OSAS Instructors in 2024:
Please Note: Instructors are subject to change based on enrollment.
Highland Dance 2025
Linda Armstrong started taking dancing lessons in Southern California at the age of 7. Her Dad was a piper and in a local band, so summers were dedicated to going to local games. When her 3 younger brothers were old enough, they started participating in piping and drumming so it became a family affair.
Linda started teaching in her teens. She started working part time at an Insurance Broker while going to college and eventually worked full-time there until she retired at age 52. The combination of a full-time career, raising a family and teaching Highland Dance was a busy time but very rewarding. If you love what you do…you find the time to do it.
Linda has been a very successful teacher with her dancers winning U.S., Canadian and World Titles. She has taught many workshops and mentored other teachers and dancers. She was recently inducted in to the ScotDance USA Hall of Fame this past summer in Boston.
She is very honored and excited to be returning to OSAS as an instructor this summer.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Eleanor Belton started dancing at the age of 5. She has studied many different disciplines such as Highland, Ballet, Tap and Jazz. In 1979, Eleanor immigrated to Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael.
Eleanor has actively been teaching highland dance for over 40 years and in 1995 became the owner and Artistic Director of Aspects of Dance in Burlington, Ontario. Aspects of Dance offers students the opportunity to train in Highland, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Musical Theatre and Acrobatics. Many of her competitive highland dancers have travelled throughout Canada, the United States, Australia, Europe and Scotland winning many awards and Championships. Some of her students have gone onto professional careers with professional ballet companies and cruise lines.
Eleanor is a member of the World-Wide Judges Panel for the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing. She is also a Fellow, Life Member and Examiner with the British Association Teachers of Dance. Eleanor has travelled throughout Canada, United States, Australia and Scotland, adjudicating and conducting highland and choreography Workshops.
One of her most enjoyable experiences as a highland teacher was as co-chair of the opening ceremonies for ScotDance Canada Championship Series in 2015 and 2017. She had the privilege of working with many talented dancers from across Ontario to create the choreography for these events.
Daniel Carr began dancing at the age of three with the Sheila Milne School of Dance in Owen Sound, Ontario. He received world class training in highland dance from Mrs. Milne as well as ballet, modern, jazz, tap and musical theatre from top instructors that came from all over the world. Some highlights of his highland dance career included winning major championships throughout Canada, US and Scotland including the Ontario, Canadian and World championships. Daniel teaches highland along with Leslie MacDougall in Cambridge, ON. Prior to the pandemic, he was very fortunate to teach workshops throughout North America and UK.
Aside from dancing, Daniel plays bagpipes and teaches local students in Collingwood, ON. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he focused his time on finishing up some educational goals and completed teachers college in Toronto. He is also a member of the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance and Alpine Canada and has taught/coached skiing for 15+ years in the Collingwood area.
He is thrilled to be asked to teach at OSAS after attending as a student in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Nadiene Gibney began her early highland and ballet training with Gladys Forrester, in Toronto, Ontario. By age 9, she had won her first Highland Championship and was also accepted to the full-time program at Canada’s National Ballet School.
After 4 years at the National Ballet School, Nadiene attended an Arts high school in Toronto, to further explore other forms of dance including modern, contemporary, and jazz, where she was the recipient of several prestigious awards for Excellence in Dance.
Nadiene then studied in the Teacher Training Program at Canada’s National Ballet School, from which she graduated with Honours, receiving Distinction on her Cecchetti Associate exam. She has been teaching ballet for 27 years, and now holds her Cecchetti Licentiate designation. She has been the Director of Ballet at several esteemed studios in Ontario, and was an Instructor at The American Academy of Ballet in New York City. Nadiene was also on the Academic Faculty at Canada’s National Ballet School, teaching Art History and Dance History.
Nadiene is currently a respected guest artist and teaches regularly at studios in Toronto, Kitchener, and Burlington, Ontario. She is also a successful, award-winning choreographer in both ballet and highland.
