Colin MacLellan adds Glengarry Music Hall of Fame induction to long list of honours

With more than 50 years (and counting) of major contributions to piping and drumming, Colin MacLellan returned to Ontario, on May 29, 2026, to be inducted into the Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame at the Bonnie Glen Pavilion in Alexandria, for his influence on piping in Glengarry County and Eastern Ontario.

It was MacLellan’s second music hall of fame presentation in the last six months, following his induction into the Scots Trad Music Hall of Fame last December in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Before returning to his native Edinburgh in 1999 after living in the Maxville area for 23 years, he was director of the Glengarry School of Piping & Drumming for most of that time.

MacLellan was pipe-major of the Glengarry Pipe Band from 1988 to 1996, bringing the band from Grade 4 to Grade 2 in only three years and expanding the organization to field several competing bands across various grades. More than 100 of MacLellan’s piping students are currently members of bands around Canada, the United States, and the UK.

“It was an honour to be inducted into the Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame with so many friends, family, and former students attending,” MacLellan said. “Many of them from so many years ago still play at a high level in different bands and indeed in leadership roles, and this is what gives me the greatest satisfaction in piping.”

Among his pupils are Highland Society of London Gold Medallists Cameron Drummond (Argyllshire Gathering, 2024), Brodie Watson-Massey (Northern Meeting, 2025), Northern Meeting Silver Star MSR winner Alex Gandy (2022) and a slew of top-flight prize winners around the world.

MacLellan made the trip from Edinburgh to attend and even perform a few tunes at the event.

“Colin MacLellan’s impact on the Glengarry piping community over his years here will be felt and talked about for generations. He’s a hero, he’s a legend, he’s a regular guy and anyone who truly knows him knows he is an exceptional person, leader and friend.” – Ed Bush

“Colin is a magnet for piping enthusiasts,” said Ed Bush, also a top-flight piper and Maxville area resident. “He carries a great respect for everyone he meets, sharing endless stories. His impact on the Glengarry piping community over his years here will be felt and talked about for generations. He’s a hero, he’s a legend, he’s a regular guy and anyone who truly knows him knows he is an exceptional person, leader and friend.”

In addition to his accomplishments in the Glengarry area, MacLellan’s contributions to piping including serving as president of the Competing Pipers’ Association, co-founding and chair of the Solo Piping Judges’ Association, co-resurrecting Edinburgh’s Eagle Pipers Society, and numerous leadership, teaching and management roles with the National Piping Centre, Piping Live!, the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario, Scotland’s Joint Committee for Judging, and as pipe-major of the Grade 1 Lothian & Borders Police and Dunvegan pipe bands.

As a contributor to the preservation and promotion of historically significant music, he established the Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Trust to honour his famous father’s legacy. The Trust created the Captain John MacLellan Medal (now run by the Eagle Pipers Society) as a means to showcase John MacLellan’s compositions, which have since become popular with all levels of solo pipers.

He further preserved and promoted Captain John’s legacy by publishing a collection of his piobaireachd compositions, helping the Piobaireachd Society include several of them in its annual Set Tunes lists for the major solo competitions.

In partnership with pipes|drums, he has shared nearly 150 exclusive recordings made by his father, the vast majority of which had never been previously heard.

Previous inductees to the Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame include Bob MacCrimmon, adjudicator and long-time pipe-sergeant of Grade 1 Clan MacFarlane; Kahlil Cappuccino, world-renowned bass drummer; Ross Davison, solo competitor, judge and teacher; and Pipe-Major J.T. MacKenzie, a local piping celebrity with a Scottish military piping background who played a pivotal role with the annual Glengarry Highland Games at Maxville.