Bruce Gandy, Senior Instructor website

Bruce began playing pipes when he was 10 years old, in Victoria, British Columbia. He studied for 10 years under James Troy and built the very strong foundation on which his entire solo and band career would be based. It was common for his lessons to last 3 _ to 4 hours. At age 12, he joined the City of Victoria Pipe Band. Many of his summers were spent at the piping school in Couer D’Alene, Idaho studying with Bob Hardie and Andrew Wright. He turned professional in 1978. Bruce joined the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band in 1982. He was often called upon to compose music specific to the medleys they would play. This offered an opportunity to develop another gift and aspect of his piping. He spent 15 years with this organization, traveling to Scotland each year. In 1997, he relocated to Prince Edward Island to become the Piping Instructor at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts. During his three year tenure he created individualized study programs for the school, as well as providing private instruction for local pipers. This not only included teaching the fundamentals of pipe band playing, but also selecting and arranging all of the music. As there was need for more, new lower grade music, it eventually led to the publishing of his third music book. His list of prizes is expansive. Some of Bruce’s accomplishments include being a four-time winner of the MacCrimmon Memorial Cairn for Piobaireachd at the Vancouver Indoor Meet. He was the Pacific Coast Overall Champion three times in four years. He has taken the Ontario Knockout six times. He was North American March Champion six times and the Strathspey and Reel Champion four times. In 1996, he won the Canadian Gold Medal for Piobaireachd at Maxville, and in both 1996 and 1997 he won the Fergus Gold Medal. Moving to the East Coast, he has won the ACPBA Open Champion Supreme from 1998 to 2001. In 1997 he won the March, Strathspey and Reel event at the Dan Reid Memorial Competition in San Francisco. After an 8 year absence from The Northern Meeting at Inverness, Bruce returned to the world’s top competition in 1998. He won the Competing Pipes Silver Medal along with 2nd in the Jig & Hornpipe and 3rd in the Strathspey & Reel. The following year he won the March and Strathspey & Reel contests, but not the medal. In 2001 he was 2nd in the Gold Medal contest. The Gold Medal at Inverness was to become his in 2003. In 2004 he captured the Oban Gold Medal. Following that he won the Brantach Grom (Blue Banner) at the London Contest. In 2005 Bruce became a six-time winner of the Metro Cup in New York. As a composer Bruce is a past winner of three major composing contests and a runner up in the prestigious Pipe Tune for a People’s Princess competition, held in memory of Princess Diana. He has now published four volumes of “Contemporary and Traditional Music for the Highland Bagpipe”. Bruce has been a very active member and leader in the pipe band associations. He served for the Toronto Branch of the PPBSO and also on the Advisory Committee while living in Ontario. He was the PEI Rep for a year for the ACPBA. He has instructed both individuals and bands, spanning the last 20 years, across Canada and part of the United States. He has a Graduate Certificate from the Institute of Piping. He is on the judge’s panel in Ontario, the Prairies, both coats of Canada and in the western U.S. He also travels North America as an instructor at piping schools and seminars. Currently Bruce resides in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.