John MacDonald MBE of Inverness Memorial Prize for Piobaireachd. John MacDonald was born on 26 July 1865 at Glentruim, near Kingussie in Scotland. After leaving school he was employed as a gamekeeper. In 1899, he joined the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders as a Pipe Major in a part-time role and moved to Inverness. He gave lessons around Scotland arranged by the Piobaireachd Society, and from 1910 became involved in formal Army teaching with the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming. For much of his life, he worked as a travelling whisky salesman, a job he held at various intervals until 1947. Macdonald received an MBE in the 1932 New Year Honors. He died on 6 June 1953 in Inverness.
The Robert Burns Society of Charleston Inc. is recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to celebrating and sustaining Scottish-American heritage in the South Carolina Lowcountry. This commitment includes the promotion of historical awareness, cultural expression, and military traditions associated with Scotland. The Society fulfills its mission by hosting educational and cultural activities, supporting the mastery of traditional Scottish arts—such as Highland Bagpiping, Highland Dance, Scottish Fiddle, Scottish Harp (Clàrsach), and the Scots Gaelic language—and by providing grants and scholarships that support academic advancement within the Scottish-American community.
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