Meet the Instructors
San Diego’s House of Scotland Pipe Band is pleased to make the following announcement:
Pipe Major Colin Armstrong and Drum Sergeant Eli Fugate are now full members and instructors. Eli is actually returning to the band, having begun his drumming journey at the age of 6. Both Eli and Colin are local San Diegans. They will bring years of professional experience and solid musical reputations with the intent to further the band’s youth program and overall expansion.
Pipe Major Colin Armstrong and Drum Sergeant Eli Fugate are now full members and instructors. Eli is actually returning to the band, having begun his drumming journey at the age of 6. Both Eli and Colin are local San Diegans. They will bring years of professional experience and solid musical reputations with the intent to further the band’s youth program and overall expansion.
For more information about lessons and rehearsals, contact Colin Armstrong at (714) 655-4751 or [email protected] or Eli Fugate at [email protected].
Colin ArmstrongPiping Instructor
A native of San Diego, Colin Armstrong is the former Pipe Major of the United States Premier Grade 1 LA Scots Pipe Band. Colin was promoted to Pipe Major in 2004 and under his direction, the band qualified for the Grade 1 World Championships Final in Glasgow Scotland on 3 occasions. At the age of 16, Colin was a member of the LA Scots when the band won the 1997 Grade 2 World Pipe Band Championships; the first band from the USA to do so. Before playing with the LA Scots, Colin was a member of the Prince Charles Junior Pipe Band of San Francisco. Colin is also a prominent solo competitor in the Western United States Pipe Band Association (WUSPBA), having won numerous solo prizes at home and abroad.
Teaching bagpipes professionally, Colin has students of all age and skill levels and regularly works with pipe bands in the Southern California area. He is also an accredited piping adjudicator with the WUSPBA. Piping and its traditions are a family affair for Colin who began his tuition with his uncle, Pipe Major Scott MacDonald, at the age of 10. Colin’s grandfather, Ian MacDonald, was also a founding member of the LA Scots. Colin’s mother, Linda Armstrong, is a world class highland dance instructor and his sister, Lindsey Armstrong, is a prominent bagpiper in the Southern California area. Music is a full time job for Colin as he is also a professional singer, songwriter and performer with numerous compositions featured on network and cable television throughout the world. Colin currently resides in Carlsbad, CA. |
Eli FugateDrumming Instructor
Eli is a world class Scottish snare drummer who won the World Drumming Championship 18 and under twice in Glasgow, Scotland and has won several other notable drumming championships including the 2020 New York Metro Cup Solo Drumming and in 2004 and 2019, the Gold Medal Snare Drumming prize at Winter Storm in Kansas City. Eli got his start at the tender age of 6 with The House of Scotland Pipe Band, under the tutelage of the band’s Drum Sergeant, Hamish Yuile.
He has played with some of the top pipe bands in the USA, Scotland and Canada to include Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia, Triumph Street, Alameda County Sheriffs and the LA Scots. Eli served as Drum Sergeant for many years with the San Francisco Grade 2 Prince Charles Pipe Band and Kevin R. Blandford Memorial Grade 3 Pipe Band. He currently plays with Grade 1 St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band (SLOT) from Dublin, Ireland. SLOT won the World Drum Corps Championship in 2019. Eli is married to Grade 1 Tenor Drummer Iris Fugate. They reside in Vista, CA with their two young sons, Jack and Sam. |
House of Scotland - Piping and Drumming Workshop 2024
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