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 Emma Buchan
Scotland
From Falkirk, Emma began piping at the age of 9, competing on the junior solo circuit under the tutelage of Roddy McLeod, MBE. She had a very successful solo career and in 2007 she won the Scottish Junior Champion of Champions prize. She became a founding member of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland in 2003, later becoming Pipe Major in 2009. Emma's first grade 1 season was with David Urquhart Travel Pipe Band in 2004 at the age of 14. She joined Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band in 2005, and 18 years later she was part of the team to lift the World’s title for the band's first time in its history. After 20 years with Boghall, Emma is now a member of Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, won the 2026 World Pipe Band Championships with them, and is enjoying the new challenge and adventures to Vancouver. She is also Pipe Major of Falkirk Schools Novice B and is a Teacher of Music at Larbert High School.
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Katie Buckland
Canada
Katie is from Nova Scotia, Canada and started piping at age 11. She is a piper in the Canadian Armed Forces and has travelled the world representing Canada with piping. She has competed with the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) and the 78th Fraser Highlanders. She has also been Pipe Major of the Grade 2 Viscount Park Pipe Band from Edmonton, Canada and many other military bands. Katie is currently the Pipe Sergeant of the Dartmouth & District Grade 2 Pipe Band.
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Annabel Charlton
Scotland
Annabel is from Pitlochry, Scotland and is currently doing a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Aberdeen. Annabel started to learn the bagpipes at the age of 6 and she is currently playing with RATAE pipe band from Leicester, England. In 2025, Annabel played in grade 1 with Police Scotland Fife. Annabel is also focusing on become a native-level speaker in French and travels to Brittany to play with Bagad Sonerien an Oriant (Lorient).
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Bonnie Hamilton
United States
Bonnie grew up along the Laurentian Great Lakes and currently resides in Ontario, Canada. She received instruction from her father and more recently Chris Armstrong. Previously, she played with St Thomas Alumni Pipe Band in Grade 1. Now, Bonnie is a member of Scottish Power Pipe Band. She holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and is an ecotoxicologist and research scientist at the University of Ottawa.
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 Jenny Hazzard
Canada
Jenny was brought up in Ontario, Canada and was first taught piping by Michael Grey. She had various solo piping successes in North America, including winning the Metro Cup in New York and the ‘gold medal’ MSR at Maxville, and played for eight years with 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band. In 1999, Jenny moved to Scotland with her husband Colin MacLellan. She won the Silver Medal at Inverness that same year, and has since had several prizes in A-grade solo piping events at the Northern Meeting, London, the Scottish Pipers’ Association, and other venues. In 2017 Jenny joined Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, with whom she has won two World Championships. Professionally, Jenny is an environmental planning consultant, supporting the development of renewable energy projects.
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 Margaret Houlihan
Ireland
Margaret is originally from Cullen, Co. Cork, in Ireland. She grew up playing in the local Cullen pipe band under her father, Con Houlihan. She moved to Scotland at the age of 17 to study piping at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Margaret was pipe major of Cullen Pipe Band when the band became world champions in Grade 3B in 2007. Margaret played in Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band for four season, winning the world championships with the band in 2000, and re-joined the band again in 2023, where she is currently playing. In 2003 Houlihan became the first ever female player to win an A grade light music competition and in 2008 went on to be the first female player to ever play on the Former Winners March Strathspey & Reel competition stage at the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban. She is a piping instructor at The National Piping Centre in Glasgow.
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Tori Killoran
Canada
Tori began piping with the Kamloops Pipe Band in British Columbia, Canada, under the instruction of Scot Kortegaard before joining the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band organization in 2011. She has competed throughout North America and Scotland and has been a member of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band for the past ten years, where she plays alongside her sister, Taylor, and her husband, Craig, winning the 2026 World Pipe Band Championships. Outside of piping, Tori is an elementary Learning Support Teacher and holds a Master of Education in Special Education from the University of British Columbia.
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 Barbara MacDonald
Canada
Barbara began piping at age 10 in Saskatchewan, Canada and has played her whole life alongside her husband, Iain, and together they have proudly brought three children into the piping and drumming world: Eilidh, Ruaridh and Duncan. Barbara’s debut in Grade 1 was in 1988 with the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and she was a member until 1991. She was a founding member and Pipe Sergeant of the City of Regina Pipe Band (Grade 2) since its inception in 1992. In 2016, Alex Gandy invited Barbara to play with the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band and has played with them as an ‘out-of-towner’ since that time. Barbara has taught many piping students over the years, most often being responsible for their beginning paths. She is a diabetes nurse with a diabetes specific Master of Science from Teachers College, Columbia University and is a consultant and co-founder of IDEA Diabetes
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 Eilidh MacDonald
Canada
Eilidh grew up piping in Saskatchewan, Canada with instruction from both her parents, Barbara and Iain MacDonald. She spent decade as a member of the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band with tuition from Bruce and Alex Gandy in Halifax, Canada. She moved to Glasgow in 2021, competed with ScottishPower Pipe Band in 2022, and played with Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band for four seasons, including winning the British Championships in 2026. She also joined Bagad Brieg and adores going to Brittany to play with them. Eilidh has a PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology and Biophysics and is a Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow.
