Canada 150: the 15 Greatest Canadian Pipers & Drummers (deceased)
#12: Alex MacNeill
Undoubtedly lesser-known to younger pipers and drummers, but Alex MacNeill’s mark on Canadian piping and drumming was significant. Another Scottish immigrant to Canada, he was closely identified with the once piping-rich city of Montreal. Alex MacNeill was the son of the great composer and piper, Archibald “Blind Archie” MacNeill, and the cousin of the legendary Seumas MacNeill. Like so many other Scottish immigrants, Alex MacNeill was employed by one of the national railways. His tenure with the Canadian Pacific and the leadership of that band while it existed set a strong standard of excellence for the country that had not been seen previously. He also taught and influenced countless pipers, including Scott MacAulay and Colin MacLellan.
Nice work! John Wilson published 3 collections of pipe music, the third being the Canadian Centenial collection…all three of which I continue to use and teach my students today…
Mike Baker
It is interesting that none of the excellent 15 selected musicians appear to be players who played predominantly for dancing. Today, we seem to be band players, solo competitors or piobaireachd pipers. Would there be any interest in a list of 150 ceilidh/dance pipers.
Where’s Bill Livingstone?
Definitely Bill Livingstone!
No Bill Livingstone? Bizarre.
Sorry, missed the date of the original article. That explains why the great Bill Livingston is absent!
This article is from 2017, as stated in the very first added line.
The final paragraph: “What do you think? Are there any Canadian pipers or drummers who have sadly passed away since we published this feature in 2017 who you feel should be added to the list? Use our Comments feature to share your suggestions.”
Thanks for reading.
The Captain (Ken Eller)