Miles Bennington has been appointed at Carnegie Mellon as its new Drumming Instructor.
Miles’ appointment at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania university comes after an extensive search, launched in June. He will work with Andrew Carlisle [Director of Carnegie Mellon’s Pipes and Drums], to elevate the stature of the university’s award-winning band.
Miles is a professional snare drummer and special education teacher from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began Jimmy McIntosh’s Balmoral Highlanders Pipe Band then joined the Grade 2 Great Lakes Pipe Band. Miles later joined the Grade 1 Toronto Police Pipe Band. He has also been the instructor of the North Coast Pipe Band in Kent, Ohio for several years. Miles is currently a drummer with the Grade 1 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band.
Meanwhile, Brendan Megoran has been appointed as the Leading Drummer of Closkelt Pipe Band. Megoran was previously the Leading Drummer of the Pipes & Drums of Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Megoran replaces Gary Corkin who was appointed last summer after the band from Northern Ireland gained promotion to Grade 1 in 2019.
We were saddened to hear of the death of Cammy Ritchie, aged 52.
Cammy learned his piping as a youngster in East Lothian and lived in Edinburgh. He also lived for a while in Peebles and played in the local pipe band there.
He played for many leading bands, such as Torphichen & Bathgate, Boghall & Bathgate, Vale of Atholl, New York Metro, Balagan and Bagad Bourbriac. His time with Bagad Bourbriac, indeed, rejuvenated his love for piping and pipe bands in general.
Cammy’s family will release details of the funeral in due course. We extend our condolences to his ex-wife, children and grandchildren.
We were also saddened to hear that Bobby Pinkman died yesterday. He had been ill for some time. Bobby, a cousin of Pipe Major Robert Pinkman (ex-1st Bn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers), worked for Lothian & Borders’ Fire Brigade for many years and lived latterly in Wales.
