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Barr 1 Highland Supply's Recommended Instructors
Here is a list of our recommended Instructors
Snare Drumming Specialists
 Chris Barr
Chris Barr started his drumming career at the tender age of 5 with his father, Ted Barr . With his father's guidance and instruction, he progressed to his first Grade 1 band, the Metro Police Pipe Band, at 12 years of age. This was his first experience playing under the legendary Drew Duthart.
Five years later, Chris played under his father again with the City of Detroit Pipe Band in Grade 2. They went on to place 2nd in drumming at the 1996 World Pipe Band Championships. Upon his father's leave of absence, he went back to Grade 1 for the next 5 years with the Toronto Police Pipe Band, drumming under Alan Savage.
The opportunity to lead his own drum corps came in the years 2003-2004 with the North Coast Pipe Band. With his brother Ryan as his right hand man, they accomplished great success winning the 2004 North American Championships in Grade 2. In 2005, Chris joined the Grade 2 Windsor Police Pipe Band under Michael Crawley. That year, they won the North American Championships and placed 3rd at the World Pipe Band Championships. He continued with the band in 2006 as it successfully moved into Grade 1.
From 2007-2009, Chris once again played under Drew Duthart with the notoriously famous 78th Fraser Highlanders, led by Bill Livingstone. This amazing experience allowed him the opportunity to win a Grade 1 Worlds Drum Corps title at the 2007 Worlds Pipe Band Championships, with the entire band placing 4th overall.
In 2010, Chris became lead drummer for the Grade 2 City of Chicago Pipe Band. After an award winning season, he is looking forward to leading the newly promoted Grade 1 City of Chicago Drum Corp onto the field in 2011. He continues to compete in open solo competitions, like he has for the past 14 years. Chris credits his success to his instructors: Ted Barr , Drew Duthart and Alan Savage. He also acknowledges his brother, Ryan Barr, who has shared success with him every step of the way.
 Andrew Hoinacki
Andrew Hoinacki is from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, where he started drumming at age 6, spending his formative years in the Midlothian Junior Pipe Band learning tenor, bass, and snare. After initially serving as the junior band's bass drummer, he has been competing as a snare drummer with bands since the age of 14 beginning with the Midlothian Scottish Pipe Band in Grade 2. He has since served terms as Drum Sergeant for a number of upper grade bands including Chicago Caledonian Pipes & Drums (Grade 2), the Los Angeles Scots (Grade 1), and the Coyne Memorial Pipe Band (Grade 2). After relocating from California back to Chicago, and taking some time away from bands, he is now a long-distance member of the LA Scots. In addition to all his band experience, Andrew's solo accolades at the Professional level include United States Champion, MWPBA Champion Supreme, and WUSPBA Champion Supreme.
Andrew is a full time drumming educator whose well-rounded experience and down-to-earth approach have made him a sought-after instructor for all forms of highland drumming and band coaching. A number of his students are active members of successful upper grade bands across the U.S., and several of his patron bands have gained regional and international achievements under his tutelage. A highlight of recent individual successes of Andrew's students were seen when they brought home three 1st place prizes at the 2012 Winter Storm solo championships including Grade 2 snare, novice bass drumming, and Gold Medal bass drumming!!
In addition to teaching, Andrew has served as an active adjudicator of drumming and ensemble for over a decade. This is somewhat of a feat at his young age, and he is currently recognized as a senior member of both the MWPBA and WUSPBA judging panels. He also occasionally receives appointments as a guest judge in other areas including BCPA, EUSPBA, and PPBSO. Andrew is currently serving on the MWPBA Music Board overseeing grading standards and adjudicator credentialing in the Midwest.
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Bagpiping Specialists
 Tristan Wilson
Tristan Wilson started piping when he turned 9 years old as a third generation member of the Kansas City St. Andrew Pipes & Drums. Although living on a family farm has its many upsides, rural Kansas was pretty far away from a bagpipe hub. After receiving a strong foundation in proper playing technique and musicality from current KCSA P/M Tom McKee, Tristan began attending workshops throughout the United States, Canada, and Scotland to learn as much as possible. His most consistent and influential instruction came from P/M Jim Higgins, the late P/M Angus MacDonald MBE, P/S Jake Watson, the late Lindsay Kirkwood, Jimmy McIntosh MBE, Alasdair Gillies, and Andrew Wright.
Tristan strongly focused on his competitive solo career as an amateur. His notable solo accolades include 1st places at the George Sheriff Memorial and United States Piping Foundation competitions. He also holds a unique distinction of being placed in the top 5 of all Major US Pipe Band Associations Grade 1 solo Champion Supreme standings simultaneously. Throughout this time, he was involved in the Grade 3 and, later, Grade 2 Kansas City St. Andrew Pipes & Drums which holds an unprecedented streak of aggregate first places in piping for nearly 7 years in all contests played including the World Pipe Band Championships.
