The CPA instructors are the most successful and experienced instructor team in Saskatchewan, and this shows in years of success working with bands and developing players. At the same time, all these people have continued to perform, compete, and develop skills and programs. At right is an article on the Conservatory Pipe Band that appeared in Piping Today, the magazine published by the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. You can download/read the entire article here.

Band Director Iain MacDonald has been working with pipers and bands in Saskatchewan for over 30 years, and has also been a member of Scottish and Canadian grade 1 bands. Many of his pupils have gone on to be successful with top-level pipe bands. Iain also organizes the Sound Advice summer school in Regina, which has had a positive impact on so many players.

In 2007, Iain was profiled in Celtic Heritage Magazine. You can read that here. He holds the Graduate Certificate of the Institute of Piping [now The Scottish Qualifications Board], and also the Senior Teachers Certificate. Iain is an Examiner for the SQA piping exams, and also holds a B.A. and a B.Ed. from the University of Regina.

Iain runs a communications business, and teaches private and group lessons at the Conservatory.

Barbara MacDonald has been teaching beginner pipers at the Conservatory since 2003, and her ability to inspire and entertain children has been key to the band's success. Barbara is also the pipe sergeant of the City of Regina Pipe Band, where she plays a key role in the band's ongoing success. Barbara learned piping in Regina, and played in bands British Columbia and Saskatoon.

Outside band, Barbara is a Registered Nurse, has a Bachelor of Nursing (UBC) and is currently working on a Master's Degree. She is a senior manager with Health Canada, and in the past has worked in  a variety of health care roles, from regular nursing to managing a diabetes unit, to sales and education and even creating a marketing a new magazine for children with diabetes.

Laura [Scott] Schmeling learned to play in a local pipe band, and has been teaching youth and adults to drum for a number of years. Laura is a former member of the Victoria Park and City of Regina Pipe Bands, and for a few years taught and played with a community band in Grande Prairie, Alberta. In her "regular" life, Laura is an engineer and works on large industrial projects from her office in Regina. Laura's experience includes Irish dancing, and band-bus tenor drumming, at which she is surprisingly good!

Brett Stinson has been teaching drumming for many years, and has developed many excellent players. He was the lead drummer for the City of Regina Pipe Band, and can also manage a good tune on the pipes! Brett has studied under some excellent musicians over the years, and brings his easy-going enthusiasm into play with new drumming students. He has designed a successful "starter program" for new drummers, and his students continue to play in top drums corps across Western Canada.

Brett works with a large Regina-based corporation in the planning department, where he designs work spaces. His understanding of people and their needs makes him an excellent teacher and a good story teller.

Ruaridh MacDonald started tenor drumming at age six with the Conservatory Pipe Band [then called the City of Regina Junior Pipe Band] and over the years has attended many drumming schools and clinics, including Sound Advice, Piping Hot Summer Drummer, Back to Bass-ics [Glasgow, Scotland], Winter Storm [Kansas City], and Innovation [London, ON]. Throughout the years, he learned from and played with the Conservatory's longtime instructor, Kenna Whelan.

Ruaridh is currently near the end of a successful high school education, and he has been involved for many years in theatre, musicial theatre and improv and the school and community levels. Ruaridh's enthusiasm for tenor drumming is infectious, and he has been able to quickly develop new players for the band. When he finishes high school, Ruaridh plans for a career in theatre.