Nadiene is a Champion Highland dancer and enjoyed a very successful competitive career. She has her B.A.T.D. Members in Highland and Scottish National, and has had her own highland dance studio for 25 years, where she has trained Ontario and Canadian Champions, World Championship Finalists, and B.A.T.D. Scholarship winners.
She has performed both locally and internationally with the dance companies, Celtic Accent and the Scottish Dance Company of Canada. She was also in the original production of “Needfire”, in Toronto, at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
Nadiene enjoys teaching, lecturing, and judging, on ballet, highland, and choreography, throughout Canada, the United States, Scotland, and South Africa. She has been an Adjudicator on the R. S.O.B.H.D. World- wide Judges Panel since 2004, and has judged many major Championships internationally, including the World Championships at Cowal, and the Canadian Championships.
Joy (Allen) Tolev started dancing at the age of 3 under the instruction of Mrs. Evelyn Murray in Toronto, Ontario. During her competitive days she successfully competed in many highland dance competitions and championships throughout Canada and the United States.
She has been teaching at her own school of highland dancing in Toronto for the past 30 years and has produced many dancers of high caliber who have captured titles in various championships including the Ontario, Canadian, Scottish, Commonwealth and World Championships. There have been over 25 Canadian Championship Titles, many Scottish and Commonwealth Championship titles and runner-ups, and a World Champion who holds 10 World Titles.
She is a Fellow and Examiner of the B.A.T.D., North American Co-ordinator of the B.A.T.D., and adjudicator on the S.O.B.H.D. Judges panel.
Joy teaches annually at the Ohio Scottish Arts School which is a week camp in June, the Delco Workshop in February and travels across Canada, United States, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand, judging, examining and conducting workshops.
Fiddle 2025
A 2-time U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion and a Glenfiddich Fiddle Champion of Scotland, Mari Black’s passion for sharing traditional fiddling has led her around the globe in an effort to preserve and celebrate Celtic music. In addition to performing across the United States, her concerts have taken her to Canada, Scotland, Brazil, China, Korea, Zimbabwe, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, and France…and she can’t wait for the next stop! Mari has been honored to appear with fiddlers from many different traditions, including Scottish fiddle master Dr. John Turner, virtuoso Irish fiddler Liz Carroll, and Americana violinist Mark O’Connor. After completing her studies at both the Yale School of Music and Columbia University, Mari released two albums, “Flight” and “Unscripted”, a collaboration with 3-time world accordion champion Cory Pesaturo. Mari’s devotion to sharing traditional Scottish music extends far beyond the concert stage, as reflected in her work as a teacher, award-winning composer, dancer, competition judge, and musical ambassador committed to connecting people through music. Her ear-catching original compositions draw on a broad range of stylistic influences, and have won several awards, including prizes at the Highland & Islands Festival in Oban, Scotland, and a Gold Medal from the MASC International Songwriting Competition. Having earned her Doctorate in Education from Columbia University, Mari is a master teacher who is dedicated to helping students of all ages and levels explore the joy of making music. She currently serves as the Music Director of the Acadia Festival of Traditional Music & Dance, and she teaches regularly at prestigious camps and workshops around the country, including appearances at the Swannanoa Gathering, the Jink & Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling, the Tanglewood Festival, the Yale School of Music, and more. Currently touring nationally with her acoustic trio, Mari’s favorite thing to do is sweep audiences away on a spirited musical adventure, celebrating tradition and exploring possibility in the dance-driven music of the Celtic regions: Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and more! Follow her musical adventures on her website: www.MariBlack.com
Fiddle Class information
Harp 2025
Wendy Stewart is a leading Scottish harper, a world class performer and inspirational teacher whose style and repertoire encompasses both traditional music and her own compositions. She has produced 4 solo recordings, several music books and teaches all level of student, from beginner to graduate. These days, much of Wendy`s musical life and inspiration stems from her home range and community in bonny Glencairn in South West Scotland. She continues to explore musical connections with the natural world, the spoken word, dance and science with several commissions on the go! Wendy is also a member of local group The Galloway Agreement, who, with writer Tom Pow, are currently working on a theatre production of their show The Village and the Road. www.cairnwatermusic.com
Kelly Stewart is a harpist who continues to find herself in new and unusual musical endeavors. She is an avid and enthusiastic educator in the fields of classical and traditional music and has performed throughout Europe and the United States. Fortunate enough to be raised between traditions, she has a lifetime of experience in both Celtic and classical music. Kelly performs regularly in chamber ensembles on the renaissance harp, triple harp, lever harp, and modern pedal harp, with repertoire ranging from medieval to 21st century compositions. She maintains a large teaching studio in her home in Atlanta, GA, and coaches students for competitions throughout the country. Kelly tours regularly with the Celtic/Appalachian duo, The Reel Sisters, and has performed in venues from New Mexico to New York. She received a Masters Diploma from the University of North Wales in performance and traditional musicology and is a US National Scottish Harp Champion.
