Pipe & Drum Competitions

Glen is a well known piper, adjudicator and piping teacher. He started playing pipes at the age of ten. His first teacher was the late Jimmy Thomson, Pipe Major of the original L.A. Scots Pipe band. While studying at the Seumas MacNeill Summer School, Glen met Duncan Johnstone. At the age of 15 he traveled to Scotland to study with Duncan. Upon arrival he was awarded an Ad Hoc Scholarship.

While there, he rounded out his experience by playing with the Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band.

After a brief stint in NorCal Playing with drummer Ron Wilson, of “Wipeout” fame He returned to Los Angeles and went to Loyola Marymount to study Television. He joined the Cabar Feidh Pipe Band and spent five years as Pipe Sergeant under Jimmy McColl. He studied piobaireachd with Jimmy and re-entered solo competition.  Glen was lucky enough to meet Pipe Major Angus Macdonald, Scots Guards during this period, often getting weeklong private lessons from “Big Angus”.  Angus convinced Glen to try his hand at competing in Scotland. He spent a couple weeks in Scotland each summer competing in pro solos.

In 1998 Glen took over the Cabar Feidh Pipe Band as Pipe Major.  In 2000 he took the band to the grade two world championships in Scotland.  The week prior the worlds, the band placed second at the Inverkeithing games, played up to Grade one, and place third in the Grade one contest.

He has competed professionally as a soloist in Scotland as well as many contests throughout the United States and Canada.

As a WUSPBA approved Senior Adjudicator, Glen can often be found judging at various Highland Games throughout North America.

Although this background is competition, you can see Glen at his best when entertaining a crowd.

Liz (Payne) Tubbs learned to play the Great Highland Bagpipe as a youngster in Dunedin on Florida's West Coast. As she became a proficient piper, playing with the City of Dunedin Pipe Band from 1972 through 1978, Liz got the attention of noted piper Sandy McPhee, who tutored her in the professional ranks of pipers.

Continuing her music education, Liz became a premier flutist, and in 1976 was a Young Artist winner with the Florida Gulf Symphony. She earned her degree in music and elementary education from the University of Iowa in 1978.

Liz moved to California in 1981 and began playing with the Prince Charles Pipe Band, commuting from Sacramento to San Francisco several times a week. With fellow bandsman Clutch Sutton, she formed the City of Sacramento Pipe Band in 1989 and has served as its pipe major and musical director ever since.

She has served in leadership positions with the Western United States Pipe Band Association for over twenty-one years, as President of the Northern Branch, Vice-President and most recently as a member of the Music Board.

Liz teaches music in the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Elk Grove's Sheldon High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District, and also teaches piping to students at her home. Over the years Liz has started dozens of pipers on their way, and her former students can be found in many pipe bands and on awards lists throughout California and Canada.

Duncan McPherson is a distinguished drumming judge whose career has been devoted to excellence in pipe band percussion. With years of experience as both a performer and instructor, he brings technical mastery, rhythmic precision, and a deep appreciation for tradition to the judging panel. His expertise ensures drummers are evaluated with fairness, integrity, and a focus on musicality.