Tristan's traveling solo career was put on hold until he completed his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering in 2006, but he received numerous champion supreme awards from the MidWest Pipe Band Association during this time. While studying for his bachelor's in Chicago, Illinois, he became the piping instructor for a small upstart band known as the Chicago and District Pipe Band - later the City of Chicago Pipe Band. His expertise helped the band break a streak of 100% last places in grade 3 to its first, first place in grade 2 in 3 short years.
Tristan is currently the Pipe Sergeant of the Grade 1 City of Chicago Pipe Band. He handles a full load of private students and instructs numerous bands throughout the MidWest. His bagpipe compositions have been featured on the Winter Storm Concert Series as well as by Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band. In his spare time, he has become quite proficient at snare drumming and has composed numerous tenor and bass scores and voicing patterns. He has been a piping instructor at the prestigious Winter Storm Workshop since January of 2003.
 Adrian Melvin
Adrian Melvin was born in Dundee, Scotland, began learning bagpipes at the age of 13 years from his father, P/M Kenneth Melvin. With a strong introduction to piping they played together in the Mackenzie Caledonian Pipe Band.
His piping education continued with instruction from P/M Ian Duncan of the Scotrail Vale of Atholl pipe band. Adrian was a member of the ‘Vale’ from 1988 to 1992, when the band won the European and British Championships.
Adrian moved to Melbourne, Australia in 1992 to become a police bandsman with the Victoria Police Pipe Band under the direction of P/M Nat Russell. He played with them in 1998 when they won the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. That same year he won both the Silver Chanter and past winners Clasp in New Zealand in the same weekend, an achievement repeated only one time since.
After the Victoria Police Pipe Band stopped competing in 1999, Adrian moved to North America and played with past world champions, The 78thFraser Highlanders, winning a North American title in 1999. He has also played with Strathclyde Police, LA Scots and City of Washington. He was P/Sgt and P/M of Midlothian Scottish Pipe Band during a 6 year stint, twice taking the band to 2ndplace in Grade 2 at the North American Championships in Maxville, Ontario. Adrian has many solo awards on his CV. He achieved a personal favorite in 2004 at the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban, Scotland, winning the ‘B’ Grade Marches and taking 2ndin the ‘B’ Grade Strathspey & Reel.
Adrian now resides in Batavia, Illinois with his wife Jenny and their new baby boy, Angus. In addition to working as a full-time bagpipe instructor for individual students and bands in the area, he teaches workshops and judges solo and pipe band competitions throughout North America. He also has gained his Advanced Piping Certificate from the VHPBA in Australia. Currently, Adrian is playing with the Grade 1 City of Chicago Pipe Band .
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Bass and Tenor Drumming
 Mike Cole
Mike Cole is one of the world’s most accomplished bass drummers and sought-after drumming instructors. Mike has won a number of top sectional and individual prizes, including the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Best Bass title at the World Pipe Band Championships in Grade 2 in 1998, the North American Pipe Band Championships bass section titles in Grade 2 in 2004 and 2005 and in Grade 1 in 2006 and 2007. Also in 2007 Mike won the Midwest Highland Arts Fund Winter Storm Gold Medal in their inaugural solo bass drumming contest in Kansas City. Mike now is an adjudicator of that contest.
Mike has played snare, tenor, and bass drum in a variety of Grade 1 and 2 bands including the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, Midlothian Scottish Pipe Band, North Coast Pipe Band, Niagara Regional Police Pipe Band and the Windsor Police Pipe Band. Mike has extensive drum kit and hand percussion experience in addition to playing in pipe bands. He is featured on a variety of percussion instruments on Jori Chisholm’s Bagpipe Revolution. He is the inventor of the Twisted Thistle bass drum mallet series and has a successful recording and drum score composing service.
Mike has instructed individuals and drum corps. He has taught at workshops, seminars, and summer camps in Scotland, Canada, and the United States. He was a member of the advisory staff of TenorDrummer.com and has taught bass drumming at the “Back to Basics” clinic in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a faculty member of the Celtic Arts’ Foundation School in Seattle, Washington, and the Midwest Highland Arts’ Winter Storm School in Kansas City, Missouri. Mike judged solo bass drumming and tenor and bass drumming in the Grade 1 and 2 band contests at the North American Pipe Band Championships in Maxville, Ontario in 2009. Mike was one of the authors of the adjudicators’ examination for bass and tenor judging in Ontario in 2010. He is an accomplished drum technician having tuned the 6-time Grade One World Champions Simon Fraser University Pipe Band a number of times before their competing at the World Pipe Band Championships.
Mike enjoyed the summer of his dreams in 2010, living in Scotland for the entire summer, guesting as the bass drummer with the Grade One Inveraray and District Pipe Band for the 2010 competitive season. He teamed with P/M Stuart Liddell and DS Stephen McWhirter. They placed ninth at the World’s (out of 25 bands) and followed that up two weeks later at Cowal where they broke into the prize list with a fifth place finish, a first for a Grade One band in its first year in Grade One.
Mike contributes much of his success to the support of his wife, MJ, a former piper and his greatest fan. He is now back home playing in the Gr 1 City of Chicago Pipe Band with his former, and new, leading drummer, Chris Barr.
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