Ms. Anna Hordlt

Anna Horldt is from Port St Lucie, Florida, and a sixth year music teacher. Anna has her Bachelors in Music Education and Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Tampa, and is a second year PhD student in Music Education at University of South Florida, with a cognate in Educational Leadership and Trombone. She has received the Charlene Gordon Award in Music in 2018, the Bert King Outstanding Alumni Award for Kappa Kappa Psi, Alpha Sigma Chapter, in 2022, is a Graduate Success Fellowship recipient from University of South Florida, 2022-2025, and was selected to be an Emerging Leader for the Florida Music Educators Association 2023-2024. Previously, Anna was the music director at Brandon Academy, and worked as an elementary music teacher in Hillsborough. She has directed concert bands, rock bands, chorus, drumming ensembles, drama and new-age experimental ensembles. She has worked with the Brass Quintet, “Kickin’ Brass,” Tampa Bay Pride Band, Instruments of Change, and with the New Horizons Band as one of their guest conductors.

Anna’s biggest goals in the classroom and when working with bands is to create a warm, open environment for mistakes and learning, while maintaining a jovial atmosphere in the spirit of music making. Anna’s long term goals are to supervise music in a county, work in a collegiate setting, mentor young music teachers, and to continue to make music in any capacity possible.

Mr. Iain Donaldson

Pipe Band Director

Mr. Donaldson is the Pipe Band Director at Dunedin High School, Dunedin Middle School, Director of Piping for the City of Dunedin, Director of Scottish Arts and Pipe Major of the Grade 1 City of Dunedin Pipe Band. Mr.  Donaldson became Director of the Programs in 2011. Currently there are more than 250 students in the Dunedin Scottish Arts Programs and six Dunedin Pipe Bands. 

He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the State University of NY Buffalo. Mr. Donaldson began piping at age ten, and enrolled in his first pipe band, Niagara District Pipe Band (Canada) at the Grade 2 level. Iain served with the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band (Grade 1) in Toronto, Canada for 23 years, and was Pipe Sergeant for the last 5 years. The band achieved North American Champion, US Open Champion and Canadian Champion Supreme on numerous occasions, and in 1987, was crowned World Pipe Band Champions, making them the first overseas pipe band to win this title. 

From 2005 to 2011 Iain played with The House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band, Scotland. During this time, he contributed to achieving British Champions, Cowal Champions, Champion of Champions and World Pipe Band Champions. Under Mr. Donaldson's direction, the DHS Grade 4 Pipe Band has earned the title of EUSPBA Champion in the State of Florida during the 2013 and 2014 competition season. In 2016, the City of Dunedin Grade 2 Pipe Band won the North American Championship in Canada. In 2017, the City of Dunedin Grade 2 Pipe Band won the American Championships in Virginia and 4th in the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2018 they won the American Championships in Virginia, North American Championship in Canada, and World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland and was awarded 2018 Pipe Band of the Year. 

Mr. Donaldson received the 2018 Eastern United States Pipe Band Association President’s Award for outstanding achievements and contributions in bagpiping. In 2019, the Grade 2 Band was promoted to Grade 1 and competed in Georgetown, Ontario and Maxville, Ontario. The band won both of these contests and were crowned North American Champions at Glengarry Highland Games.

Mr. Eric MacNeill

Director of Scottish Drumming

Mr. MacNeill is one of the most accomplished American pipe band drummers in history.  A native of New York, he was lead-drummer with Oran Mor from 2000 to 2012, helping to take the band from Grade 2 to Grade 1 over that time, including the band making the World's Grade 1 Final in 2011.  After Oran Mor dissolved, he joined Grade 1 Simon Fraser University of Vancouver for four seasons. 

Mr. MacNeill became the lead-drummer of the then Grade 2 City of Dunedin of Florida in 2016, where he is a full-time drumming instructor in the Gulf Coast town's extensive pipe band teaching system in the public schools.  With Mr. MacNeill's help, the band won Grade 2 at the North American Championships at Maxville, Ontario, in 2016 and 2018, and a few days later, the same grade at the World Championships.  The success catapulted City of Dunedin Grade 1, and the band won the North American Championships in 2019, with plans to compete at the Worlds in 2020 before the pandemic scuttled the event.  

Mr. MacNeill has been a finalist in the World Solo Drumming Championships in 2018 and 2019.  In addition to teaching throughout North America, he was president of the Easter United States Pipe Band Association from 2010 to 2014 and is a current EUSPBA Music Board Member.

Mrs. Lindsey Mallon

Director of Highland Dance

Mrs. Mallon is the director of Highland Dance at DHMS.  She is also an instructor for the Isle of Skye Highland Dance School and Performance Group with students age 3 to adult.  Mrs. Mallon is a former Champion Highland Dancer and certified instructor through the British Association of Teachers of Dance.  She has a Master's Degree from the University of Florida.  

Mrs. Mallon is an Executive Director of the Dunedin Scottish Arts Foundation and a member of the Federation of United States Teachers and Adjudicators and the British Association of Teachers of Dance.  She organizes highland dance competitions including the Florida Open Highland Dancing Championships.  Her students have qualified for and competed in the United States Inter-Regional Highland Dance Championship competition.  

She has won many Open Championship competitions across the U.S.. She was the Eastern and Southeastern Champion, and ranked in the top six at the USIR Championship competition where she competed for 13 consecutive years.  Mrs. Mallon also competed in the World Highland Dancing Championships in Cowal, Scotland.  Mrs. Mallon has performed on the NBC Daytime Show, at Walt Disney World Orlando, with the City of Dunedin Grade 2 Pipe Band, and with the World Famous Red Hot Chilli Pipers.

Miss. Madison Poth

Director of Color Guard

Miss. Poth is a DHMS Highlander Band alumni and former member of the color guard.  She is also a graduate of Dunedin High School, where she was  Drum Major and Pipe Major for 2 years.  In addition to performing with the school bands and color guard, Madison is an award winning Highland Dancer with Isle of Skye Highland Dancers, where she also assists with newer dancers and creates choreography for special performances.  

Miss. Poth is also an accomplished piper.  She performs with the City of Dunedin Grade 1 Pipe Band.