Management & Staff
Executive Director - Karen Hatcherkaren.hatcher@collegeofpiping.com
Karen is a graduate from Mount Saint Vincent University's Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management program. She has worked at many hospitality organizations where she has gained a lot of experience in operational management. Karen is a natural leader and through her many management roles has developed very strong people management and leadership skills. She is also very team oriented and as the owner/operator of KHG Management Karen delivered corporate team-building programs, facilitated seminars and managed conferences, conventions and special events throughout Atlantic Canada. As the general manager of several non-profit organizations Karen gained experience in grant writing, fundraising, and sponsorship. She is very community oriented and has used her broad skill set while sitting on; the Board of Directors of Destination Halifax, the Board of Governors of Mount Saint Vincent University, and most recently the Rotary Club of Summerside, and the PEI Tourism Advisory Council which is an industry advisory board to the Minister of Tourism. Prior to returning to Summerside and The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada, her most recent career undertaking was as Sales Manager for the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront focusing on the Government and Corporate Markets.
Outside a very busy career, Karen's passion is playing the bagpipes which began in 1978 under the direction of Pipe Major Francis MacKenzie with the Cape Breton Gaelic Society Pipes and Drums. When her hectic schedule allows Karen still plays with, and was band manager for, the 33rd Halifax Pipes and Drums under the direction of Pipe Major Mike Dupuis. She has had the privilege of traveling to Holland to participate in the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Holland in 2005 and returned with the 33rd Halifax Pipes and Drums in May of 2010 for the 65th Anniversary which was the largest public celebration and commemorations for the allied veterans. Karen toured Scotland in 2007 with the Canadian Massed Pipes and Drums participating in various parades and concerts including an opening performance for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Karen has also participated in the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo and in 2004 traveled with the Tattoo's Black Watch Association Pipes and Drums to Holland to perform in the Breda tattoo.
It has been with great pride and excitement that Karen has returned to Summerside where she attended Three Oaks Senior High and worked at Brothers Two restaurant as well as the Lady Slipper Visitor Information Centre where she greeted visitors while playing the bagpipes. All of Karen's previous experience seems to have led her back to Summerside and the College of Piping. She brings a wealth of experience from the hospitality industry, pipe bands, and non-profit organizations. She has a lot of energy and a very positive attitude. She wants to share her passion for the bagpipes and Celtic culture with the community at large and looks forward to the continued training and accomplishments of world champion solo pipers, dancers and bands. Karen also wants the College of Piping to be a place where anyone, regardless of age or musical ability, can come to learn Highland Dancing, Step Dancing, Bagpipes or Drums and play in a band! While she has many visions and ideas, both formed and forming, she is looking forward tremendously to her new challenges, her future and the continued success and growth of the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada Inc.
Director of Education - James MacHattiejames.machattie@collegeofpiping.com
James began piping in a youth pipe band in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and the formative experiences he enjoyed there have carried him to become one of Canada's most respected active pipers. He played with the Edmonton Caledonia (now Alberta Caledonia) Pipe Band before moving to BC, where he played one year with the City of Victoria Pipe Band before joining the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band. With SFU he won the World Pipe Band Championship in 1996 and 1999, performed at Carnegie Hall and participated in two live recordings. In 2000 he moved to Toronto, and joined the Toronto Police Pipe Band. In 2004 he became the Pipe Major and led the band to North American Championship wins in 2004 and 2006. He played with the 78th Fraser Highlanders from 2007 to 2009 before moving back to BC. He played the 2010 season with SFU before moving to Summerside.
James has enjoyed a successful career as a solo competitor, having won major prizes across Canada, the US, Scotland and France. He is a consistent prize winner in the Gold Medal contests at Oban and Inverness.
He is an active composer, judge, performer and teacher, having taught at schools in BC, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia. One of his proudest achievements in his piping career was working with the Robert Malcolm Memorial (Juvenile) Pipe Band from 1998 to 1999, culminating in the kids winning both the Juvenile World Pipe Band and Cowal Championships.
