Testimonials

The Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships 2026 were held at the William McIlvanney Campus in Kilmarnock on Sunday the 8th March 2026.  The Freestyle Competition was sponsored by the Trust and won by Strathmore Schools Pipe Band.

Pictured below, the Lewis and Harris Youth Pipe Band playing at the competition beside our sponsorship banner.

Thanks to the generous grant award from the Trust, we managed to secure tuition for our young pipers, helping them gain not only skills in piping, but also musicianship, bandsmanship and courage. Our young pipers competed in solo categories at a recent competition and placed really well thanks to the encouragement they have received throughout their tuition. I have included some pictures of some of our young pipers getting their tuition.

The Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust supported the printing of three collections of music, one book of original compositions and two books filled with arrangements of contemporary music. The sponsorship was a great help to me personally as it alleviated much of the risk in releasing new music to the piping world. The books have proven to be extremely popular amongst young players, with many schools and organisations using them to arrange pieces for the freestyle contest at the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships and for school concerts. Thanks to the support of the Trust, I have been able to donate copies to schools.

I send my sincere thanks to the Trust for supporting me in this way.

Fèis Thatha would like to extend a huge thanks to the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust for their generous support of our annual Fèis Weekend which took place in November 2025.

Over 80 young people between the ages of 2 and 14 joined us in Breadalbane Community Campus for a day of tuition in the traditional Gaelic arts. Participants aged P4+ chose between clarsach/harp, fiddle, accordion, whistle, percussion, guitar, band, step-dance or shinty while P1-3s spent the day in Fèis Bheag ‘Wee Fèis’ where they had a taster of Gaelic song and did lots of arts and crafts. We ran a free Cròileagan ‘Playgroup’ for under 5s and guided walks in Gaelic with BBC Alba’s Calum Maclean for the grown-ups.

The Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust’s generosity enabled the Fèis Weekend to run at an affordable price for parents as well as offer funded places for participants who required financial support. This day of workshops is followed up by year round classes in fiddle and guitar in Aberfeldy which participants of the Fèis Weekend are encouraged to come along too. The Trust’s support helps Fèis Thatha to achieve its aim of creating a thriving Gaelic and traditional arts scene in the Upper Tay area.