The Outstanding Service to Education & Education awards recognise individuals that have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the tutelage and further advancement of players in all disciplines across Australia and further afield.
Outstanding Service
Education & Training
Nat began his dynamic piping career aged 10 with the 8th Belfast Company of the Boys Brigade and was Piper of the Year in 1969 competing with Field Marshal Montgomery until enlistment with 1st Battalion Irish Guards in 1970. In the Guards Piping School his piping experience and ability increased under the various Irish and Scots Guards Tutors of the period.
In 1974 Nat joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary and under his leadership and direction the band won 7 Ulster Championships, as well as every “major” Pipe Band Championship in the World through Grades 3 and 2, being crowned World Champions Grade 2 in 1981 and became one of the world’s top three Grade 1 bands.
In 1987 Nat was recruited as Pipe Major of the Victoria Police Pipe Band. Under his direction, the competition success of the band remains unprecedented in the Southern Hemisphere, winning five Australian championships (four in Grade 1) and culminating in winning the Grade 1 World Pipe Band Championship in 1998.
Nat has produced five highly-acclaimed recordings: two live concerts and three in studio. His services to Piping, Pipe Bands and Adjudication were recognised with the award of the Order of Australia medal in 2007. Nat is an esteemed member of the RSPBA Adjudication Panel and his service to that Panel was recognised in August 2011 with the presentation of the Adjudicators “long service award.” He has adjudicated Pipe Band competitions and solo events at the highest level all around the World, including the World Championships on several occasions.
Nat has been a leader in education and training in Australia and extending engagement in the development of pipe bands in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly in the areas of piping and ensemble. Nat set up the Victoria Police Piping and Drumming School in Melbourne in 1988 in conjunction with the Council of Adult Education. This programme had some 99 participants, including the conductor of the Victorian State Opera who wanted to learn more about woodwind instruments and the effect on ensemble. He has also conducted numerous workshops and seminar while also tutoring and assisting bands.
Pipe major of Hawthorn City Pipe Band on several occasions, Ron was, for 20 years, Principal of Piping in Australia and an influential driver in developing the adjudicator training syllabus and adjudicator handbook.
He was active in fostering education and training for many bands across Victoria and Australia and also an early advocate and participant in sharing knowledge of Australia pipers and bands into South-East Asia.
As pipe major of Hawthorn, Ron imparted his knowledge on many pipers that was then taken to other bands across Australia and continues to influence the music of today.
After serving in the Boer War with the Seaforths Danny worked at the bagpipe makers ‘Peter Henderson and Sons’ of Glasgow repairing pipes before emigrating to Australia before World War One.
Following further service he returned to Australia and began travelling with bagpipes. In 1919 Danny played with the Ballarat Caledonian Society Pipe Band as ‘Assistant Pipe Major’. In 1922 Danny served as the founding pipe major of the Mildura and District Pipe Band.
In 1926 he moved to Millicent, South Australia, and formed that town’s pipe band, later moving to Melbourne with the Royal Caledonian Society Pipe Band.
Following World War Two Danny accepted the role of tutor to establish the first Scotch College Pipe band.
His later retirement in 1957 was short-lived with Danny accepting the role of establishing the pipes program at Haileybury College until his death two years later.
Over the years, Australian and World Championships results have been attained by pipers as a direct result of the excellent tuition and leadership provided by William ‘Bill’ Bruce.
William spent his time teaching children and bands to play and developed each of his students into fine pipers whilst developing a number of future pipe majors of leading bands in Australia.
William held close association with Moorabbin band which today wears a tartan named in his honour.
As Principal of Drumming (1997-2017) Greg wrote music for the Australian Pipe Band College, devised syllabi, designed and conducted examinations, made videos for educational purposes and trained drumming and ensemble judges.
Greg has made a significant contribution to adjudication in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States of America.
After a career as a one of Scotland’s leading drummers and principal of the RSPBA college, Alex emigrated to Australia in 1952 with several other prominent players of the time to reform Castlemaine Pipe Band in regional Victoria, which was importing the leaders of a new band, before turning to Melbourne and later Ballarat. Alex and his compatriots brought with them from Scotland the style of drumming that caused a revolution in the Australian pipe band world.
From 1949 to 1952, he was Principal of Drumming at the Scottish Pipe Band Association College. In this position he was involved as a teacher and also in the development of the syllabus. After he emigrated, he kept this up by carrying out SPBA College examinations in Australia for a time. He taught all over Australia and was a leading proponent of the idea of an Australian college examination system. This did not happen until 1967, when Alex became the founding Principal Drumming of the Australian Pipe Band College, a position he held until 1979.
Alex was an excellent drumming adjudicator and was a driving force involved with an early attempt to bring ensemble adjudication to Australia in the early 1990s, conducting trials at competitions in Victoria. Alexander McCormick is rightly recognised as one of the pipe band world’s most influential leaders, and one of the founding fathers of modern pipe band drumming. His impact on all those he taught and anyone with whom he came into contact in the pipe band scene and beyond is indelible.
Initially joining St George District Pipe Band, Allan found greater interest as a drummer and over more than 50 years has taken his skills to high levels and shared them as lead drummer with leading bands of the eras including Sydney Thistle and NSW Police and also included stints with top Scottish bands.
His record in competition with Sydney Thistle, at the time one of Australia’s premier pipe bands, set up a Allan is believed to have been the first Australian admitted a drumming adjudicator with RSPBA and was Principal Drumming in Australia for eights years, having achieved qualifications both here and in Scotland.
