Ping legends
music with the University of the Highlands and Islands, he went to Iain MacDonald of Glenuig - one of Scotland’s best known west coast pipers - for more tuition.
Burgess and Scott are descended from William Hay of Glenbucket in Aberdeenshire, who fought at Culloden on the Highland side under the renowned senior Jacobite commander Major General John Gordon of Glenbucket. Scott was invited to open the new National Trust for Scotland Culloden Battlefield Centre in 2008 and is now the trust’s official piper, helping to promote the culture and history of this national site.
Scott and his family design and make world class instruments, trading under the name of Burgess Bagpipes, specialising in pipes that have a modern look and sound and can be played along with other instruments.
Burgess Bagpipes are believed to be one of only two firms in the world making all three types of Scottish pipes - ranging from small pipes, Border pipes to the full traditional Highland pipes. Burgess, who is a precision engineer with more than 30 years’ experience, said: ‘Our aim is to make the best possible instruments with the finest materials, tools and skills to end up with a product that sounds right and has interchangeable parts.
‘We work together as a team and choose our suppliers carefully. Our African black wood comes from a sawmill in Africa, where the wood is stored for up to five years in controlled conditions before it is sold under special licence. We use titanium as standard due to its lightness and strength and because it does not corrode or tarnish. This material is also found in the medical, aerospace and military industries and for hard wearing precious metal applications. Because we have designed our products and have used the best possible materials and manufacturing techniques, we guarantee our instruments for 25 years.’
Knowing more than most about the global appeal of the bagpipes and being a truly authentic Scottish family with a long history behind them, Burgess, Fiona and Scott are developing plans to open a Highland Bagpipe Centre somewhere between Inverness and Culloden. The project, backed by the local enterprise company and the National Trust for Scotland, would be a hub for their manufacturing business. It would also include a museum, shop, cafe, exhibition and demonstration area providing visitors with an opportunity to try their hand at making and playing bagpipes. The vision is to develop a 100-year family business and show also how Scottish culture and heritage can be packaged to offer a handson product that matches consumer demand at home and abroad and in an enjoyable and informal setting.
There would be nothing like it in Scotland or anywhere else in the world. An angler who ties his own trout and salmon flies must find it enormously satisfying to land a fish with one. Scott Burgess Hay should feel equally elated whenever he plays the grounding of a MacCrimmon piobaireachd on a set of pipes of his own making.
Part two next week.