Iain Macey, 1955-2025
The accomplished Scottish-American piper Iain Macey passed away at the age of 70 on December 22, 2025, following an illness.
Born on February 20, 1955, in Elgin, Scotland, Macey was a relative latecomer to solo competitive piping, following a long military career, beginning with the Gordon Highlanders in 1971. His teachers included Major John Allan, Pipe-Major Donald MacLeod, Pipe-Major Andrew Pitkeathly and, as a civilian, Andrew Wright.
He earned his Pipe-Major’s Certification from the Army School of Piping in May 1978 and served as pipe-major of the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force Pipes & Drums from 1983 until 1988, when he returned to the UK to serve as pipe-major of RAF Halton.
Among his significant solo piping prizes were the 1980 Dunvegan Medal, the Bratach Gorm in 1982, and the 1999 Piobaireachd Society (Canada) Gold Medal. He was a regular competitor in the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal competitions from the 1980s to the 2000s, making the prize list several times, always with an exceptional instrument. He was a close runner-up to Stuart Liddell at the 2000 Northern Meeting.
Iain Macey immigrated to the United States in the 1990s, settling in Parma, Michigan, with his wife, Cobey, who sadly died in an automobile crash in 2004 in which Macey was seriously injured.
He stopped competing in 2005 when focal dystonia made playing the crunluath embellishment difficult. He then put more time into teaching private lessons and as an instructor at summer schools and workshops. Macey owned and operated Route to the Highlands, a piping-related products business in Parma, and, through his accreditation with the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario, was a frequent adjudicator in North America.
Our condolences go to Iain Macey’s family, friends and pupils at this sad time.
I am sorry to hear of Iain’s passing. I first met Iain in the late 1990s when he gave an MWPBA piobaireachd workshop. I was then fortunate to study piobaireachd with Iain in the early 2000s, which gave me a solid foundation in and a great love for ceol mor. In his desire to promote piobaireachd in his adopted home in the midwestern U.S., Iain was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the Silver Medal piobaireachd competition at the Midwest Highland Arts Fund’s Winter Storm weekend. I will be forever grateful to Iain for passing on his love of piobaireachd to me and to so many others in the U.S.
May he rest in peace.
Scott McCawley