2025 School Instructors & Staff

Iain Simpson - Piping 

Iain started learning the chanter aged seven and was originally taught by his father William.

Iain joined his local band Kinneil Colliery in the early seventies and played with this band until 1986 when he joined Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia.  During his time with Boghall, Iain has won all the Major Championships several times but there is no doubt the highlight of his long, decorated career was winning the Grade 1 World Championship in 2023 for the first time.

Iain was also Pipe Major of Boghall’s Novice Juvenile band between 1992 – 97. After winning 3 Major Championships in 92, including the Worlds, the band was promoted to the juvenile grade where they competed successfully until the turn of the century.

In 2000, Iain was appointed Pipe Major of Geoge Watson’s College Pipes & Drums where he and his drumming colleague Mick O’Neill formed a formidable partnership that would transform the band and indeed the Juvenile grade. Between 2000 and 2022 under their leadership, the band won over 35 Major Championships including 6 Worlds and 11 Champion of Champion titles and over 50 Major drumming titles. Iain was humbled and delighted to meet the late Queen Elizabeth when the school band won ‘Best band on Parade’ at the famous Braemar Gathering. Another unforgettable experience was playing ‘The Flowers of the Forest’ at the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres in 2015. After retiring from GWC in 2022, the band are now lead by former Peoples Ford Pipe Major Ross Harvey and they remain at the very top of a highly competitive grade. Iain is currently teaching bagpipes on a part-time basis at The Edinburgh Academy.

Once retired, Iain was looking for a new challenge and he started competing on the solo piping circuit. Iain has gained a few prizes mainly thanks to receiving advice from his son Jonathon!! Over the years Iain has travelled extensively with Watson’s and Boghall visiting countries including Japan, Malaysia, Russia, USA, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium performing in Competitions, Tattoos, Concerts and facilitating workshops.

Iain is a qualified RSPBA Adjudicator, PDQB Assessor and Instructor. He was a member of the RSPBA Music board for over 25 years.

Iain is looking forward to meeting friends old and new and sharing his expertise and experience with all concerned.

J. Reid Maxwell - Snare Drumming

Reid has an amazing record of accomplishments at the top in the pipe band world. Apart from his six World and six World Drum Corps titles with SFU, Reid has won the titles with two other Grade 1 bands, one of them as lead drummer! Reid is perhaps the only person is history to lead two separate drum corps to the World title!

Apart from his years of pipe band and solo success, Reid has also been an amazing teacher of drumming, inspiring students across the world at workshops, schools and via the internet. You can hear his influence on drum corps around the World, and his incredible feel for pipe band ensemble has been a key part of his teaching.

In 2024, Reid was awarded an Honourary Doctorate degree from Simon Fraser University in recognition of his massive accomplishments as a performer, leader and instructor.

Reid's massively popular rudimental tutor Taking No Shortcuts  and his book of drum scores are available for purchase at his website: takingnoshortcuts.com

Reid has been a regular instructor at Sound Advice in the past, and we are delighted to have him return this year!

Jordan Bailie - Tenor/Bass Drumming

Jordan started tenor drumming at the age of 10 and by the age of 13 and was playing in the Grade 1 competition circuit first with Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band and since 2014 with current World Champions Inveraray and District Pipe Band.

Jordan has enjoyed successes in over 20 RSPBA Major Championships, including three World Championships and two World Drumming titles.

As a solo player Jordan has competed and won many events including the International Juvenile Solos and the Gold Medal competition at Winter Storm and has been the World Solo Champion on two occasions including most recently in October 2024.

Jordan teaches drumming in Scottish schools and has his own company that produces tenor sticks and practice pads for tenor drummers worldwide.

Glenna MacKay-Johnstone - Piping

Glenna’s journey in music and song commenced at a young age, as she comes from a lineage of exceptionally gifted musicians. Her lifelong commitment to her craft has been shaped by the immersive musical environment she was raised in.

