National Piping Centre now searching for two leaders
In addition to the National Piping Centre launching a challenging search for a suitable replacement for Director Roddy MacLeod, the only person ever to hold the position, the Glasgow-based organization is now looking for someone to lead its National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.
The latter position became open when long-time leader Alisdair McLaren decided to return to his native Australia permanently.
In addition to the difficult decision to leave the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland role, McLaren also elected to forego the pipe-majorship of the Grade 1 Glasgow Police Pipe Band, a position he accepted last September.
According to the National Piping Centre’s director of administration, Alberto Laidlaw, the organization has not started advertising for either role, but less formal searches have already commenced.
“With regards to a new Director of Piping, I can confirm that the search is progressing and an advert will appear in due course,” Laidlaw said. “With regards to the position of Director of the National Youth Pipe Band . . . the position will also be advertised shortly.”
Laidlaw stressed that the two resignations were purely coincidental, and that McLaren wanted to return to Australia for personal reasons after living in Glasgow for more than a decade.
MacLeod was also the director of the Piping Live! festival. It is not known if the new director National Piping Centre director will also hold the Piping Live! role.
Like the National Piping Centre, the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland has been hugely successful. The group attracts some of the best pipers and drummers between the ages of 10 and 25 from across the country, staging ambitious concerts and even releasing commercial recordings. McLaren was also a full time instructor with the National Piping Centre.
The National Piping Centre’s Director of Piping is appointed by its board of directors, to which the director also reports during their tenure.
McLaren was pipe-sergeant of the Glasgow Police Pipe Band before accepting the pipe-major job. It is not known if he had appointed a pipe-sergeant. The band said that it will accept applications for the pipe-major role until February 11, 2020.
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