The Robert Burns Society of Charleston

Greg began piping under the tutelage of Fergus Matheson and Airdrie Stewart at the age of 9, then under Donald Bain and latterly Murray Henderson. He has had considerable success on the solo competition boards in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Scotland. The highlights of his solo piping career are the Gold Medals at the Argyllshire Gathering and The Northern Meeting, and three Clasps to the Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting.

Greg joined the NZ Army from school, being educated at Duntroon in Australia and graduating into the Royal New Zealand Engineers. He left the army in 1998 to take up the position of Coordinator, National Schools Piping Project at The Piping Centre in Glasgow 1998 - 2001. He returned to the NZ Army in 2002, serving in Iraq with the British forces 2003 - 2004. Greg runs a successful bagpipe reed making business and is employed as the Director Programme Delivery for Crown Infrastructure Delivery (a Crown company). Major competitive successes include:

Gold Medals at Oban and The Northern Meeting 3 Clasps to the Gold Medal at The Northern Meeting The Dunvegan Medal & 4 consecutive Colonel Jock MacDonald Clasps 3 consecutive Silver Chanters [Dunvegan Castle] Bratach Gorm [Blue Banner, London] twice Gillies Cup [London]

4 Braemar Gold Medals,

The A Grade March, The Northern Meeting

The A Grade MSR, The Northern Meeting

Runner-up, Glenfiddich Championship

NZ Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal and 18 Clasps to the Gold Medal

Canadian Gold Medal and Clasp

R U Brown Gold Medal, Australia

R U Brown Clasp, Australia

Over 30 New Zealand championship titles

Greg also has a long history in pipe banding in NZ having played with the City of Dunedin Pipe Band, the Manawatu Scottish Society Pipe Band, and the Canterbury Caledonian Pipe Band. Greg serves the NZ piping community in a number of administrative roles including the Convener of the Pipers and Judges Grading Committee for the Piping and Dancing Association of NZ, Secretary of the Comunn na Piobaireachd Music Committee, Principal (Piping) RNZPBA College of Piping and Drumming, and a member of the RNZPBA Music Judges Selection Committee.

35th Donald MacDonald Cuach

Armadale Castle, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Stuart Liddel

Stuart was presented the coveted Donald MacDonald Cuach by Alex Stoddard, CEO of the Clan Donald Centre, assisted by Dr Angus MacDonald, Convenor for the Cuach.

This is Stuart’s 10th appearance in the Donald MacDonald Cuach, and his second win. Originally taught from the age of 9 by his grandfather, Pipe Major Ronald McCallum MBE, Stuart has gone on in his early teens to receive tuition from Arthur Gillies and, as a young adult, received the finer points in light music from Jim Henderson, Dunoon and piobaireachd from Hugh MacCallum, who was a cousin of his grandfather - with many other major influential musicians along the way!

One of the most gifted pipers in the world today, Stuart has won three Clasps and four Silver Stars at the Northern Meeting in Inverness, Senior Piobaireachd at the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban five times, both Gold Medals and is a three-time Glenfiddich Champion. Previously a member of Scottish Power Pipe Band and The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, he is founder and Pipe Major of the Inveraray &

District Pipe Band, Grade 1 winners of the World Pipe Band Championship in 2017, 2019 & 2024.

Stuart has achieved the distinction of being the only Pipe Major and soloist in history, to date, to hold the Glenfiddich Championship and the World Pipe Band Championship simultaneously. He is honorary piper to the Royal Celtic Society and was awarded the MBE in King Charles III first New Year's Honours List.

2025 Gold Clasp at the Nothern Meeting

Inverness, Scotland

Stuart Liddel

The Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts, together with the Robert Burns Society of Charleston, are pleased to announce that at the 2025 Northern Meeting in Inverness, Scotland, Stuart Liddell of Inveraray, Scotland has won his fourth Gold Clasp. The Clasp is reserved for winners of at least one of the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medals at either Inverness or Oban. Stuart’s winning tune was the Lament for Colin Roy MacKenzie.

The Trust and the Burns Society have sponsored the Gold Clasp competition in Inverness for the past eight-years. In addition to a large cash donation to fund the competition, we award the winner one of our now famous Clan Donald Targes as a trophy. The targe is used as first prizes in all our competitions around the world. It can be seen in the accompanying picture of Stuart.

At the Northing Meeting, Stuart also won the Premier Hornpipe and Jig competition and was placed third in the Former Winners’ MSR (March, Strathspey, and Reel). MSR refers to a common competition format that requires pipers to perform a set consisting of one march, one strathspey, and one reel in that specific order. This format serves as a standard test of a musician's ability to play different tunes and time signatures, similar to a medley but with a more restricted structure. Stuart was also awarded the Northern Meeting Quaich as the overall champion.

In addition to the Clasp, Stuart is a former winner in 2010 and 2025 of the Donald MacDonald Quaich for Piobaireachd which is held at the Clan Donald Centre on the Isle of Skye. The competition honors the memory of Donald MacDonald, and is one the premier piobaireachd competitions in the world.

Congratulations, Stuart.

RBurnsSCharleston@gmail.com

The Society is organized for charitable and educational purposes described under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.