Pipe Major Angus MacDonald

It speaks volumes that Scotland's greatest piping traditions truly endured themselves into the Millennium and far, far beyond. It likewise speaks volumes that a good many of Scotland's greatest, most beloved Pipe Majors are still around, having borne witness to that Millennium.

Sadly, Pipe Major Angus MacDonald was not one of those honoured souls.

His death on June 25th, 1999, at the age of 60, marked the end of one of the last great piping eras in the modern history of Scotland. Yet it also served as a beginning, for P/M MacDonald leaves behind scores of pupils the world over --- each and every one o' them more than well prepared to continue his legacy. Few Scotsmen before or since were so immediately connected with piobaireachd, the classical music of the Great Highland Bagpipe; indeed, rarely had one Piper so faithfully devoted himself to sharing the magic of piobaireachd with the rest of the world.

From his boyhood years with the Queen Victoria Pipe Band at Dunblane, to his more than 30 years of service with the Scots Guards, including his tour of duty as the first Personal and Household Piper to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; as well as his numerous awards, citations, trophies and other honours, Angus MacDonald came to earn his reputation as a leading force in the annals of Scottish piping. And even during his years as a teacher of pipers, from circa 1974 to circa 1992, Angus demanded --- and very often got --- perfectionism from his students wherever he travelled: from all across Scotland and the rest of Great Britain, to areas as diverse as Oman, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia..... and, naturally, throughout Canada and the United States.

And so we once again pause to remember the several individuals amongst the Massed Pipes and Drums who can honestly boast of having been taught by the likes o' Angus MacDonald. Without question, one such individual was Pipe Major Captain Gavin N.M. Stoddart, B.E.M., Royal Highland Fusiliers, and formerly Director of Army Bagpipe Music, based at Edinburgh Castle. For the 50th Anniversary Edinburgh Tattoo, Major Stoddart was appropriately named the Lone Piper, following in the traditions of his late father, P/M George Stoddart, who served as Lone Piper for the first 11 years of the Edinburgh Tattoo's existence. The Major's rendition of his own composition, "Sleep Dearie Sleep," was performed not only as a tribute to his father; but also, in memory of that one other man whose piping virtuosity would undoubtedly have a profound influence upon Stoddart's own subsequent piping career.........

Please join us here at Uncle Fergus' Bagpipers' Paradise as we observe our traditional moment of silent contemplation in memory of Pipe Major Angus MacDonald.