James holds an MA in Classical Studies from the University of British Columbia. He has worked in disparate areas, ranging from lecturing at the University of Toronto, to developing and producing business conferences, to recently working for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Faculty
Kylie MacHattieHighland Bagpipe Instructor kylie.machattie@collegeofpiping.com Kylie has been piping since the age of 7, and has been a member of Grade One bands since her mid teens. She played with the Vancouver Ladies, Triumph Street and Abbotsford Police pipe bands in BC before moving to Ontario in 2000. There she spent 6 seasons with the Toronto Police Pipe Band and three with the 78th Fraser Highlanders. In this time she was a member of the North American Championship winning band on 5 occasions and placed as high as 4th in the World Pipe Band Championships. Kylie played with the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band in 2010 before moving to Summerside. Following a strong career as an amateur piper, which included winning the piobaireachd and overall amateur piper at the North American Championships and an appearance at the George Sherriff Invitational, Kylie has established herself as a successful open piper in North America and Scotland, including a second prize in the Canadian Gold Medal for piobaireachd. She is highly regarded as an instructor, and her patient, supportive and detail-oriented teaching style is ideal for setting the foundation of excellence in early-stage pipers.
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 Sarah SimpsonHighland Bagpipe Instructor Sarah started piping at age eight. Under the influence of Scott MacAulay, Matt MacLaine and now James and Kylie MacHattie, she has become a successful amateur competitor. Sarah has been at The College under the Doug and Debbie Hall Scholarship for the past 10 years, and has been recipient of the Earnest Shaw Memorial Scholarship, Margaret MacAulay Scholarship and the Scott MacAulay Scholarship for Piobaireachd. Sarah has spent countless hours at The College learning, practicing, rehearsing, teaching and preforming, and she considers The College her second home. She is very involved in both The College's pipe bands, being a member of the Grade 4 Band and Pipe-Major of the Grade 5 Band, and she is a performer in Highland Storm. Outside of piping, Sarah enjoys boating, fiddle, piano, art, travel and history. Sarah is planning to study music at UPEI next year, specializing in the Great Highland Bagpipe. |
Shanae Rogers is 16 years of age, and first began studying at The College of Piping when she was three in step dancing, under the direction of Colleen Taylor-MacMillan. She was part of the dance company in 2005, and traveled across the Maritimes competing for many years. When Shanae was eight, she began studying bagpiping under the Doug and Debbie Hall Scholarship program. With the direction of many bagpiping instructors, they led her to the grade 4 band. She has had the privilege to travel across the Maritimes for several years, and then to the North American Championships, and be a part of the North American title in 2011. Shanae is involved in the Three Oaks Senior High Concert Band, as well as vocal ensemble. She hopes to begin to study and become a Music teacher when she graduates grade 12 next year. Shanae is pleased to be a part of the College of Piping staff as one of the ‘multi-talented’ instructors, and hopes to share her love of music and dancing with her students; helping them to have an experience of a lifetime! |
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Chris Coleman began drumming in 1992 at the Fredericton Academy of Piping and Drumming. Under the tutulage of Brian Freeman and Chris's father, Dave Coleman, he progressed into the Fredericton Jr. Pipe Band (Gr. 4). Through his years there, he was also influenced by the teachings of Matt Carter and Sean Morton. In 1995, Chris was promoted to the Fredericton Society of St. Andrew Pipe Band (Gr. 2), under the leadership of Matt Carter. He later began tutoring at the Fredericton Academy of Piping and Drumming, and by 1998 he was instructing the Fredericton Jr. Pipe Band. During his drumming career, Chris has had many achievements in solo competitions, band competitions, and teaching. He has also traveled throughout North America and Europe, performing and competing. Highlights include traveling several times to the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, and the Festival Interceltique de L'Orient, in L'Orient, Brittany. In January 2008, Chris was honored to begin his career as Drumming Instructor at The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada. |
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Sam Ramsay was born and raised in Summerside, and has been involved with The College of Piping since 2000. He first started taking drumming lessons at the age of 8, and has been very successful in the pipe band scene. Thanks to the Doug and Debbie Hall Scholarship program, Sam was able to receive lessons up until 2010. In 2006, The College of Piping Grade 4 Pipe Band won the North American Championships, which allowed Sam to travel to Scotland for the 2007 World Pipe Band Championship, when the band placed 4th. Sam has also had success as a solo drummer, winning the Grade 1 drumming aggregate at the North Americans in 2009. Sam is currently a member of the Grade 2 Fredericton Society of St. Andrew Association Pipe Band and is an Arts student at the University of PEI. He plans to continue competing and instructing and is excited to be part of The College of Piping team once again. |
