Every year The Clan Donald Trust for the Performing Arts sponsors competitions around the world. The Robert Burns society of Charleston has partnered with Clan Donald to help with these important events.
We would like to congratulate both the winners and all of the contestants. To be able to compete in these prestigious events you need to be among the world’s best.
2023 Prize Winners
The AWR MacDonald Memorial Prize for Best Grade 4 Band
Haileybury Pipes and drums
Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival
Melbourne, Australia March 26 2023
The Robert Burns Society of Charleston, and our cultural partner, The Clan Donald Society for the Gaelic Performing Arts, are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2023 AWR MacDonald Memorial Prize for Best Grade 4 Band was awarded to the Haileybury Pipes & Drums at the Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival in Croydon, Victoria, Australia on Sunday, March 20th. The Director of the Haileybury Pipes & Drums is Mr Lincoln Hilton.
In addition to the $1,000 first prize, the Band was also awarded the coveted Clan Donald Targe which we use as the first prize trophy for all our competitions that we sponsor around the world.
Around 50 students from Haileybury School drummed and piped their way to success. The students’ achievements are all the more impressive considering that, for the past two years, rehearsals mostly took place via Zoom with each student practicing at home.
Joseph MacDonald Memorial Prize for Piobaireachd
Andrew Donlon
2023 Scottish Performing Arts Classic
Charleston, South Carolina, USA, April 15, 2023
Competitors with Chairman of the Trust, Major Bruce Macdonald (furthest left) at the Joseph MacDonald Memorial Prize for Piobaireachd (L-R): Andrew Donlon, Andrew Carlisle. Ben McClamrock and Derek Midgley.
Playing “Queen Anne’s Lament,” Andrew Donlon of Washington, DC, was the winner of the Joseph MacDonald Memorial Prize for Piobaireachd, sponsored by the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts and the Robert Burns Society of Charleston as part of the Scottish Performing Arts Classic held at Saint James Anglican Church on James Island.
Each performer is given $1,000 and two-nights hotel accommodation to participate, but only one prize of $2,000 is awarded. The organisers believe that all competitors are outstanding, but one might raise his head slightly higher than the others on the day.
The other invitees were Andrew Carlisle, Pittsburgh (“Lament for the Only Son”); Ben McClamrock, Washington, DC (“Lament for the Dead”); and Derek Midgley, Tinton Falls, New Jersey (“The Rout of the Lowland Captain”). Mr Bob Worrall of Ontario, Canada judged.
It was the second year of the competition. The winner in 2022 was Ian K. MacDonald of Whitby, Ontario, against Alex Gandy, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Nick Hudson, Houston; and Ben McClamrock of Washington, DC. Dr. Angus MacDonald of the Isle of Skye, Scotland was the judge.
Dan R MacDonald Memorial Prize
for Senior Fiddle
Sean Heely
2023 Scottish Performing Arts Classic
Charleston, South Carolina, USA, April 15, 2023
The winner of the Dan R MacDonald Memorial Prize for Senior Fiddle at the Third Annual Scottish Performing Arts Classic held at Saint James Church on James Island in Charleston, South Carolina is Champion fiddler and singer Seán Heely. Seán is one of the most creatively versatile and captivating young artists of his generation.
Seán is a U.S National Scottish Fiddle Champion as well as an award-winning Irish Fiddler, singer, and harpist in the folk and Gaelic traditions of Scotland and Ireland. Seán holds a degree from University of South Carolina in Classical Violin Performance and was a 2019 Artist in Residence at Strathmore Music Center in Maryland.
The other competitors were Karen McQuade of Charleston, South Carolina, Becca Longhenry of Richmond, Virginia, and Colin McGlynn of Portsmouth, Virginia.
2023 Princess Margaret of the Isles Senior Clarsach Competition
Rhiannon Skye
2023 Scottish Performing Arts Classic
Charleston, South Carolina, USA, April 15, 2023
The Robert Burns Society and the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts is pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Princess Margaret of the Isles Senior Clarsach Competition.
