In small group classes, 1-on-1 lessons, and camp-wide seminars, students will receive instruction on the Great Highland Bagpipe and Scottish Snare Drum. Guest instructors for Balmoral's Summer and Winter programs have all won major awards have incomparable records in the teaching and promotion of solo piping and pipe band music around the world.
July 6-11, 2025 at Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA.
July 13-18, 2025 at PennWest-Edinboro University, Edinboro, PA.
2025 Summer Piping Instructors @ Kutztown
Piping - Bruce Gandy
Kutztown and Edinboro camp - Bruce Gandy established himself as a top solo and band competitor as a member of the 1987 World Champion 78th Fraser Highlanders. A composer of note, his tunes are played by many top bands. Gandy moved to Prince Edward Island to became Head Piping Instructor at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts, and later took the position of Piping Instructor at the Halifax Citadel. For the past 20 years, Bruce has been a dominant player on the World scene, winning the Gold Medals for Piobaireachd at The Northern Meeting (Inverness) and the Argyllshire Gathering (Oban), the Bratach Gorm in London, The Silver Star for Former Winners MSR, and 2nd prize winner at the Glenfiddich Championships. Bruce has published four books of music, produced online workshops that reach around the world, developed his own pipe chanter with McCallum Bagpipes and is in regular demand as a tutor and performer.
Piping - Derek Midgley
Kutztown Camp - Derek Midgley is a fulltime piping instructor based in New Jersey, where he works to improve the piping community along the east coast of the US. For four years, he lived in Glasgow, Scotland, and has won numerous piping awards in the UK. Some of his prizes include B Marches and Silver Medal at Northern Meetings, Inverness; 2nd, Highland Society of London Gold Medal at Argyllshire Gathering, Oban; Dunvegan Medal, 6/8 Marches, 2/4 Marches at Skye Games, Dunvegan; Ram’s Head Snuff Mull, A Grade Piobaireachd, Strachan Memorial Trophy, A Grade MSR, Donald Forbes Medal at the Scottish Piping Society, London; Overall Winner at the United States Piping Foundation Championship, Baltimore; Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal, Bar to Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal at the Glengarry Highland Games, Maxville (Canada); Piobaireachd at The Metro Cup (USA).
Piping - Andrew Carlisle
Kutztown camp - One of the world’s leading solo pipers, Andrew Carlisle has won: The Gillies Cup for Piobaireachd at London, the A Grade Strathspey and Reel at The Argyllshire Gathering, Oban, the A Grade Piobaireachd and overall at The Cowal Highland Gathering, Dunoon, the US Gold Medals for both Piobaireachd and Light Music, Four US Piping Foundation Championships. On three occasions, he's won the Macallan Trophy at Lorient, Brittany, France, and has won three All-Ireland titles at Senior level, three second places at the Royal Braemar Gathering, and two fourth places in the Highland Society of London Gold Medals at Oban and Inverness. For 18 years, Andrew has been an active member of the world renowned Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, sharing in the success of over 45 major championship wins, including nine World Pipe Band Championships. He has been featured as a soloist on the band’s ‘Re:Charged’ and ‘Impact’ albums. Andrew has performed in 20 countries, across five continents; most notably at The White House in 2008.
2025 Summer Piping & Drumming Instructors @ Edinboro
Piping - Roddy MacLeod
Edinboro camp - Roddy MacLeod, MBE, of Glasgow, Scotland, served as Principal of The National Piping Centre in Scotland from 1996 -2020. In 2003, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen in recognition of his services to piping and, in 2004, was awarded the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award for Music. In 2012 he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Awards Hall of Fame. In 2019 MacLeod was honored by the City of Glasgow and awarded the Lord Provost’s award for services to music. MacLeod won his first Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting in 1986, the Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal in 1988. He is a 10-time winner of the Piobaireachd at the Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championship and has won the overall title five times. While Pipe Major of the Scottish Power Pipe Band, he led it to over 45 Grade 1 Championship prizes including the Cowal Championships and All Ireland Championships.
Piping - Scot Walker
Edinboro Camp - A 4th-generation bagpiper, Scot Walker is himself the father of a professional-grade piping competitor. Scot taught as the Instructor of Bagpipe Music for the Music Faculty of Moravian College for many years, and was pipe major of the Lehigh Valley Pipe Band for 20 years, leading the latter to win the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association Championships in Grade 2. More recently he played with Lomond and Clyde Pipe Band of Glasgow, Scotland, and the City of Dunedin Pipe Band, of Florida. A composer as well as a teacher, he holds a Masters of Education and serves as a piping judge and Music Board member of the EUSPBA. During his solo competitive career, Scot was ranked the #1 Overall professional piping competitor for 7 years in the EUSPBA; he placed first in the events of nearly all the major North American Solo Championships, as well as won numerous prizes in solo competition, in Scotland.
Piping - Bruce Gandy
Edinboro Camp - See description above. Teaching at Kutztown and Edinboro 2025 sessions.
Drumming - Miles Bennington
2025 Kutztown and Edinboro camps - As a band member and soloist, Miles Bennington’s prizes include North American Champion, Canadian Champion, U.S. Champion, EUSPBA Champion, PPBSO Champion Supreme, top ten at the World Pipe Band Championships, and semifinalist at the World Solo Drumming Championships. He is currently a member of the Grade 1 St. Thomas Alumni Pipe Band from Houston, TX. Additionally, Miles has instructed several prize-winning drum corps throughout the northeast and midwest United States. When not traveling for competition or rehearsal, Miles serves as the principal drumming instructor for the Carnegie Mellon University Pipe Band who, under his guidance, have quickly become one of the premier drumming programs in the eastern United States.
Balmoral Staff Instructors
Balmoral staff piping instructors Sean Patrick Regan and Richmond Johnston, and Balmoral Pipes & Drums drumming instructor Ian McLeod, or a guest drumming instructor (TBA) will join our 2025 guest instructors at both summer camps.