The Robert Burns Society and the Clan Donald Trust for the Gaelic Performing arts, are pleased to announce
Greg Wilson is the winner of the 2025 Murray Henderson Clasp to the Comunn na Piobaireachd Gold Medal for Piobaireachd in New Zealand
Greg began piping under the tutelage of Fergus Matheson and Airdrie Stewart at the age of 9, then under Donald Bain and latterly Murray Henderson. He has had considerable success on the solo competition boards in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Scotland. The highlights of his solo piping career are the Gold Medals at the Argyllshire Gathering and The Northern Meeting, and three Clasps to the Gold Medal at the Northern Meeting.
Greg joined the NZ Army from school, being educated at Duntroon in Australia and graduating into the Royal New Zealand Engineers. He left the army in 1998 to take up the position of Coordinator, National Schools Piping Project at The Piping Centre in Glasgow 1998 – 2001. He returned to the NZ Army in 2002, serving in Iraq with the British forces 2003 – 2004. Greg runs a successful bagpipe reed making business and is employed as the Director Programme Delivery for Crown Infrastructure Delivery (a Crown company). Major competitive successes include:
Gold Medals at Oban and The Northern Meeting 3 Clasps to the Gold Medal at The Northern Meeting The Dunvegan Medal & 4 consecutive Colonel Jock MacDonald Clasps 3 consecutive Silver Chanters [Dunvegan Castle] Bratach Gorm [Blue Banner, London] twice Gillies Cup [London]
4 Braemar Gold Medals,
The A Grade March, The Northern Meeting
The A Grade MSR, The Northern Meeting
Runner-up, Glenfiddich Championship
NZ Piobaireachd Society Gold Medal and 18 Clasps to the Gold Medal
Canadian Gold Medal and Clasp
R U Brown Gold Medal, Australia
R U Brown Clasp, Australia
Over 30 New Zealand championship titles
Greg also has a long history in pipe banding in NZ having played with the City of Dunedin Pipe Band, the Manawatu Scottish Society Pipe Band, and the Canterbury Caledonian Pipe Band. Greg serves the NZ piping community in a number of administrative roles including the Convener of the Pipers and Judges Grading Committee for the Piping and Dancing Association of NZ, Secretary of the Comunn na Piobaireachd Music Committee, Principal (Piping) RNZPBA College of Piping and Drumming, and a member of the RNZPBA Music Judges Selection Committee.
The Robert Burns Society of Charleston Inc., a non-profit organization as 501(c)(3), supports and promotes Scottish-American history, Scottish heritage, culture and military tradition in the South Carolina Lowcountry through events and the development of excellence in Highland Bagpiping, Highland Dance, Scottish Fiddle, Scottish Harp (Clàrsach), the Scots Gaelic language, to include support of academic achievement of the Scottish-American diaspora through Grants/Scholarships.
