Winter School is a rare opportunity to learn from some of the best players and the most creative instructors of Celtic music, while spending time in community with fellow musicians and music appreciators.
Learn MoreLearn MoreWinter School is an opportunity to learn tunes from some of the best players and the most inspiring instructors of Celtic music, spending time in community with fellow musicians and music appreciators, and just have fun!
The Piobaireachd classes will take place concurrently with the Uilleann pipes program. Piping classes will be split into multiple groups of 8-12 students each, and you will rotate instructors with your group. Each group will have a chance to learn from multiple instructors each day.
Students arrive on Thursday afternoon, February 1st. The schedule will include group classes each day, evening ceilidhs, an opportunity to attend the instructor concert, and a few fun extras. The program ends after breakfast on Monday, February 5th. Most students choose to stay on for Highland Pipes week which begins after breakfast on Monday, February 5th.
Prices for the Piobaireachd Program include tuition, housing, and meals:
Angus MacColl, who hails from Benderloch, Scotland, comes from an illustrious piping family and is the great grandnephew of legendary piper and composer John MacColl. With years of piping still ahead, Angus’s contribution to the MacColl dynasty is certain t orival that of his forebears. Angus has won virtually every award in piping, including the Gold Medals at Oban and Inverness, the Glenfiddich Championship twice, the Clasp at Inverness three times, the Senior Piobaireachd at Oban three times, the Silver Star for former winners MSR at Inverness, and the former winners MSR at Oban on several occasions.
Born in New Zealand and an emigrant to Scotland, Murray Henderson has won an amazing number of top awards. His accomplishments include prizes and Gold Medals at Oban and Inverness, six Clasps at Inverness, five Silver Chanters at Dunvegan Castle, London’s Bratach Gorm five times, the Former Winners MSR at London five times, and four-time Glenfiddich champion. In 2016 he was honored by being inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. Senior adjudicator for the Solo Piper’s Judges Association for both Piobaireachd and light music, Murray has judged Internationally, and at all major events in Scotland. Spanning five decades, his competitive and mentoring record has made him one of the world’s most successful, and knowledgeable pipers.
Roddy MacLeod MBE, Glasgow, Scotland is considered to be one of the most accomplished pipers of his generation and a highly regarded teacher, recitalist and adjudicator. Uniquely, he is a Grade 1 Championship winning Pipe Major and a five time Glenfiddich World Solo Piping Champion and in 2012 he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Awards Hall of Fame. Throughout his career as a piper Roddy has become renowned for his sound and is a dedicated ambassador of the instrument.
A native of Campbeltown, Kintyre, Willie received his main tuition from his uncles Ronald McCallum and Hugh A. McCallum and also came under the guidance of Ronald McCallum, MBE, Piper to The Duke of Argyll. The McCallum family can trace their piping back to John McAlister (Willie’s 4-times great-grandfather) who won the prize pipe in 1782 at the Falkirk Tryst. Willie’s development as a youngster included not only these formal family influences but the less tangible, equally important impressions made by countless visits to the Kintyre Piping Society. Here he heard all the experts of the era, including legends such as Donald MacLeod, Donald MacPherson, and John Burgess. Willie McCallum is one of the foremost competing pipers in the world today. He is in demand as a recitalist, adjudicator, and teacher. He has five solo recordings to his credit, in addition to his appearance on a number of compilation albums recorded live at recitals and competitions. In recent years, several of his students have gained high placings at the major piping gatherings at Oban, Inverness, and London. He also has long and successful pipe band experience and was a member of the Scottish Power Pipe Band winning three major championships.
