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Winter Storm Biographies
 Michael Cole
Mike Cole won the 1998 Best Bass award in Grade 2 at the World Pipe Band Championships, and his bass sections won the Grade 2 North American titles in 2004 and 2005. He is currently bass drummer for the Grade 1 Windsor Police Pipe Band, the North American Bass Section Champion of 2006. Mike won MHAF’s 2007 Davis Drums Gold Medal in professional bass drumming competition.
Beyond pipe bands, Mike’s drumming experience is extensive. An accomplished kit drummer, he’s worked professionally in a variety of musical genres, including as a show drummer in Las Vegas, and with the likes of R&B legends Sam and Dave, and Junior Wells.
A professional teacher, Mike instructs at workshops, seminars, and summer camps in North America and Scotland, and is a drumming and band ensemble judge. He invented the Twisted Thistle bass drum mallet series, one of today’s most successful competition mallets.
 Drew Duthart
Drew Duthart started playing under the instruction of his father Alex, and at age 14 moved to Shotts & Dykehead. During the next five years he achieved every drum corps prize possible, also winning the World’s Juvenile Solo Drumming Championship.
After Shotts, Drew joined the British Caledonian Airways Pipe Band until moving to Ontario in 1986. He was lead drummer of the Metro Toronto Police, helping win the North American Pipe Band Championship twice in the 1990s. After a short hiatus from the pipe band world, Drew returned to play with the Peel Regional Police, and then the Scottish-Lion 78th Fraser Highlanders, becoming lead tip in 2004. Under Drew’s leadership, the 78ths won Best Drum Corps at the 2007 World Pipe Band Championships.
 John Fisher
A former North American Drumming Champion, John was a member of the World Champion Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band drum corps under the leadership of Alex Duthart. John was most recently Lead Drummer of the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, and performed for many years as a session drummer in Los Angeles and Canada. With over 25 years experience as a performer and educator, John has gained an international reputation as a master of technique.
 Duncan Gibson
For over thirty years, Duncan Gibson has played with great pipe bands such as City of Toronto Caber Feidh, Macnish Distillery, and the Clan MacFarlane, giving a wealth of experience, both performing and teaching. On numerous occasions he's won the Canadian, U.S. Open, and North American Championships, and in 2001 helped Niagara Regional Police win the Best Bass Section at the World Championships in Scotland. Duncan was instrumental in Toronto Police Pipe Band’s Best Bass Section wins at the 2005 Ontario, Canadian, U.S., and North American Championships.
Duncan currently plays Bass with the Niagara Regional Police Pipe Band, and teaches at numerous Bass and Tenor Clinics throughout Canada and the United States.
 Kevin MacHeffner
Internationally renowned as one of today’s finest Drum Majors, Kevin MacHeffner brings a total package of drill, flourishing, and musical knowledge to Winter Storm for its inaugural Drum Major course.
Kevin holds many notable competitive benchmarks both at home and overseas including being the first American drum major to have placed at four of the five Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association major championships.
An active professional-grade tenor drummer, Kevin plays in the Los Angeles Scots Pipe Band. Drum Major MacHeffner actively organizes and leads massed band displays across North America.
 Emily McLeod
Tenor drummer Emily McLeod has competed successfully throughout North America as well as Scotland and Ireland. Emily helped Niagara Regional Police win the Grade 2 Best Bass Section prize at the World Pipe Band Championships in 2000, and the 78th Fraser Highlanders win the Best Bass Section prize in 2003.
Emily remained with the 78th Frasers for four years, stepping into a leadership role in 2004. This year she competed with Dublin’s St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band; SLOT had a very successful 2007 season, winning the All-Ireland Championship as well as the Mid-Ulster Championships.
 Norman "Haggis" MacLeod
Norman “Haggis” MacLeod joined the St. Andrews Boys Brigade pipe band at age 12, and has been performing the globe over ever since. He’s contributed to many prize-winning bands and drum corps, including the World Champion Best Bass Section of The Vale of Atholl, and was involved in the first tenor drumming workshop run in Scotland by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association.
Haggis currently is lead tenor drummer with the 2006 and 2007 World Champion Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band of Northern Ireland.
 J. Reid Maxwell
When the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band captured "the Worlds" in 1995, J. Reid Maxwell made history as the first leader of drum corps of two different pipe band World Champions (his other the 78th Fraser Highlanders in 1987). All this was preceded by two World Pipe Band Championships and four World Drum Corps Championships as a teenaged member of Scotland's Dysart & Dundonald Pipe Band!
With SFU's capture of the 2004 World Drum Corps Championship, Reid gained his fourteenth World Championship. Piper and Drummer magazine named Reid 2004's "Drummer of the Year".
 Steven McWhirter
Still early in his drumming career at 23, Steven McWhirter has enjoyed great success in both solo and band circles. He first competed with the local Cullybackey Pipe Band, helping win the 2001 Grade 2 Drum Corps World Champion title. Shortly after, he joined J. Reid Maxwell’s Simon Fraser University Pipe Band corps, and helped win the Grade 1 World Champion Drum Corps title in 2004. Steven travels from his home in Northern Ireland to rehearse with SFU.
As a soloist, Steven won the Under-15 World Solo Drumming Championship in 1997 and 1998, the All-Ireland and Ulster Junior Solos in 2002, and the All-Ireland and Ulster Intermediate solos in 2004. In 2006, Steven won the MHAF North American Gold Medal Drumming Championship, the All-Ireland Senior title, and capped it with the World Solo Drumming Championship! This year, Steven’s repeated his All-Ireland Senior crown.
 Michael O’Neil
Mike O’Neil started as a tenor drummer in the City of Sacremento Pipe Band in 1994, and joined the Prince Charles Pipe Band in 1996. He helped Prince Charles win the Grade 2 World Pipe Band Championship in 2000, as well as Best Bass Section. He went on to help win the Grade 2 World Pipe Band Championship with Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band in 2006, and currently plays with the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band.
Mike was Champion of MHAF’s Gold Medal Tenor Drumming contest in 2005 and 2006, and runner-up in 2007.
 Johnny Rowe
After successful development as a snare drummer on the Maritime Canadian solo circuit, Johnny Rowe joined the Grade 2 Halifax Police Pipe Band in 1990, and began his bass drumming career. The band won the Grade 2 North American Championships, including Best Bass Section honors. John continued playing with Halifax into their new Grade 1 existence as The 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band.
A musician of eclectic tastes (including piobaireachd!), John took a hiatus of two years from the band world to concentrate on kit playing with various rock bands.
By 2004, John was back into action with the 78th Fraser Highlanders in Toronto, and in 2007 helped win Best Drum Corps and Best Bass Section at the World Pipe Band Championships.
 Barry Wilson
Barry joined Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band at age 14, and would remain there sixteen years. While with Shotts, an amazing forty major drum championship titles were won, including twelve World Drum Corps Championships, and a ‘Grand Slam’ of five titles in 1995. Barry is now lead tip with the ScottishPower Pipe Band, and in his first year led the drum corps to the top six of the Champion of Champions table.
Since his first appearance in 1987 at the World Solo Drumming Championships, Barry twice has been Juvenile World Champion. He is the 2007 World Solo Drumming Champion.
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