taught by some of the greatest bagpipers of our time : Rob Crabtree, Ken Eller, Bruce Gandy, Jack Lee, Stuart Liddell, Ian K. Macdonald, Jim McGillivray, James MacHattie, and more. Following the piping school, Adam took private instruction from Alex Gandy. He has played in the RCMP Pipe Band based in Montreal, Quebec. Currently Adam is a member of the Grade 2 LA Scots Pipe Band and is Pipe Major and instructor of the Grade 4 Silicon Valley Pipe Band. He is also a frequent prize winner in grade 1 solo competition.

Alex Bieschke

Alex starting drumming at the age of 7 after a brief attempt at learning bagpipes. Alex has played in bands all over North America including LA Scots, North Stratton (Edmonton, Alberta), Oran Mor (Albany, New York), Carnegie Mellon (PIttsburgh, Pennsylvania), and currently competes with the grade 2 Winnipeg Police PIpe Band from Manitoba, Canada. When home, Alex is the drumming instructor for the Glendora High School pipe band. In her 14 years at the school, the program has grown from 7 students, and too small to compete, to being the reigning WUSPBA champions and just finishing up an undefeated 2018 campaign. Alex's career highlights include winning the North American Championships drumming with Winnipeg Police, Winning the grade 1 qualifier drumming at the World Championships with LA Scots, winning the grade 3b World Championship with Pasadena Scots, and watching her Glendora students take straight firsts in drumming in 2018 including winning both of her grandfather's memorial trophies.