With over four decades of experience as a piper, Glenna's musical education began under the tutelage of her father, Reay Mackay. She spent most of her life gaining knowledge from his expertise. Her dedication to honing her skills has persisted through ongoing mentorship from figures such as Bruce Gandy, Michael Grey, Bill Livingstone and others. Glenna continues to engage with these mentors to ensure her continual growth and development as a musician, embodying the spirit of a lifelong learner.

Glenna has built a lengthy career encompassing solo performances, contributions to pipe bands, and dedicated teaching. Her expertise extends to adjudicating solo and band competitions for more than two decades. Additionally, she has contributed to the world of music as a composer, with her compositions featured in various piping collections and recordings.

Beyond her prowess as a piper, Glenna is also a Gaelic singer who has performed at numerous venues and contributed to various recordings. She currently pursues her Gaelic studies remotely at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, honouring her commitment to learning the language.

In her professional life, Glenna served as an educator with over three decades of experience in Ontario's public education system. She resides in Aurora, Ontario, alongside her husband Alasdair and their two children. Both of her children have also excelled in music and are actively involved in the piping community, carrying on the family's musical legacy.

Barbara MacDonald - Piping

Barbara started piping at the age of 10, and played and performed with Regina’s Fraser Pipe Band, eventually becoming its pipe major. As P-M, Barbara led the band to provincial championships, and a 1979 tour of Scotland.  

She attended piping summer schools at Fort San, and later moved to BC, where she was pipe sgt of the SFU Grade 2 band. Following that, she played for several seasons with the Grade 1 SFU Pipe Band, and made CDs, BBC radio broadcasts, and finished in the top 5 at the World Pipe Band Championships with SFU. 

She was a founding member of the City of Regina Pipe Band and has been pipe sgt for a number of years. She plays key roles in setting the band’s sound and writing harmonies, and she has taught piping for many years.  

Barbara is currently an instructor at the Conservatory of Performing Arts in Regina, and since 2016 has been a member of the 78^th Highlanders, Halifax Citadel Grade 1 band.

 Barbara is currently the President of the SPBA and in 2024 was awarded The Queen's Jubilee Medal for services to piping in Saskatchewan. In her work life, she has been a Registered Nurse for 40+ years, holds a Masters degree from Columbia University (NY) and is a co-founder and partner in IDEA-Diabetes, a company that inspires hope, and provides the knowledge and skills to support people to live well with diabetes.

Jeremy White - Snare Drumming

A native of Fredericton, New Brunswick Jeremy began his drumming career with the Fredericton Society of St. Andrew Pipe Band organization in 1990, at the age of eight. After progressing through the grades, he moved to the Grade 2 where he stayed for over a decade, during which both the corps and band achieved many successes including numerous North American championships that led the band to be upgraded to Grade 1. During this time, he also guested with the Grade 1 Manawatu Scottish Pipe Band of New Zealand at the World Pipe Band Championships, where the band finished ninth.

Jeremy was later the head drumming instructor at the College of Piping where, the band won the Grade 4 North American Championship and was upgraded to Grade 3. The following year, the band attended the World Pipe Band Championships where they finished fourth and runner-up in drumming. Next, he was lead drummer of the Dartmouth and District Grade 2 band for one season before leaving the Maritimes to become a musician in the Canadian Armed Forces.

For several years Jeremy was posted in Winnipeg with the Canadian Forces, where he was lead drummer of the RCAF pipe band and also played with the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band, followed by stints with Viscount Park Pipe Band in Edmonton.

After leaving the Canadian Forces, Jeremy moved to Edmonton he currently operates his drumming studio. He is the head instructor with the Edmonton Youth Pipe Band and the lead drummer for North Stratton Pipe Band), and a certified adjudicator with the Alberta Society of Pipers.

Jeremy travelled back to Brittany to compete with the 23-time Bagadoù National Championship winner Bagad Kemper (Grade 1), winning the drumming title that year as well as in 2019, and most recently, in 2023. Jeremy travels  annually to perform and compete with Bagad Kemper.

In 2024, the North Stratton drum corps under Jeremy’s direction became the World Grade 2 drumming champions, with the band placing second overall—just one week after winning the European championship title both as a band and drum corps.