Martha Geouge Hill grew up in a musical family, and earned her BM and MM degrees in applied piano and music education at UNC-Greeensboro. She was a teacher, curriculum specialist, principal, and assistant superintendent, while maintaining a significant music career as an accompanist, organist, and vocalist. She discovered the Celtic harp when her husband was an athletic competitor in the Scottish Highland Games. Martha has won the Princess Margaret of the Isles award from the Clan Donald Trust, and first place awards at the Scotland County and Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. She plays with the Celtic trio, Stone’s Throw, and has performed and presented at festivals and workshops. Martha has toured in the US and Scotland with the ensemble, Harpa, and is a founding member of the ensemble, Banrìgh. Martha regularly composes and arranges for the Celtic harp, and is a judge for Scottish Harp Society of America (SHSA) sanctioned competitions.
Perpetually surprised by what comes out of her mouth, Jen Narkevicius prefers to let her harp do the talking – sometimes. From the Washington DC area, where talk is cheap, she leverages wit to bridge the gaps between the two. Jen enjoys teaching and performing. She also is taken with traveling through Scotland with others, pairing the music with the places, people and events that inspired it. She is Co-Director of Harp Camp in SE Pennsylvania and is beyond delighted to be invited to OSAS. Currently Competition Committee Chair of the Scottish Harp Society of America, Jen is a credentialed SHSA judge. She has been privileged to play for “important people” and to be part of the Harpa tours, but she will be even more fortunate to share some tunes with you! She blogs weekly on topics that range from touring Scotland with a harp to staying healthy and fit as a musician, on to fulfilling your promise as a harper on http://www.jeniuscreations.com/blog/ and she especially enjoys writing about herself in the third person.
Harp Class information
Kilt Making 2025
Jon Lilley first attended the Ohio Scottish Arts School as a piper. After a few years of piping, his passion became kilt making. He has attended the Braemar School of Highland Dance and Kilt Making in Troy, New York under the instruction of Judy Sullivan. He furthered his skills with Barb Tewksbury at the Kilt Kamp at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. In 2013 and 2014, Jon taught kilt making at the Ohio Scottish Arts School.
Kilt Making Class information
Pipes 2025
Barry Conway has studied under Doug Ross, Ken Eller, Sandy Keith, Noel Slagle, and Bob Worrall, and had his Piobaireachd training from Jim McIntosh. He is a successful solo player having won the Ohio Scottish Games Piper of Day 3 times and won or placed at virtually every major contest in Ontario, Midwest and East including North American Championships in Maxville. Barry finished his solo career at Open level.
