Founding director of College of Piping, Scott MacAulay, dies at 51

SUMMERSIDE - He was the face of the College of Piping.
Tuesday morning, the man instrumental in establishing the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts passed away after a year-long battle with cancer.
Scott MacAulay was 51 years old.
At the place where he spent years mentoring young performers and working tirelessly to raise the profile of the Celtic arts on P.E.I. and throughout the world, the mood was sombre, all mourning the loss of a dear friend.
"He was the most optimistic person I've ever known," said the college's chief financial officer Jean Walker.
"He loved to help the students get ahead in anything. He was excellent with the staff. All his staff loved him dearly. It's a rough day."
MacAulay, hired in February 1990, was the founding director of the college and responsible for overseeing the delivery of all artistic programs.
He was also one of the world's best-known pipers, having adjudicated, taught and performed throughout the United States, Scotland, New Zealand and Canada.
As a piper, MacAulay won numerous North America and Scottish solo piping competitions and received several awards for his teaching and composing.
Under his guidance and leadership, the College of Piping has become an international centre of excellence in Celtic performing arts education. And, under his leadership, last year, the college's pipe band went on to capture fourth place at the World Pipe Band championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
The college is now the only year-round school of its kind in North America and enjoys an association with the College of Piping in Glasgow, Scotland.
Walker said a man like MacAulay, who cared deeply about the growth of traditional and Celtic music, is irreplaceable.
"We had one of the instructors leave a number of years ago and at the time we were thinking, 'Oh, what will be do without them?' Scott was the one that said, 'Jean, anybody and everyone, even myself, is replaceable'. We don't think so."
She added: "It will be definitely very difficult to replace him."
MacAulay was the person who introduced award-winning Celtic songstress Patricia Murray to the genre of music she has embraced and come to love.
"To me he was a mentor. He not only introduced me to Gaelic music and traditional music but gave me all kinds of opportunities to perform and travel, just to help represent the college and what it stood for," said Murray from her Halifax home. "I met some of the most influential people in my life through him, him being the most influential. He helped guide the path that I took musically."
Murray, who spent the past summer performing at the college, said MacAulay's passing is a tremendous loss for the college and herself.
"He was such a good friend. He was always looking out for me," she said, choking back tears.
"It's kind of hard to think of the college without him. He has built such a strong foundation. I can't imagine Summerside not having the College of Piping now."
Her fondest memories of MacAulay include his kitchen ceilidhs, featuring lots of fiddling, piping, singing and dancing.
"Every time, late in the night, he would call usually his father in Ontario. He'd get me to sing his father a Gaelic song from the Isle of Lewis, which is where they came from," recalled Murray. "If his father wasn't home we'd call Maynard Schurman and I'd sing Caledonia or play the piano for him."
Now, every time she'll sing the first Gaelic song she learned, Murray will think of her dear friend.
Visiting hours Sunday at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada are from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
Funeral service will be held at St. Paul's Church, Summerside, on Monday at 11 a.m. Interment will take place in Dalmore on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
His obituary notes "in lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada would be appreciated".