The Jimmy McIntosh Piobaireachd Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce they have selected a deserving recipient for the 2025-2026 session. Peter Liu from Nashville, Tennessee was selected from a number of applicants.
All the pipers who applied demonstrated a great deal of promise, and the committee’s decision was difficult. The committee are confident that Peter will work hard and reap tremendous benefits from the piobaireachd instruction to be provided by the excellent panel of instructors in the coming months.
It was Jimmy’s wish that the scholarship recipients would be able to work closely with long time students of his who had been taught in the Balmoral tradition. Peter’s piobaireachd instruction will begin in June with an intensive piobaireachd weekend in Pittsburgh, taught by one of Jimmy’s most successful students, Mike Cusack.
Following this, instructors who are working closely with the scholarship committee will be chosen to work with Peter for the remainder of 2025, into early 2026. Peter’s scholarship experience will culminate with a piobaireachd workshop at Carnegie Mellon University in February of 2026, at which he will give a recital to include tunes that he has learned during the summer. Next year’s workshop will be ably taught by Mike Cusack, Nick Hudson and Andrew Carlisle. The Winter Workshop is open to all and is expertly organized by the Pittsburgh Piping Society, in conjunction with the Jimmy McIntosh Scholarship Committee. The organisations are thankful for the opportunity to help bring Jimmy’s wishes to fruition.
Contributions to the scholarship fund are still being accepted at pittsburghpipingsociety.org by clicking on the Donate tab. The scholarship exists solely on donations and grants received, and your support to help continue what is the most extensive piobaireachd scholarship available today in the USA will be gratefully received.
The Jimmy McIntosh Piobaireachd Scholarship Committee thank Nancy Tunnicliffe, Amy Garson, Mike Cusack, Nick Hudson and Andrew Carlisle, Mike Rogers, Peter Kent and Alex McIntyre for their willingness to provide instruction and support to our scholarship recipients. In addition, the committee are extremely thankful for the generous support of the New World Celts, Dunedin Chapter, and to The Piobaireachd Society.