Rhiannon Ramsey-Brimberg, known professionally as Rhiannon Skye, is a Connecticut-based lever harpist, composer, performer, and educator. Although her heart lies in Scottish, Cape Breton, and Irish traditional music, her repertoire also includes classical, pop, jazz, and other styles. Having only begun learning the harp in high school, it was not until she was in her final year that her calling as a harpist became clear. She attended Berklee College of Music, earning a BA in Performance in 2020. Currently, she is working towards a Masters in Irish Music Studies at the University of Limerick. Through these institutions, she played with ensembles from a variety of styles, including Celtic, Middle Eastern, and bluegrass.
Within three years of playing the harp, she advanced from a novice to a master harpist, competing in numerous Scottish harp competitions. In 2015, she placed second at the US National Scottish Harp Championship. In 2021, Rhiannon won the Iain Macleòid Young Composer Award through The Clarsach Society, and debuted her piece, ‘Asrai, The Coin, The Hound’s March, and Waterfall Jig’, last April at the 2022 Edinburgh International Harp Festival.
In addition to performing in New England, New York, Spain and Ireland, she had the honor of playing for the Irish Ambassador to the UK on St. Patrick’s Day through Zoom in 2021. Rhiannon was extremely honored to have been asked to compete at The Princess Margaret of the Isles Memorial Prize for Senior Clarsach.
2023 Sister Margaret MacDonell Prize for Gaelic Poetry
Ms. Caroline Bennett
of Pawling, New York
The Robert Burns Society of Charleston and the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts are pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Sister Margaret MacDonell Prize for Gaelic Poetry—Ms Caroline Bennett of Pawling, New York.
Ms Bennett was born in the UK and grew up in South Africa. As an occupational therapist, she works with children with special needs—work that she loves and which informs much of her view on life. She was introduced to Scottish music, song, and dance by her Scottish mother and over the years has developed a passion for Gaelic song, Poetry and the Gaelic language. She has many interests and loves to sing, weave, spin, and spend time in Nature. She weaves cloth and regularly participates in traditional waulkings in Cape Breton with her own woven cloth. She lately began writing, singing, and recording her own songs in Gaelic and has been honored to have some of them played on Radio Nan Gàidheal, where she was a featured guest on a series of programs by Gillebride MacMillan.
Caroline began learning Gaelic eight years ago through the Atlantic Gaelic Academy, and began studying the language in order to better understand the Gaelic songs that she loved so much and was learning at the time. Once she began to delve into learning Gaelic, she was struck by its beauty and was quite simply hooked. After being introduced to Gaelic poetry and song by her teacher, Angus MacLeod in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, she began to write poetry in Gaelic.
Having always written poetry in English, she found that writing in Gaelic was a natural progression because the Gaelic lends itself so fully to this form of expression. Through the old poetry she was hearing the voices of the past telling of experiences not unlike those of today and she was drawn into expressing her own thoughts on life and our world. She hopes that this is simply a beginning of a lifetime of Gaelic learning, and that she will be able to continue to express herself through Gaelic poetry and song and, in doing so, that she might contribute in a small way to bringing Gaelic into people's lives today.
Ellice and Rosa McDonald Memorial Prize for Best Grade One Pipe Band
At the North American Championships
The 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band
2023 Glengarry Highland Games
August 5, 2023
The winner of the Ellice and Rosa McDonald Memorial Prize for Best Grade One Pipe Band at the North American Championships held at the Glengarry Highland Games at Maxville, Glengarry County, Ontario, was the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band from Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Since its inception in 1982, the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band has been an international leader in bagpiping and drumming, boldly presenting innovative music with subtle hints of Celtic tradition. The band is a force that promotes the continuous improvement of musical skill-set through teaching, concert performances and professional competitions. The band travels to Glasgow, Scotland every year to compete on the international stage at the most advanced level (Grade 1) in the World Pipe Band Championships.
The 78th holds 12 Canadian Championship titles, 12 North American Championship titles, a ranking position as one of the top 12 bands in the world 20+ times, as well as a very prestigious and historic title: that of being the first non-Scottish pipe band to win the World Pipe Band Championships in Grade 1 (1987).
The band is led by Pipe Major Doug MacRae, Pipe Sergeant Robbie Beaton, and Drum Sergeant Drew Duthart. Pipe Major MacRae has a 20-year legacy with the band, as well as a solo bagpiping career which includes The Piobaireachd Society (Canada) Gold Medal. Pipe Sergeant Beaton has played with the 78th Fraser Highlanders since 2007. He is an avid solo/band instructor, and most notably, won the Kansas City Silver Medal in 2014. Drum Sergeant Duthart brings 40+ years of pipe band service to the 78th. In 2007, he led the drum corps of the 78th Frasers to win the World Drumming Championship.