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Robyn Ada McKay
Scotland
Robyn is a piper and whistle player from Glasgow and a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s BMus(Hons) Piping Degree course. As well as being a member of St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band since the age of 14, she has studied traditional music on Cape Breton Island and has been involved in projects such as Disney’s Artemis Fowl and Dune: Part One and Part Two. She has also worked alongside industry veterans such as Hans Zimmer, Patrick Doyle, Julie Fowlis, Phil Cunningham MBE, and The Script. Robyn currently works as a paramedic on the Isle of Cumbrae and enjoys hiking/paddleboarding in her spare time.
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Catriona Norman
Scotland
Catriona started chanter lessons at the age of 6 with tuition from a local band and progressed from novice B to grade 1. She currently plays for Police Scotland and Federation Pipe Band in Glasgow and has just graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with an honours degree in traditional music.
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 Beth Preston
Northern Ireland
Beth began her pipe band career as a Drum Major, winning the European, United Kingdom, and Ulster Championships, as well as the NI Champion of Champions title. She started piping at age 11 with Bessbrook Crimson Arrow (Grade 4B) and, at 15, moved to Grade 1 with the Pipes and Drums of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, spending three seasons with the band. Beth joined Lomond and Clyde Pipe Band (Glasgow) in 2019, then moved to Closkelt Pipe Band in 2022, competing over four seasons. She is currently a member of St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band. Alongside band success, Beth has enjoyed a strong solo career, earning four Ulster and three All-Ireland titles across MSR and Piobaireachd. She continues to compete in B Grade Piping and Piobaireachd A. Beth has a degree in Biomedical Science with Pathology and currently works full time in a laboratory.
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Morgan Tabuteau
New Zealand
Morgan grew up and learned to play the pipes in New Zealand where she was a member of the National Youth Pipe Band and later, the Manawatu Scottish Pipe Band. She moved to Scotland in September 2025 where she is working as a distiller for a small island distillery and is now a member of St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band.
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Hollie Chalmers
Scotland
Hollie began her drumming career at the age of 8 where she grew up watching her brother playing pipes in a local band Turriff & District. Hollie had some success in solos over the years , including winning the North of Scotland solos and then moving on to win 1st place in the World Solo Drumming Solos Juvenile section 4 in 2022. Hollie now plays with Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band and is also studying Traditional Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
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Amanda Colwell
Canada
Amanda was first introduced to drumming through the video game Rock Band, which she played with her dad. Inspired by the experience, she soon began learning snare drum and joined the Robert Macolm Memorial Pipe Band. Over the years, she has had opportunities to compete with bands in New Zealand and Australia. Amanda has been playing with Simon Fraser University Pipe Band since 2021, and won the World Pipe Band Championships with the band in 2026.
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Taylor King
Canada
Taylor first began drumming in British Columbia, Canada with the Kamloops Pipe Band in 2008. She then joined the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band in 2011 with her sister Tori, and moved her way up to the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band in 2016 where she currently plays, winning the 2026 World Pipe Band Championships. Outside of pipe band, Taylor is a registered nurse working in cardiac surgery.
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Elena Le Guellec
France
Elena is from Brittany, France, and has been playing snare drum since the age of 6 in the music school of Bagad Cap Caval. She now plays with her father with Bagad Cap Caval in the premiere category for Bagad, and in Bap Caval Pipe Band in Grade 2. Outside of drumming, she studies educational sciences in order to become a teacher.
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 Elizabeth Shaw
Canada
Elizabeth is originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she began snare drumming at age eight with her local youth band. She received her early drumming tuition from Kathy MacPherson, a former member of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band. She played with Alberta Caledonia Pipe Band from 2011-2013, and 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band in 2014. After moving to England in 2020, she joined the Grade 2 Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band in 2024. An avid solo competitor, she has competed across North America and at several Solo Championships. Elizabeth also provides online snare drumming instruction to students of all ages and abilities, and teaches in the Dumfries and Galloway area through the South West Scotland Piping and Drumming Academy.