He is the current Pipe Major of Great Lakes Pipe Band and a former member of Windsor Police Pipe Band Gr. 1 and City of Washington Gr. 1 Pipe Band, 87th Cleveland Gr. 2 Pipe Band, and Western Reserve Gr. 2 Pipe Band. He began his career playing with The Caledonian Pipe Band, Cleveland, OH and he is founding member and former Pipe Sergeant and Pipe Major of North Coast Pipe Band.
He has produced or co-produced four recordings in career. Pipes UP, New Crossroads and “Dirty Laugh” while with North Coast Pipe Band and Generations while a member of 87th Cleveland Pipe Band.
Barry has been a bagpipe instructor in the Cleveland, Ohio area for many years and has taught at the Ohio Scottish Arts School since 2008. He is an adjudicator on both the EUSPBA and MWPBA panels.
Barry Donaldson was a police officer by profession retiring in 2006 as Chief Inspector. He was a founder member of the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band, formed in 1975 winning 11 World Championships.
From the late 70s through to the early 90s, Barry was a highly successful solo piper winning many major light music competitions (premier graded by the Competing Pipers Association). In 1995, he was invited onto the solo piping judges panel and appointed senior light music adjudicator. He is a pipe band adjudicator with the RSPBA as well as being an examiner for the Piping and Drumming Qualifications Board.
Advancement within the police service unfortunately excluded further involvement with the band, however it allowed him to work with lower grade bands and he eventually found himself Pipe Majoring the following, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, North Lanarkshire and City of Edinburgh, all competing successfully in grades 4, 3 and 2, winning Championships at each level and gaining promotion.
During this period Barry was responsible for establishing a number of youth development initiatives which produced two highly successful juvenile pipe bands, namely North Lanarkshire Schools’ and City of Edinburgh Schools.
On retirement from the police, he was asked to support The College of Piping, Glasgow. Shortly thereafter Barry was appointed senior piping instructor and a member of the Board of Directors. He has taught piping locally and internationally and whilst he is no longer part of the College, teaching remains high on his agenda.
Stephen R. MacNeil, career consisting of 30 years of successful open piping plus 40 years’ experience in Grade 1 pipe bands with The MacNish Distillery, St. Thomas Police, 78 th Fraser Highlanders, Peel Regional Police and Windsor Police Pipe Bands. Also Pipe Sergeant with the Windsor Police during their 4 top 5 finishes at the World’s in Grade 2. A PPBSO and Midwest Pipe Band Society adjudicator. Principle instructor Northern Michigan School of Piping. Member of the Celtic Folk group “Glengarry Road” and the Irish folk/rock band “Wild Sully’s”. Past 18 years as the Bagpipe Professional at Henderson Imports in Traverse City, Michigan. Stephen was raised in the Detroit area, with strong family ties to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and now lives with his family in Manistee, Michigan.
Craig Munro is the Master Craftsman and Director of Wallace Bagpipes. He started learning the chanter at the age of 8 through the Linwood Caledonia Pipe Band under tuition from Gordon Lawrie before joining the Renfrew District Association (latterly Paisley Pipe Band) at the age of 10 under Pipe Major Colin Johnstone where he won various RSPBA Major Championship titles in Novice Juvenile and Juvenile until joining the Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band Under Pipe Major Robert Mathieson at the age of 15. He has played at the top of grade 1 for 20 years with the last 10 years as a member of the St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band where he currently runs their Scottish branch of the bands pipe corp. As well as his commitment to St Laurence O’Toole, Craig is in demand as a guest player and mentor for bands worldwide where he has also won Championships in Europe, Australia, South Africa and North America.
He is in high demand worldwide for his teaching and adjudication services such as Europe, North America and South America. His Understand & Appreciate Your Bagpipes lecture which takes the audience on the journey of an African Blackwood seed through the plantation and harvesting process in Tanzania then a virtual tour of his factory is the highlight of any workshop! He is also an approved IPBA Adjudicator as well as an SQA Assessor for the National Piping Centre.
