There are people who are born music teachers and this year’s recipient of the Balvenie Medal, Ian Duncan, is most certainly that. Countless children and young people have been introduced to our wonderful music by him.
For Ian, everyone can gain something from piping. It might not always be medals or trophies, but they can take something from this art form and the amazing community which surrounds it.
By Craig Muirhead and Bob Worrall
We’ll take you back to 1979, when, as a young maths teacher, Ian was approached to apply for the role of Bagpipe Instructor for Dundee City Council. He was pretty chuffed to be employed on a teaching contract just before they introduced a new pay scale for peripatetic music instructors.
Some might say this is what kept him in the job for 30 plus years, but that is not the case. Coming from a modern dynasty of Scottish tradition bearers, Ian has both a passion for teaching, and a sense of duty to share our music with the next generation.
He held one of the first full time contracts to teach pipes in schools. In the early years he would find himself working in large cupboards and even shower blocks as the Heads of Music felt the pipes needed to be distanced from the rest of the department.
He spent a a long time helping to break down barriers between pipers and other musicians and often encouraged his pupils to learn other instruments. He has played no small part in the ever-changing attitude towards piping education.
Ian understands how difficult it is for children and young people to learn bagpipes in this day and age. He gets that there are distractions which didn’t previously exist, but he works alongside those distractions. It is this sort of approach which earned him the award of ‘Music Tutor of the Year’ at the Scots Trad Music Awards in 2009.
Ian works part-time teaching at Strathallan School and current pupils say of him, ‘he always greets me with a smile and a new tune to play on the chanter’, ‘he is my favourite teacher in school’, ‘he makes my day with his jokes’, ‘sir, why have you asked us to speak about him?, tell me he’s not retiring!’
Ian joined the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band in 1965, and, after several successful seasons on the solo boards, became Pipe Major in 1973, a position he held until 2000. By 1983 the band had been elevated to Grade 1, winning the European Championship in 1988 and the British Championship in 1989.
Under his leadership the band were trailblazers, bringing pipe band music to the big stage and recording music ahead of its time. Tapping into celtic influences from Britanny and Galicia provided fertile musical territory for the classic recordings ‘Both Sides of the Tracks’, ‘Salutations’, ‘No Reservations’, and ‘Live’n Well in Motherwell’. The groundbreaking recording ‘Names and Places’ was showcased at Celtic Connections in 2023.
After stepping down from the Vale, the draw of pipe bands was too strong for Ian to resist. He spent time in Scottish Power, Lothian & Borders Police, and Drambuie Kirkliston. As Pipe Major of Drambuie they secured the Grade 2 World Championship in 2015.
With his brother Gordon’s untimely passing in 2005, Ian helped establish the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust. To date, the Trust has given over £130,000 in grants to a wide range of individuals and organisations, and Ian was instrumental in helping put together two collections of his late brother’s music.
At Blair Castle in 1971, he joined the famous Atholl Highlanders and became Pipe Major of their band in 2002. He retired from that position 20 years later in 2022. Quite a run!
In conclusion, this year’s Balvenie Medal went to a man who has truly given his life to teaching, performing, and leadership in every facet of piping. There can not have been a more deserving recipient.
Absolute legend. I think about him and his extended family very frequently. Not many walking the earth like the Duncans.
Ian is indeed a star. Well done. James Begg