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Chloe Taylor
Scotland
Chloe began drumming at the age of nine under the instruction of Paul Turner and progressed to Grade 1 by fifteen, becoming one of the youngest female snare drummers to reach that level at the time. In 2016, she won the World Solo Drumming Championship (16 & Under) and has since competed regularly at the highest level, including appearances in the World Solo Drumming Championship semi-finals. Chloe previously played with ScottishPower Pipe Band and now performs with Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band. Alongside competing, she teaches drumming through the council, teaches privately, and is often gigging!
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Bryde Whelan
Canada
Bryde began piping in Saskatchewan, Cananda at the age of 8 and decided at the age of 13 to pursue snare drumming. She played with a local youth band and then at the age of 15 joined the Grade 2 City of Regina Pipe Band where she played for a many years before moving out west and playing with New West Minster Police Pipe Band in Grade 2 for several years. In 2018 she joined North Stratton Pipe Band, winning the drumming at the Worlds in Grade 2 in 2024. Outside of drumming, Bryde is a registered nurse working in the emergency department.
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Becky Anderson
Scotland
Becky started playing the tenor drum at age 8 in Hawick Pipe Band (Grade 4b). At age 18 she made the jump to Grade 1 to join Lomond and Clyde Pipe Band in their first season in grade 1 and played 2 seasons with the band before making a move to Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band in 2021.
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Bethany Jack
Ireland
Bethany is originally from Ireland and now lives in Scotland with her fiancé, Liam, and their son, Archie. She spent most of her tenor drumming career with Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, winning multiple major championships, including two Grade 1 World Championship titles and a Champion of Champions drumming title. In 2025, she joined Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band to play alongside her fiancé and remains a member today. Outside of drumming, Bethany works in procurement as a Senior Buyer.
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Molly MacDonald
United States
Molly grew up in the pipe band scene in Northern California, where she began playing tenor and snare drum with her mother’s local band. She started playing in Grade 1 with the Los Angeles Scots Pipe Band in 2012, becoming Leading Drummer in 2016. In 2020, she relocated to the Seattle area and joined the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band. While primarily playing snare drum with the band, she has recently had the pleasure of switching over to bass drum. This year, she won the 2026 World Pipe Band Championships with the band. Outside of drumming, Molly holds a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and works as a child and family therapist for a local nonprofit organization
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Zara Pate
Scotland
Zara is a tenor drummer from Scotland who began learning in 2013 with. Peoples Ford Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band After progressing through the juvenile grades, she made the step up to Grade 1 in 2019, where she continues to perform with the band today. Having graduated this year with a degree in Sports Coaching, Zara now combines her passion for sport and music through her work with Active Schools and her teaching role with Falkirk Schools Pipe Band.
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Skye Wishart
Scotland
Skye is from Glasgow and started tenor drumming at age 10 through the Johnstone Pipe Band development system. She started in Novice Juvenile and moved through the grades to grade 1 in 2017, then joining Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia in 2024. Skye has a Masters in Immunology from Strathclyde University and works in a microbiology lab for food safety and quality.
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Emma Barr
Northern Ireland
Emma started to drum major when she was 4-years old after watching drum majors flourish on parade. She entered her first competition at the age of 5, and won her first major title, the European Championships, at 7 years-old. Since then, she’s gone on to win multiple championships, including two World titles. She is the Drum Major for the 13-time World Champions, Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band.
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Sophie Joint - PIANO
Scotland
Sophie is a piano player from Glasgow who has been brought up playing both Scottish and Irish traditional music. Having studied at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, she is enjoying a career of performing and teaching within the Scottish music scene. With strong traditional roots, Sophie draws influences from other styles including classical and jazz shaping her own unique sound. She was recently a finalist in the BBC Young Traditional Musician of The Year competition in 2022, and she plays in folk bands Tarran and Heisk.
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Manon Martin - DRUMS
France
Manon Martin began music at the age of 5, first exploring African percussion before moving on to Brazilian percussion in a batucada. She became interested in Breton traditional music in 2015 when she joined the Bagad de Concarneau in the percussion section. At the same time, she took up the drums. She obtained a diploma in music and dance, which allowed her to train at the Brest conservatory in amplified contemporary music. Today, she still plays with Bagad de Concarneau, but also as a musician with the Elliant Celtic circle, with Poppy Time (a funk fusion group), Pagure (a rock band), and Mouk (an electric folk quartet).
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Anja MacLennan - GUITAR
Scotland
Anja is an up-and-coming guitarist originally from Dingwall and based in Glasgow. She is an alumni of the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music and is currently studying Traditional Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Growing up in the Highlands meant she was surrounded by traditional music from a young age, attending local fèisean and taking part in various youth bands. She gigs regularly as part of the bands Meallan and Raivelt; the first of which having just released their debut EP.
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