In the late 1980s and 1990s, Colin MacLellan was integral in advancement of bagpipe instruction in Glengarry at the Glengarry School of Piping and Drumming and the Glengarry Pipe Band.
Colin took over the band and transformed it into a competition band and in 1988, the first year of serious competition, won Gr 4 North American Pipe Band Championships at the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville. The band was promoted to Grade 3 the following year then Grade 2 the year after that; a move that made the Glengarry Pipe band known and respected all around the world. He was appointed piping teacher at 3 area high schools and took over the Glengarry School of Piping and Drumming. He elevated the standard of piping in Glengarry that will ever transform our local pipers today and for years to come. From 1990 to 2011, the Grade 2 Glengarry Pipe Band was arguably the most continually successful Grade 2 pipe band in the world.
Throughout the years, he spent untold hours giving solo lessons and teaching the pipe band. He continues to teach Glengarry and Ottawa area pipers online and when he comes frequently to Canada. He has also travelled countless times back to Eastern Ontario to judge solo and band contests and perform workshops and recitals. Over the past 40 years, there have been literally dozens of people who have chosen to move to Glengarry and the Ottawa area to play in the Glengarry Pipe Band. Many continue to be involved leadership roles within the Glengarry Pipe Band and the piping school as well as other local pipe bands.
Today the Glengarry Pipe Band Association has over 100 members over 4 different pipe bands. There are many still involved in the organization today that took lessons directly from Colin MacLellan and they continue to teach and pass on their knowledge to younger students in the Glengarry bands and piping school. There are also many children of those past members who are now learning piping and drumming.
The 2026 induction of Colin MacLellan in to the Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame also marks the 30th anniversary of the Grade 2 Glengarry Pipe Band winning the 1996 Grade 2 North American Pipe Band Championships in Maxville with Colin MacLellan as the Pipe Major. (That year, the GPB was also 4th in the World and US Open Champions) 2026 also marks the 65th anniversary of the Glengarry Pipe Band.
Colin MacLellan is an icon in the piping world. He has a Bachelor of Education, 2 recorded albums to his credit, has been head of Piping Studies at the National Piping Centre, the Edinburgh Academy, Director of the College of Piping, President of the Competing Pipers Association (CPA) and Chair of the Scottish Solo Piping Judges Association. He holds the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medals for Piobaireachd at both the Northern Meeting and the Argyllshire Gathering, two consecutive Silver Chanters, and every Piobaireachd prize available in North America. He is a skilled reed maker and most recently a 2025 Inductee into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. We are extremely lucky that Colin MacLellan still considers Glengarry a second home. He is a worthy Inductee into The Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame.