Out with the competing circuit, Craig is also a member of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers touring the world and performing to crowds as large as 60,000 at venues including the SECC Hydro and BT Murrayfield Stadium. As a keen golfer, his favourite Chilli Pipers gig is performing at the 2014 Ryder Cup in Gleneagles, Scotland. He was featured on the Disney Pixar “Brave” soundtrack as well as the DreamWorks “How To Train Your Dragon 2 & 3” soundtrack.
Palmer Shonk has been the Director of Piping at the College of Wooster since 2017. Palmer played with one of the top pipe bands in North America, the Grade 1 Toronto Police Pipe Band, for eight years, during which time he performed at the Festival Interceltique in Lorient, France, the largest Celtic music festival in the world, competed in the finals of the World Pipe Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, and recorded an acclaimed CD album. Currently, Palmer competes solo in the professional ranks in Canada, the U.S., and Scotland. Beginning his studies at the young age of 10 in Ligonier, PA, Palmer has been lucky to study with some of the best performers and tradition-bearers from Scotland (Jimmy McIntosh, Alasdair Gillies, Willie Morrison, and Duncan Watson.) In addition to performing regularly, he teaches four different pipe bands weekly in OH and PA, along with maintaining a large private lesson studio. Palmer was the 2017 Professional Piper of the Day at the Ohio Scottish Games. Palmer performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2017. In 2020 he began teaching bagpipes at OSAS. In 2022 he was the “Artistic Pipe Major” for the Cleveland International Tattoo in addition to re-kindling a high school bagpipe program in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.
Smallpipes 2025
Timothy Cummings is a Vermont-based composer and multi-instrumentalist (chiefly a piper) who enjoys an uncommonly diverse repertoire. His music spans from contemporary and sacred music to the traditional melodies of the British Isles, Appalachia, Cape Breton, Brittany, and beyond. Tim earned his undergraduate degree in Music Education (The College of Wooster, OH); and both a B.A. Honours degree in Ethnomusicology and an M.A. in Musicology (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand). While living in New Zealand, Tim was a member of the Manawatu Scottish Pipe Band (Gr.1), winning the Royal NZ Pipe Band Championships in 2001. He was also the 2002-03 Artist in Residence at The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada (Summerside, PEI).
In recent years he has appeared as a performer, workshop leader, and dance musician at Acadia Trad School (ME), the Bellingham Celtic Festival (WA), the Beinn Gorm Smallpipe Weekends (VT), Càirdeas (VT), the Celtic Arts Foundation (WA), Colaisde na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic College (NS), Maine Pipes & Fiddle Weekends, the Northeast Heritage Music Camp (VT), PEI Fiddle Camp, The Pipers’ Gathering (VT, CT), The Piper’s Rendezvous (QC), Trad Camp (VT), the Upper Potomac Piper’s Weekend (WV), the Wooster Smallpipes Workshop (OH), the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival and Piping Retreat (CO), the Boxwood Festival (Australia), the Celtic Harmonies International Festival (QC), the Champlain Valley Folk Festival (VT), Festival Chants de Vielles (QC), the New World Festival (VT), and Swing Into Summer at Pinewoods (MA).