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Kearsney Smith began dancing at the age of five and competing in Championship at the age of ten. She won her first South African Championship in 1999 at the age of eleven and then again in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2010. She has competed in Scotland and Canada since the age of ten, placing at Cowal three times. In 2002, Kearsney was part of the South African team that went to perform at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo for Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee and was asked by the Canadian team the following year to join them; she has also performed in the Hamilton Tattoo in Ontario and the South African Tattoo. She has qualified for the Gauteng provincial team since 2000, when the Inter-Provincials were first held. Kearsney has performed in many choreography competitions and since qualifying as a member of the SOBHD in 2009, she has both taught and choreographed in her mother's studio. This past year Kearsney has taken a professional choreography course and within the next five years she hopes to qualify as a judge. Once she has taught for five years, her goal is to get her Fellowship qualification. Prior to coming to Summerside, Kearsney studied a Bachelor of Education and was a school teacher for two years. |
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Samantha is a BATD Associate teacher who began step dancing when she was just three years old. She is trained in tap, jazz and highland as well as voice, piano and violin. She has performed at the Maritime Fiddle Festival, Christmas Daddies, Fiddlers & Followers, and International Teahouse, among other events. She has competed and performed across the Maritimes, winning many awards in solo and group classes. When Samantha was 15 she began teaching privately in her home, growing to manage her own school in East Royalty of 60 students, ages two to adult. Her students have gone on to win numerous awards in solo and group categories across the Island. Samantha spent the past summer as the step dance choreographer and lead for The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts' "Ceilidh at The College" and was step lead for The College's production of "Highland Storm." Samantha is a recent grad of UPEI's Bachelor of Arts in Applied Print Journalism and has received a scholarship from the Maritime Broadcasting System.
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Charlotte lives in Newton, P.E.I. and is currently a grade 12 student at Kinkora Regional High. She has been dancing since age six, and has studied step dancing under Judy MacLean, Jennifer Carson, Colleen Taylor-MacMillan and Shirley Burke. She has competed in many competitions locally, and in the Maritimes, and has danced in Ceilidhs, fundraisers, and local events on PEI. She has won many awards for solo, duet, and group numbers, and was invited to dance in Disney with her dance troupe in 2010. She participates in the B.A.T.D.s each year in Nova Scotia and was awarded a scholarship for her excellence in dance. Charlotte was a cast member of Highland Storm for 4 years.
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Rebecca resides in Hampton, P.E.I, and has been step dancing for over twelve years. She began step dancing under the direction of Colleen Taylor-MacMillan at the age of five, competing all over the Maritimes, and was also invited to perform at Disney in 2010. Rebecca has won numerous awards in solo, and group numbers, and has performed locally for countless years in Ceilidhs, fundraisers and concerts. She has been a cast member of Highland Storm the past two years, and is excited to teach this upcoming fall. Rebecca is planning to study business at the University of Prince Edward Island this year. |
Shanae Rogers is 16 years of age, and first began studying at The College of Piping when she was three in step dancing, under the direction of Colleen Taylor-MacMillan. She was part of the dance company in 2005, and traveled across the Maritimes competing for many years. When Shanae was eight, she began studying bagpiping under the Doug and Debbie Hall Scholarship program. With the direction of many bagpiping instructors, they led her to the grade 4 band. She has had the privilege to travel across the Maritimes for several years, and then to the North American Championships, and be a part of the North American title in 2011. Shanae is involved in the Three Oaks Senior High Concert Band, as well as vocal ensemble. She hopes to begin to study and become a Music teacher when she graduates grade 12 next year. Shanae is pleased to be a part of the College of Piping staff as one of the ‘multi-talented’ instructors, and hopes to share her love of music and dancing with her students; helping them to have an experience of a lifetime! |
Staff
 | Jane Magee |
 | Elaine Lyon |
 | Nancy Pitre |
