History Series: Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Pipe Major Hugh Macpherson first began learning to play the bagpipes in Saskatoon at thirteen years of age. In 1964, at seventeen years of age, he joined The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, where he served as an infantry piper with the First Battalion at Camp Gagetown, New Brunswick.
His first opportunity to participate in a major performance came in 1967 when he travelled across the continent by train as one of the pipers on the Canadian Centennial Tattoo.