The MacCallum Highlanders Pipes & Drums
When Scots and their descendents gather, kilts and bagpipes can always be found. The Youngstown area is no exception. There you will find the lads and lassies of the MacCallum Highlanders Pipes & Drums.
The Akron Pipe Band was formed in 1961 by John MacCallum. Upon his death in 1969, the band changed its name to The MacCallum Highlanders and wears the MacCallum tartan in memory of its founder. The band adheres to traditional military dress – doublets in winter, black shirts in summer, and spats year round.
Pipe Major Heather MacNaughton, accepted the position of musical director in 1969. In her early years of leadership, P/M MacNaughton regarded her father, Ian MacCallum, as her mentor. Ian was the founder and director of The Heather Highlanders, one of only two all-female pipe bands in the United States in the 1940’s, and also served as piping instructor with the MacCallum Highlanders before passing away in 1975.
Over the years, the band has been a familiar site at parades, festivals and civic affairs throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania and Ontario. The MacCallum Highlanders Pipes & Drums is a street band, maintaining its founder’s principals to be the best possible pipe band entertainment for the general public and to encourage the preservation of the Scottish Arts. The band hosts a yearly Robert Burns Celebration, a magical evening for the Scots, and those interested in the Scottish culture, to gather and enjoy the flavors and sounds of the Highlands.