John Scullion, a four-time winner of the World Solo Drumming Championship, and Champion of Champions, is recognized today as a premier master of the Scottish snare drum. He played for a number of years in Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band under his mentor, Alex Duthart, the father of the modern Scottish drum corps music. Scullion led the Shotts corps to its first top finish at the World Pipe Band Championships.
A native of Northern Ireland, John moved to Scotland in the early 1970s, where he played for half a season with the Lanarkshire Police Pipe Band before being offered a place in the Shotts corps by Duthart. John continued as lead drummer for three years after Duthart’s departure, contributing to World Pipe Band Championships for the band and for Shotts’ drum corps.
In 1991 he joined the ScottishPower Pipe Band and over 11 years won several championships with that world-famous band, including the prestigious Cowal Pipe Band Championship at Dunoon, Scotland, in 1999.
John regards Alex Duthart as his primary musical influence. One of the most memorable early achievements of his career was being chosen by Duthart to play the lead drummer’s part in the Shotts and Dykehead recording of “Cullen Bay”. His distinctive style descends directly from Duthart’s virtuoso musical approach to band repertoire, an approach which literally revolutionized the art form.
Even while maintaining his roots in his native Northern Ireland, John continues to be a popular teacher and performer, as well as a much sought-after judge of drumming and bagpipe competitions all over the world. He is also a prolific composer of band and solo drum scores and released his long-awaited John Scullion Drum Tutor, modestly subtitled A Fairly Together Programme.