![]() From there the family emigrated to Australia then later returned to London and finally to Inverness. After several years in Glasgow and London they later settled at Kincraig in Inverness-shire. While on tour as one of the pipers in the musical show, Brigadoon he met the young lady who eventually became his wife. As a teacher, in fact, Donald was always very active and successful, and when he left Glasgow the College and his many private pupils felt the loss greatly. From 1940 to 1945 Donald served with the Lovat Scouts, and many of them remember vividly the days which Donald helped to make happier by the use of his bagpipes and his lively sense of humour.Ĭowal 1934, L-R: Robert Reid, Roddy MacDonald, Donald MacLean, Peter MacLeod Jnr.Īfter the war he became one of the first senior instructors of the College of Piping and for several years passed on his wealth of piping knowledge to the younger generation. In a star-studded field which included Peter MacLeod, Duncan MacIntyre, Archie MacNab, John Allan MacGee, the performances of Donald MacLean were eagerly awaited and applauded by an audience which was surely the most critical, and certainly the best informed in the world. This was the heyday of the Scottish Pipers’ Association. In the years immediately prior to the war he was one of the famous group of pipers who, every Saturday night, fascinated enthusiasts at the Highlanders’ Institute, Glasgow. The number of them also would be quite outstanding, because Donald was a very consistent games competitor, visiting most of the gatherings held during the summer in Scotland before and after the war. The prizes which he won would make too long a list to recount here, but suffice to say that most of those worth winning would be included. He was a fellow competitor with Willie Ross and his generation. In another way Donald MacLean was a link in piping, and that is in the competitive field. This association of Donald with John MacColl was of great significance in piping for although John MacColl taught many pipers, and although several great pipers had some lessons from the old master, Donald MacLean was easily the best player who consistently received lessons over a very long time. At the age of 15 he began taking lessons from John MacColl, whose attentive and successful pupil he continued to be until he joined the Lovat Scouts in January 1940. About 1924, at the age of 12, he was introduced to Archie MacNeill and, through this meeting, joined the 139th Glasgow Company of the Boys’ Brigade, where he continued under Archie’s guidance for a number of years. He received his first instruction at an early age from John Currie of Mull, who had been taught by Donald MacPhee. ![]() Not only a great player with a distinctive style of his own, Donald MacLean was also an important link in the geneology of piping. ![]()
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