Testimonials

The Kilmarnock Pipe Band would like to say a MASSIVE thanks to the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust for funding our 6 o’clock club for a whole year, where our younger members get extra training and work towards SCQF piping and drumming exams.

We are incredibly grateful to GDMT, this makes a huge difference to our young people and a huge difference to our band.

Thank you!!!

We were delighted to have received funding towards expenses for Archie & Flora whilst attending the summer school organised by D2 Percussion.

Archie aged 12 is a piper competing within grade 3 of the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band and Flora, 11, plays tenor drum. She has just moved up from the grade 4 band to the grade 3 band having made significant improvement.

Both children thoroughly enjoyed their experience at the summer school, Flora was recognised for her progress and was awarded a scholarship from D2 percussion for the 2019 summer school.

Overall we are extremely grateful to have benefited from the support of the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust, and with your support Archie and Flora have improved their techniques, their confidence has grown and they made lots of new friends from within the Pipe band circuit!

The support we have received from the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust has been invaluable. Not only have they provided the funding to enable us to buy tutor books for our project, but they are always so supportive and encouraging, and offer help and advice in many more ways.
The young people in our project come from highly deprived backgrounds and it is down to organisations such as the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust that they have the chance to learn at all without facing exclusion due to financial barriers.
Thank you GDMT – you are literally changing lives and giving us all something to look forward to in life.

I am very grateful to the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust for their support towards my Master’s studies in Traditional Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.

Receiving this funding has made a huge difference to my studies and my life – it has lightened the load of the financial part of studying a Master’s degree. Beyond the financial element, the funding has allowed me to fulfil my ambition of studying at the Conservatoire and make the most of the surroundings to collaborate and learn from so many amazing people. The diversity of the Conservatoire means that the potential to learn and make new connections is infinite. Being in this special environment means I can truly focus on honing my skills whilst being surrounded by so many healthy influences.

Through studying at the RCS I have also had the opportunity to study abroad for a semester at the Royal College of Music (Stockholm, Sweden) – an experience which has positively impacted me in my ways. Whilst studying in Glasgow at RCS this last year I have also had many special opportunities to perform internationally in countries including Germany, France, Spain, Slovakia & New Zealand.

Overall, the support from the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust has allowed me to push forward with my musical studies and career and I appreciate this hugely!

The donation we got from the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust was used by the Junior section of the band for the hire of four classrooms and hall in Pitlochry High School to teach chanter, drumming on pad, tenor drumming and pipes every Tuesday night. We have a good number attending in each class all making excellent progress and the grant was a great help to us.

Many thanks.