Take a piob break: Dr. Jack Taylor

It’s time for another much-needed piob break, this time with Gold Medallist Jack Taylor of Aboyne, Scotland.

We caught up with him now-retired medical doctor when he was in Toronto for a few days in early March 2020 for the annual More Ceol Mor workshop put on by the Toronto Branch of the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario.

Originally taught by Bert Barron of St. Andrew’s, Scotland, Taylor went on to study piobaireachd with the great Robert Brown and Robert Nicol, the legendary Bobs of Balmoral. He had weekly tuition from them for more than a decade while he was a student at the University of Aberdeen. He would eventually settle in Aboyne as a General Practitioner for the village.

Among his solo piping awards were the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting in 1973 (“Lament for the Children”), the Gillies Cup Open Piobaireachd at the Scottish Piping Society of London’s competitions in 1977 (“Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon”) and the Silver Chanter at Skye in 1984 (“Lament for MacSwan of Roaig”).

He was president of the Piobaireachd Society for 12 years, helping to lead the organization to a new era of new publications and modern composition, and he continues to be in high demand as a judge and teacher around the world.

Here he plays parts or all of four tunes: “The Duke of Atholl’s Salute,” “Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon,” “Lament for the Laird of Anapool” and “The Earl of Seaforth’s Salute.”

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