Sean Somers - Piping

Sean Somers has established himself as one of the top professional pipers from the Canadian Prairies, gaining accolades as a composer, leader, bandsman, and soloist. He started piping at the age of 8, and got his first lessons from his father, Trewin Somers.
 
Sean has been a consistent prize-winner in professional piping contests throughout North America and is the pipe-major of the Grade 2 Rocky Mountain Pipe Band (RMPB) based in Calgary, Alberta. As its pipe-major, Sean has led the RMPB to win the North American Pipe Band Championship, the BC Indoor Annual Gathering, the Mid-America Championship, the Northern Canadian Championships, the Alberta Provincial Championships, the Saskatchewan Provincial Championships, and many other top prizes at local Highland Games.
 
Sean is the former Principal Piping Instructor at the College of Piping (PEI), and has since continued to teach at workshops and at summer schools throughout North America. Sean has also enjoyed opportunities to give recitals in addition to his teaching.

With many appearances in the Grade 1 finals at the World Pipe Band Championships, he is also the former pipe-sergeant of the Grade 1 Alberta Caledonia Pipe Band, and former key member of the 78th Highlanders (Halifax) Pipe Band where he won both the Canadian and North American Championships in Grade 1. Sean spent his formative years with The City of Regina Pipe Band and credits Iain MacDonald (Regina) and Barb MacDonald as major influences on his piping career.

An award-winning composer, Sean is also the author of his own book of bagpipe music entitled “The Out West Collection”. With his compositions appearing in many other contemporary collections of bagpipe music, his tunes have been played and recorded by some of the world’s best soloists and pipe bands.

Sean is the past President of the Alberta Society of Pipers & Drummers (ASPD), past President of the Saskatchewan Pipe Band Association, and former Chair of the Music and Judging Committee with the ASPD. He is a former member of the Music Initiatives Advisory Committee with the Alliance of North American Pipe Band Associations, and also a former member of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association's (RSPBA) International Liaison Group, a sub-committee of the RSPBA's Music Board.

An accredited member of both the ASPD and the Pipers and Pipe Band Society of Ontario (PPBSO) adjudication panels, Sean has judged solo and band competitions of all levels throughout North America. Stops include British Columbia, the Canadian Prairies, the Maritimes in eastern Canada, as well as the Pacific Region, the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

Over the years, Sean has also been a contributor to pipes|drums, the world’s most popular magazine for pipers and drummers, with feature articles, reviews and opinion.

Sean has also assisted in the development of a bagpipe making business, which manufactured highland bagpipes, smallpipes, practice chanters and accessories.

Based in Calgary, Alberta, Sean is married with a son and daughter. A civil servant in “real life”, he is a Communications professional with The City of Calgary.

 Sound Advice Staff

It takes an enormous amount of time to organize and run a summer camp, and the SPBA is fortunate to have a team of dedicated to putting the school together.

Wayne Rempel - School Director

Wayne started piping as an adult after his son took an interest, and he carried on from there, taking lessons through the Conservatory of Performing Arts, and then later joining the Regina RCMP Pipe Band. Wayne competes in Adult piping class events, performs with the RCMP Pipe Band, and was recently awarded The Queen's Jubilee Medal for services to the arts. He is a Past President of the SPBA, and did a brilliant job managing the school last year.

Michelle Gallagher - School Director/Instructor

Michelle (Carline) Gallagher has played in pipe bands for most of her life, including many years with the City of Regina Pipe Band, a number of seasons in the  Alberta Caledonia Pipe Band, and she has been a member of Scottish bands Tayside Police and Mackenzie Caledonia. Michelle was a dominant player in the Grade 1 solos for several years, and we are fortunate to have her passion for playing and teaching as part of the school. Michelle will be taking on both teaching and administrative roles during the school.

 Iain MacDonald - Website & Music Direction

Iain MacDonald started SOUND ADVICE in 2004 and organized and ran the school each year until Fall 2022, at which time he sought others to take it on.  Iain will play a role in planning and will assist with some teaching as needed. His piping bio is HERE.