Piping Instructor Profile

Piper Neil Gillette has been piping nearly five decades. He initially learned under Andrew Planck, pipe major of the Colorado Black Watch Pipe Band, later the Sutherland Highlanders of Colorado Pipe Band. He also studied under champion piper and renowned reed-maker Mark Wygent, and later with Donald McBride (runner-up for the Inverness Gold Medal), besides workshops with top world-class pipers.

In 1978, Neil was instructor of Estes Park Pipe Band also Co-Founder and Associate Director of the Longs Peak Scottish Highland Festival (the actual year the Festival started). He served as Associate Director for six years (1978-1983 inclusive). He was also the founder and president of the Scottish Society of Northern Colorado (covering Greeley, Ft. Collins, Longmont and Estes Park), and for six years served on its board. In 1983 and 1984, he established and ran the piping competition at the Pikes Peak Highland Games in Colorado Springs, as well as serving as an event coordinator at Fort Collins and in Longmont for small Highland Games in those cities.

From 1984-1987 he was at Lyon College first as an assistant to Donald McBride, then taking over from him as the Director of the Scottish Heritage Program, and as Instructor of Piping, and Executive Director of the Ozark Scottish Festival. Returning to Colorado, Neil was assistant director of the Northern Colorado Scottish Gathering in Fort Collins (then in Loveland), through to 1990.

In 1989, Neil (with others) founded the Colorado Youth Pipe Band, in Denver, and, for thirteen years was its Director, taking the band to competitions beyond Colorado from California to North Carolina, and to the 2000 World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland (11th place out of 23 bands in the Novice Juvenile Grade), as well as three other Highland Games there (Edinburgh, Bridge of Allen, and Perth). During those years, the Youth Band trained dozens of pipers, drummers and Highland Dancers and performed hundreds of times.

Additionally, Neil has competed with The City of Denver Pipe Band, The Fort Collins Pipe Band, The Silver Thistle Pipe Band (Austin, Texas), The Isle of Mull & St. Andrews Pipes & Drums. He has taught piping classes and lessons in Denver, Boulder, Greeley, Ft. Collins, Cheyenne (Wyoming), Estes Park, Kiowa, Elizabeth and Parker. He has been an instructor for the El Jebel Shrine Pipe Band of Denver--a remarkable group of men, as good as just about any good Grade IV pipe band in the Western United States--and has enjoyed performing with them; this included the combined "Red, Plaid and Blue--The Instruments of War" shows featuring the U.S. Air Force Academy Drum & Bugle Corps with the El Jebel Pipe Band (augmented by several individual pipers and drummers)--including an appearance at the Heartland International Military Tattoo in Chicago in 2009.

In 1993, he was instrumental in establishing the Kiowa Celtic Festival (which was moved to nearby Elizabeth in 2006), and served as President (Director) of the Elizabeth Celtic Festival from 2006 through 2013. Also, Neil was a consultant to the Grand Junction Celtic Festival in its early years (1996, 1997, 1998), advising especially in areas of competitions and in all aspects of developing a successful and sustainable event.

In 2007, he was the President of the Colorado Tartan Day Council, which organized and promoted activities in the Denver area to recognize a new officially-recognized state and national holiday--Tartan Day (April 6 -- commemorating the Declaration of Arbroath--which proclaimed Scotland's independence from England). He was the director of the Tartan Day Tattoo and helped structure and perform at the "Tartan Day Festival" activities at Hyland Hills Golf Course in Westminster (2006, 2007 and 2008).