The other two competing Grade 1 Bands were the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the City of Dunedin Pipe Band from Dunedin, Florida.
The winner of the North American Championship is awarded the Ellice and Rosa McDonald Prize, the coveted Clan Donald Targe and $3,000, sponsored by the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts, in cooperation with the Robert Burns Society of Charleston.
Sir John A Macdonald Memorial Prize for Piobaireachd
Ian K MacDonald
2023 Glengarry Highland Games
August 5, 2023
The winner of the Sir John A Macdonald Memorial Prize for Piobaireachd at the Glengarry Highland Games at Maxville, Glengarry Country, Ontario, is Pipe Major Ian K MacDonald.
“Ian K” began playing at the age of eight years old and was taught by his father, P/M John MacDonald. At age thirteen, he received instruction from Jim McGillivray who introduced Ian and his older brother, Craig to Piobaireachd. This was the year he also became a member of the Toronto Police Pipe Band where he continues as a member, becoming Pipe Major in 1996.
In 1995, Ian won the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) at the Glengarry Games and in 1997 he won the “A” grade Strathspey and Reel at both Oban and Inverness. In 2016, Ian K accomplished one of his career goals in solo piping by winning a Gold Medal for Piobaireachd at both Oban and Inverness in the same year. Ian K. MacDonald became only the twelfth piper in the 129-year history of both events to achieve “The Double,” winning both the Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting Highland Society of London Gold Medals in the same year.
This year, Ian K adds the Gold Bar to the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada). Only those who have already earned the Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal (Canada) may compete for the Gold Bar.
The winner of the Gold Bar is awarded the Sir John A Macdonald Prize, the coveted Clan Donald Targe and $3,000, sponsored by the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts, in cooperation with the Robert Burns Society of Charleston.
Colonel John MacDonell of Lochgarry Memorial Prize for Senior Men’s Dance
Drew Fraser
Flora MacDonald of Kingsburgh Memorial Prize for Senior Women’s Dance
Morgan Caruana
2023 Glengarry Highland Games
August 5, 2023
Winners of the Senior Dance Competitions at the Glengarry Highland Games
The Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts and The Robert Burns Society of Charleston, sponsors of the Colonel John MacDonell of Lochgarry Memorial Prize for Senior Men’s Dance and the Flora MacDonald of Kingsburgh Memorial Prize for Senior Women’s Dance held at the Glengarry Highland Games, August 2023, are pleased to announce that Drew Fraser from Scarborough, Ontario, Canada is the winner of the Colonel John MacDonell prize and Morgan Caruana, a student at George Brown College, is the winner of the Flora MacDonald Prize.
The Clan Donald Trust and the Robert Burns Society of Charleston offer our sincere congratulations to Drew and Morgan on their success in winning these prestigious prizes.
The Clasp to the Gold Medal
Clan Donald Trust Targe
Callum Beaumont
2023 Northern Meeting in Inverness, Scotland
September 1 , 2023
The Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts and The Robert Burns Society of Charleston are pleased to announce that the Clasp to the Gold Medal and the Clan Donald Trust Targe at the 2023 Northern Meeting in Inverness, Scotland were won by Callum Beaumont from St Andrews, Scotland.
Callum is the piping instructor at Dollar Academy and this was his fifth success in the Clasp competition. For over 200 years, the Dollar Academy, a successful independent day and boarding school for children aged 5-18, has been helping young people make the most of their potential.
Callum’s winning tune was The Phantom Piper of Corrieyairack, a composition by the late Captain John A MacLellan. Callum also won the Former Winners’ March Strathspey and Reel event making it a very successful Northern Meeting for him.
Our Patron, Lady Macdonald of Macdonald was unable to attend to make the presentation. In her place, Dr Jack Taylor, who won the competition 50 years ago, kindly agreed to present the Clasp and Targe in Lady Macdonald’s stead.
As sponsors of the Clasp to the Gold Medal, the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing Arts and the Robert Burns Society of Charleston offer our sincere congratulations to Callum for winning this most prestigious prize in the piobaireachd world.
