Donate to our School & Competition

Sharing our Celtic musical heritage with youth and interested adults, with an emphasis on instruction and presenting special events, is what the Balmoral School of Piping and Drumming is all about. Your kind support will help us spread the inspiring music of our culture to new musicians and audiences. All donations are welcome!

    • $25 - will help to purchase supplies for our piping schools
    • $50 – will help fund the Balmoral School and Balmoral Classic website
    • $100 – will help with the cost of a practice chanter for a student in need
    • $250 – will provide a student with 2.5 days of instruction at a summer session
    • $500 – provides a one-week tuition scholarship to a deserving teenager
    • $1,000 – provides one week room, board, and tuition for a top piper or drummer



Or send a check made payable to “Balmoral School” to
Balmoral School
1414 Pennsylvania Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15233.

Thank you for your interest in the Balmoral School of Piping and Drumming!

Balmoral School of Piping and Drumming (Balmoral School of Highland Piping) is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt educational organization. Our mission is “To raise the standard and promote the appreciation of bagpipe music in the USA by providing world-class instruction, cultivating excellence in youth, presenting innovative musical events, and fostering tradition.”

Founded in 1979, The Balmoral School of Piping and Drumming has trained over 3000 American pipers from across the USA at its summer sessions with instruction by champion pipers from Scotland and Ireland. We generously give scholarships to promising young pipers and drummers to attend the Balmoral summer sessions. We actively promote youth by producing Balmoral Classic, the annual US Junior Solo Piping and Drumming Championship competitions for pipers and drummers 21 years of age and younger during November in Pittsburgh, followed by a concert with internationally recognized performers of Celtic music.  Our family-oriented local pipe band with six teenage members, the Balmoral Pipes and Drums, performs in concerts, all the area holiday parades, and First Night Pittsburgh. Other projects include the production of a book with over 100 hymns arranged for the Highland bagpipe and an upcoming book about playing the pipes for contra dances. The Balmoral School has instructed the only American pipers to win the top solo piping awards in Scotland.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

William Askin
Chairman

George Balderose, Executive Director
Secretary

Lee Cunningham
Treasurer

L.E. McCullough
Vice-Chair

Eric Hayes

Richmond Johnston

Lacey Mahler

Ray Speicher

ADVISORY BOARD

Bruce Bickel, PNC Wealth Management

Susan Blackman, Non-profit Arts consultant

Kenneth W. Bohl, Ph.D. Ethics, Adjunct Instructor, WCCC & Duquesne University

Mike Cusack, St. Thomas' Episcopal School; Gold Medalist

Robert C. Galbraith, Former High Commissioner, Clan Donald USA

Jonathan Phipps King, Equity Guidance, Inc.

James Lamb, Ireland Institute, Pittsburgh

Allan MacDougall, MacDougall Financial Counseling, Inc.

Hon. Thomas Murphy, Former Mayor of Pittsburgh

William R. Shipley, CPA, McKinley Carter Wealth Serv.

Colin Tait, Middle East Insitute

Mark Thomas, Workday, CMU Tepper School of Business

Lyric Todkill, P/M, St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band

Terry Tully, St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band, Dublin, Ireland

John Wilson, Gold Medalist; P/S World Champion Strathclyde Police PB

Sharing our Celtic musical heritage: Piping competitors in the Balmoral Classic, Callum Younger and Calum MacNeil
Competitors at the Balmoral Classic