Ann Gray

Ann Gray is an internationally renowned bagpiper, teacher, competitor and composer. Born in Canada, Ann moved into the professional piping class at age 18 and won numerous piping awards. Her teaching career began at the same time. In 1986, after completing her Master of Arts degree in Celtic Studies at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Ann moved to Calgary, Alberta where she still resides. She continues to compete in solo contests around the world, and teach at various piping schools throughout North America. She also teaches privately in Calgary. She is also a member of Western Canada’s Celtic band, “Seanachie.” She has released several recordings, and published a book of music, “Ann Gray’s Collection of Music for the Great Highland Bagpipe.” (www.anngray.net)

Aaron Shaw

Born and raised in Santa Cruz County, Aaron Shaw has over 26 years of experience as a private piping instructor in Los Angeles, California. He has also taught at the College of Piping summer school since 1996, and holds Senior and Teacher’s Certificates from the Institute of Piping in Scotland. He is the winner of the Strachan Trophy for Professional Piping (London) and has won over 35 other first place awards. He has also been a piper with the Los Angeles Police Pipe Band. He is a member of the Wicked Tinkers, a popular Celtic band that has performed at Scottish Festivals and many other venues around the United States for many years. Aaron studied in Scotland at the College of Piping and Piping Centre in Glasgow, and is a professional level competitor. He has also performed and appeared in numerous films, on television programs, and has recorded on numerous albums, including the Wicked Tinkers, Bonnie Raitt and Forest for the Trees. (http://www.wickedtinkers.com/aaronshaw.html)

Mark Saul

Featured on the cover of the prestigious Piping Today Magazine (September 2004 issue), Mark Saul is recognized as one of the world’s most successful and respected contemporary composers of bagpipe music. He has been featured on World Pipe Band Championship CDs since 1992. His compositions are continually played and recorded by pipe bands, folk groups and solo artists from around the world. In 1990, Mark’s reputation as both a skilled player and prolific composer lead to an invitation to join the award-winning Victoria Police Pipe Band as a civilian member. In 1993, two volumes of Mark’s music for bagpipes were published by Scottish publishing company and the books were well received internationally. In 1993, Mark completed a Diploma in Audio Engineering, leaving the Victoria Police Pipe Band, and has subsequently performed with numerous bands and recorded many albums. In addition to his musical achievements, Mark holds a degree in Graphic Design and has worked professionally in this field for the last decade. He also teaches bagpipes at Scotch College, and Presbyterian Ladies College in Melbourne, Australia, and writes commercial music for television ads and films. (www.marksaul.tv)

David Brewer

David Brewer began playing traditional Irish and Scottish music at the age of 12 on several instruments: the tin whistle, bodhran, uilleann pipes and the highland bagpipes. After studying extensively at music schools in Scotland, including being a several time attendee of the famous Ceolas School in South Uist, competing in solo and pipe band competitions for years and obtaining a formal education in music theory, David has become an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and recording artist. He is also a composer with close to 200 traditional style tunes to his credit, many of which have appeared on recordings, films, and are popular in music sessions. Known for being an energetic and improvisational soloist and a driving force in several popular groups including Molly’s Revenge, David has toured the U.K, Australia, the United States, and China, sharing the stage and performing with some of the worlds top names like Fred Morrison, Paddy Keenan, Old Blind Dogs, and the Battlefield Band, and his playing has been featured on nearly a dozen albums. David currently lives in Santa Cruz, California where he now teaches private music lessons and workshops. More information is available online at:
www.david-brewer.com and www.mollys-revenge.com

Michel d'Avenas - Program Director

An award-winning bagpiper, Michel has over 30 years of bagpipe teaching experience, and has taught beginning through advanced students of all ages. Michel has been involved in music since he was 4 years old, and has played many instruments including piano, classical guitar, and drums, as well as bagpipes. A Monterey County native, Michel is a graduate of the Robert Louis Stevenson School. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War era as part of the Honor Guard. He then attended U.C. Berkeley where he studied music, and was the top classical guitarist in the department. Since 1997, Michel has been the Pipe Major of the award-winning Monterey Bay Pipe Band. Under Michel’s leadership, the Monterey Bay Pipe Band has been very successful in recent years and received a first place award at the premier Scottish Highland Games in Pleasanton, California in 2001. The band has also received first place awards at the Monterey Scottish Games and Celtic Festival nearly every year since 1997. The band has competed successfully throughout the Western United States, and was the Western United States Pipe Band Association Grade 4 Champion in 2002. Michel was formerly the Pipe Major of the Monterey Scottish Pipe Band, and a former member of Culloden Mor and Dunvegan Pipe Bands in the San Francisco Bay Area. Michel owned and operated a very successful restaurant in Carmel, and is also a real estate broker. (www.montereybaypb.org)