Celtic Arts Foundation to celebrate Gordon Duncan at Dec. 7th concert

To mark two decades since the untimely passing of Highland piping and Celtic music legend Gordon Duncan, the Celtic Arts Foundation will celebrate his legacy in “The Music of Gordon Duncan” on Sunday, December 7th, at the Littlefield Celtic Center, Mount Vernon, Washington, with all music performed, composed, arranged or made famous by the great piper.

The event will feature piping performances by young prodigy Cameron Bonar, top professional solo piper Tori Killoran and Highland Society of London Gold Medallist Craig Sutherland.

Gary West will host and perform, and a house band of Celtic Arts Foundation regulars will provide support throughout the show: Cayley Schmid, fiddle; David Lofgren, bodhran; Vienna Scheyer, fiddle; Zach Bauman, bouzuki; and Zephan Knichel, smallpipes.

Doors open at 3 pm, and the show starts at 4 pm. Tickets are USD$25 ($20 for Foundation members). The concert will be streamed live for those who make a donation via the ticket link on the day.

For in-person attendees, there will be a silent auction featuring piping-themed items donated by friends of the Celtic Arts Foundation.

Proceeds from the event will go towards the piping events at the 2026 Skagit Valley Highland Games, “helping to ensure Gordon’s influence continues to shape the next generation of musicians.” In 2004, the Games launched the annual Gordon Duncan Memorial Kitchenpiping Competition.

Even before his passing in 2005, Gordon Duncan’s compositions had become cornerstones of a modern piping repertoire. Tunes such as “The High Drive,” “The Sleeping Tune,” and “Andy Renwick’s Ferret” are played by pipers, fiddlers, and session musicians worldwide, admired for their energy, emotional depth, and structural originality. Duncan had a gift for writing melodies that felt completely fresh yet unmistakably rooted in tradition, tunes that were technically demanding but irresistibly musical. Learning his arrangement of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” has become something of a rite of passage for young pipers.

In 2005, the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust was established to encourage participation and study, to advance the culture of Scotland through performance, study, and composition, and to foster high standards of performance and innovative composition across all forms of traditional Scottish music, in particular the music of the Highland pipes.