Allan has written a number of books on pipe band drumming that received international recognition and was active in reviewing, refining and updating the Australian training syllabus, the preparation of instruction manuals, writing new massed band drum scores. He was active for many years in presenting workshops and lectures in Australia and New Zealand.
During his playing career, Allan performed with top Australian bands and guested with bands in New Zealand and Scotland. He studied the development of pipe band drumming and its personalities with many of his definitive, technical and historical articles being published Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, USA, Spain and Switzerland
Another famous MacLennan, the activities of Lewis Jnr brought benefits to piping in several states.
After service in the army during World War Two, Lewis was pipe major of the new Perth Highland formed by ex-servicemen whilst establishing a band at Scotch College Perth.
Lewis re-enlisted in the Australian Army and accepted a posting to New Guinea, where he established the Pacific Island Regiment Pipe Band, returning to Perth six years later to resume work with Perth Highland and Scotch College; both of whom achieved success over the following 15 years.
Lewis retired to Terang, Victoria, in 1978 where he tutored the local band before spending his final years in Melbourne.
The influence of Donald Blair as a pipe tutor and educator has spread across Australia and overseas for over four decades. A pioneering tutor of Victorian Certificate of Education (Year 12) Piping students, Donald co-founded the South West Coast Piper Drummer Dancer Workshop.
Don Patterson was an icon of pipe tutors in a small country area who inspired generations of young people to begin and continue their journey after leaving “the bush”.
Don joined the Naracoorte Highland Pipe Band in as a learner piper at aged 11 and became pipe major in 1971. In that time he brought many pipers through to the playing ranks of the band whilst ensuring connection between city and country – serving as South Australian branch chairman and organising competitions for player skill development.
Brett has a long and respected history as an educator of pipers at the highest of levels having been Principal of Piping in Australia since 2003 and thereby overseeing development of education and training for pipers and adjudicators.
Having been employed as a piping instructor in the Defence Force and for some years as a full-time bagpipe teacher; in 1991 he was asked to take on the role of pipe major of the newly formed, City of Adelaide Pipe Band a band that seven years later was crowned Australian champions.
During his playing career, Brett has also achieved on the international stage playing with Strathclyde Police. Brett has been described as the only piper to win Australia’s top solo piping competition (a record 12 wins of the RU Brown Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal) as well as pipe majoring a Grade 1 Australian championship winning band, “an impressive feat that will not be beaten in this generation”. He is author of the acclaimed The Complete Pipers Handbook and his technical articles have been published in some of the world including New Zealand, USA, Canada and Scotland.
Duncan MacLennan was particularly influential in the advancement of pipe band performance in Australia in the years following World War II. Having served as Pipe Major during the war he used his training in Scotland and knowledge of the bagpipes to benefit soldiers returning home in addition to the arriving wave of Scottish emigrants.
Initially living in Ballarat he soon had shaped the local band into one of the leading bands in the country before later returning to the Victoria Scottish Regiment whom became a leader in pipe band performance in the 1950s and 1960s.
Duncan continued to tutor numerous other bands in those post-war years and was a founding member of the Pipers’ Club of Victoria where solo playing was promoted.
An early piping instructor at Haileybury College, from late 1945 till 1946 he served the Victorian Highland Pipe Band Association as Secretary, returning to this during an interregnum in 1955.
Duncan served as Vice-President from 1953 to 1961, and then President from 1961 to 1974, following the inaugural President William Plain.
Duncan supported the formation of the Australian Federation of Pipe Band Associations in 1960, serving as its President in 1961, and as Principal Piping from 1967 to 1971.
Harold began his drumming career in 1961 aged 9 with Mitcham Pipe Band before later joining Nunawading, Hawthorn and Victoria Police as well as Ballynahinch in Northern Ireland.
Harold’s extensive record of sustained success and achievement in pipe band circles is one of outstanding and unparalleled excellence. A combination of expert drumming technique and styles have contributed to Harold’s wealth of knowledge which he has passed on throughout his years of leadership, band and personal tuition, workshops and adjudication.
Harold’s many years of playing, leadership, teaching and mentorship see him as most highly respected and admired drummer, both nationally and internationally. Harold’s performance career in Australia saw him as drum sergeant or flank drummer with some of the nation’s leading bands from the 1970sthrough to the 1990s, including the 1998 World champions Victoria Police. A combination of expert drumming technique and styles have contributed to Harold’s wealth of knowledge which he has passed on throughout his years of leadership, band and personal tuition, workshops and adjudication.
A former vice-principal drumming where he conducted training and examinations and RSPBA international panel adjudicator, Harold has assisted many bands through workshops and mentoring. Every drum score imparted was his original composition to all bands instructed. Several bands including Grade 1 UK bands have used or copied these drum scores.
His influence on several generations of students at Haileybury is evident with successes in band championships over 20 years plus solo championship achievements.
Dough Thoreson began his piping career in his native home of New Zealand. After moving to Australia Doug contributed to the education and training of pipers in the Australian Army where he served as director of pipe music in addition to his work in community bands where he dispensed skills he himself attained having completed the pipe major course at Edinburgh Castle in harmony with decades of involvement in the overall Pipe Band movement.
Following his army career, Doug joined Queensland Police Pipe Band and travelled the breadth of the state teaching pipers in the art of solo and band playing and acting as a resource for knowledge.
Gary has tutored many bands in Tasmania and nationally, composing drum music for a number of bands. Gary further Assisted in the writing of drumming syllabi, conducting workshops and has served as the Vice-Principal of Drumming in Tasmania for more than 30 years.
Whilst drumming remains his primary focus Gary served as Pipe Major of the Derwent Scottish Pipe Band for many years.