Jean-Sébastien Gamache wins 2026 Maxville Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada); Bruce Gandy wins the Bar

Maxville, Ontario – July 31, 2026 – Playing “Lady MacDonald’s Lament,” Jean-Sébastien Gamache of Orleans, Ontario, won the 2026 Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) against 11 other contestants, and Bruce Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, playing “Nameless – Cherede Darievea,” won the Bar to the Medal event for previous winners of the Gold Medal.

In addition to the cash prize, Gamache received a solid gold medal (approximate value $3,000), and a Piobaireachd Society kilt pin, and Gandy was awarded the Sir John A. Macdonald Targe.

It was the seventh and third consecutive win of the prize for Gandy, who gained his first Bar in 1996, then again in 2004, 2009, 2010, 2024 and 2025.

The cash prizes for the Gold Medal are presented in memory of Bill Livingstone, who won the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) contest a record three times and the Bar 13 times, also a record. An endowment fund has been established to fund the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) prizes in Livingstone’s name permanently.

The Bar contest cash prizes are sponsored by the Clan Donald Land Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts.

The competitions, which are run independently of the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario, were held at St. Michael & All Angels Anglican Church, and are separated from the myriad PPBSO-sanctioned amateur solo competitions taking place at the grounds of the Glengarry Highland Games.

Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada)
1st Jean-Jean-Sébastien Gamache (CAD$700)
2nd Andrew Hutton, Brantford, Ontario, “Lament for Airds” ($500)
3rd Aidan Bowen, Pickering, Ontario, “Lament for Airds” ($300)
4th Michael MacDonald, Toronto, “The MacDonalds Are Simple” ($200)
5th Gillian Blaney, Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, “The MacDonalds Are Simple” ($100)
John Cairns, Dr. Angus MacDonald, Colin MacLellan

Also competing: John Bottomley, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Tyler Bridge, Guelph, Ontario; Andrew Donlon, Washington, DC; Kevin Dugas, Inverness, Nova Scotia; Johnathan Grady, Summerside, Prince Edward Island; Tyler Johnson, Oak Park, Michigan; and Dan Lyden, Timonium, Maryland.

Bar to the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada)
1st Bruce Gandy ($3,000)
2nd Ian K. MacDonald, Whitby, Ontario, “My Dearest on Earth, Give Me Your Kiss” ($2,000)
3rd Sean McKeown, Ajax, Ontario, “Lament for Patrick Og MacCrimmon” ($1,000)
Judges: Ed Bush, John Cairns, Dr. Angus MacDonald (Colin MacLellan recused himself from the bench because of a conflicting interest in at least one competitor)

Also competing: Daniel Carr, Collingwood, Ontario; Jacob Dicker, Maxville, Ontario; Alex Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Jack Lee, Surrey, British Columbia; and James MacHattie, Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

Andrew Hayes, Nepean, Ontario, and Mike Rogers, Silver Springs, Maryland, entered but did not compete in the Bar competition.

A correction was made on July 31, 2026: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Bruce Gandy had won only six Bars to the Medal. He has won seven, and the article was adjusted accordingly.