In addition to teaching and performing, Tim operates Birchen Music & Publishing, a cottage industry devoted to publishing a diverse array of new music for Scottish-style pipes. He has also written extensively for Piping Today magazine. Additional creative pursuits have included an award-winning duo album with Jeremiah McLane, ‘The Wind Among the Reeds’ (2016), as well as ‘On This Day Earth Shall Ring’ (2017), an extensive printed collection of carols arranged for Scottish-style pipes. More recently, Cummings released ‘The Birds’ Flight’ (2021), a Scottish/Appalachian-crossover album with Brad Kolodner and the late Middlebury music emeritus Pete Sutherland, and was the featured guest artist with the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra (Spring 2022). He most frequently performs in a duet with McLane, and also with Triton, a trio with McLane and Alex Kehler. Their debut album, ‘Rule of Three’, was released in 2023. www.TimothyCummings.com
Gary West is a musician, academic and broadcaster based in Edinburgh, Scotland, who has spent his professional life researching, teaching, performing and promoting the cultural and musical traditions of Scotland. He spent almost three decades as a faculty member of the University of Edinburgh where he was the Head of Celtic and Scottish Studies and where he held a personal Chair in Scottish Ethnology. He is known also as ‘the voice of piping’ having presented ‘Pipeline’ on BBC Radio Scotland for two decades before developing his own podcast, ‘Enjoy Your Piping’ which promotes piping on a weekly basis to over 100 nations worldwide. He is a highly esteemed piper and piping teacher in his own right, having won both the Scottish and European Championships with the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band, and is now Pipe Major of the famous Atholl Highlanders Regiment, the private army of the Duke of Atholl. Recognized as one of the world’s leading players on Scottish Smallpipes, he has performed, recorded and taught widely across Europe and North America.
Pipe/Smallpipes Class information
Snare Drum and Tenor/Bass Drum 2025
Snare Drum: Kerr McQuillan is the Leading Drummer for the Peoples Ford Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band. Kerr took over in 2022, and in his few seasons, led the drum corps to win the UK Pipe Band Championships in 2023, the World Pipe Band Championships in 2023, the British Pipe Band Championships in 2024 and also winning the drum corps’ first drumming title in over 10 years – taking 1st place as a drum corps at the European Pipe Band Championships in 2024. Having grown up within the Boghall system, Kerr was taught by Tom Brown MBE, Gordon Brown and Stephen McQuillan.
In 2023, in his first attempt, Kerr became the youngest on record to win the adult World Solo Drumming Championships, having previously won 7 juvenile world titles in both tenor and snare drum from 2012 until 2022. Kerr holds the current record for World Solo tenor successes, even winning both the tenor and snare competition in the same day in 2016. Since his appointment as leading drummer, Kerr has accumulated the titles of 2023 and 2024 Scottish Champion, 2024 European Champion, 2024 Intercontinental Champion, to name a few. These successes, alongside his World Solo win, led to Kerr being named Pipes|Drums Drummer of the Year in 2023.
Kerr spends his weekdays teaching at The High School of Glasgow, having recently guided them to their first-place success at the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust’s Scottish Schools Competition.
Kerr is also a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a Bachelor of Music degree, in traditional music.
In addition to his pipe band accomplishments, Kerr is a member of Drums n’ Roses, which has taken him all over the world to perform in some of the most renowned venues, such as Sony Music Hall and Times Square. When not performing, Kerr has toured the world, teaching in places such as Brittany, the US, Switzerland, Spain and Germany.
Tenor/Bass Drum: Jill Watson is the Leading Tenor Drummer for the Peoples Ford Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band. Jill had a successful 2024 season, winning the British Pipe Band Championships and the European Championships drumming title in her first year leading the Boghall bass section. Jill also teaches tenor drumming both online and in schools. Jill started tenor drumming at age ten, quickly falling in love with pipe bands. This passion for tenor drumming is what drove Jill’s ambition to climb the ranks. In 2018, Jill then joined the Grade 2 Royal Burgh of Annan Pipe Band for three successful seasons. Having always had the vision to explore tenor drumming through a different perspective, Jill sought advice in the expertise of Kerr and Stevie McQuillan. This is where she was introduced to the importance of chordal structure and melody and the nature of rhythmical patterns. More specifically, Jill became fascinated with how a tenor drummer can enhance the overall ensemble of the pipe band, through complex rudiments and rhythmical visuals. Jill has also achieved success in her solo career, winning the Juvenile 5 Section of the World Solo Tenor Drumming in 2022. More recently, Jill has become the current Scottish Adult Solo Tenor Drumming Champion, as well as the European Adult Solo Tenor Drumming Champion.