Pipe Band Director on With Good Reason

Brian Donaldson stands in Scottish uniform.

Maj. Brian Donaldson poses in his full bagpipe dress complete with kilt, plaid, and feather bonnet, as Pipe Major in Scotland. -Photo courtesy of Maj. Brian Donaldson.

LEXINGTON, Va., Dec. 20, 2022—Maj. Brian Donaldson, pipe band director at Virginia Military Institute will be featured on the public radio program, With Good Reason on Christmas Eve, Saturday, Dec. 24. On the show Donaldson discusses growing up in a small mining village in Scotland and learning from his father how to play the bagpipes, beginning at the tender age of 5. He talks about his internship with a bagpipe maker in Edinburgh, and his 22-year career in the Scots Guards. During his lifetime he has won many bagpipe competitions and played many times for Queen Elizabeth II. Sprinkled throughout the interview Donaldson treats the listening audience to songs on the bagpipes including “Ca’ the Ewes,” “The Seagull,” and the familiar “Scotland the Brave.” Local show times, audio files of the full program, and companion news features are on the With Good Reason website, www.withgoodreasonradio.org.

-VMI-