Northwest Junior Pipe Band returned to the British Columbia Highland Games Saturday June 27th  with two bands competing for the second time in the band’s history.  The weather was near-perfect for piping and drumming, not too hot, sunny in the morning and overcast during the band competitions.  The BC Games was almost completely re-arranged, and they tried something new for massed bands, including a singing group, “The Shees” singing

The band returned the Grade 4 Pipe Band perpetual ”Robert Malcolm Memorial Trophy” from the 2008 event in the morning.  Soloists took the competition field in some of the largest numbers in NWJPB’s history.   23 top 6 placings for solo competitors made for an exciting morning on the solo field.  Congratulations to the three soloists who won Aggregate Tropies (most overall points over two or more events): 

• Grade 5 piping, winning the Vancouver Ladies Pipe Band Aggregate Trophy:  Marcus D. 
• Grade 4 Drumming, winning the BC Highland Games Grade 4 Drumming Trophy:  Bryce K. 
• Grade 2 piping, winning the Robert Duncan Wood Memorial Trophy:  Pipe Major Alexander S.

In the Grade  5 Pipe Band competition, NWJPB finished third in a field of very strong performances from White Spot Pipe Band Grade 5 (1st) and Frasier Valley Youth Pipe Band (2nd). 

Northwest Junior Pipe Band Grade 4 brought home the Robert Malcolm Memorial Trophy in Grade 4 for the second year in a row, also winning best drum corps.  Full solo results:

• Grade 5 piping 2/4 March:  4th Marcus D, 6th Megan M
• Grade 5 piping Slow Aire:  1st Marcus D, 2nd Megan M
• Grade 4 piping Strathspey & Reel:  2nd Saul G, 3rd Devon M, 6th Paul V
• Grade 4 piping 2/4 March:  3rd Saul G, 4th Devon M, 5th Matt A
• Grade 3 piping Strathspey & Reel: Aaron S 1st
• Grade 3 piping Piobaireachd:  Aaron S 4th
• Grade 2 piping March, Strathspey & Reel:  Alexander S 1st 
• Grade 2 piping Jig:  Alexander S 1st
• Grade 2 piping Piobaireachd:  Alexander S 3rd
• Grade 4 snare 2/4 march:  1st Morgan M, 2nd Steven Wheeler, 5th Bryce K
• Grade 4 snare 6/8 march:  1st Bryce K, 3rd Steven W, 4th Robbie G.
• Grade 3 drumming 2/4 march:  Amber S 5th place
• Grade 3 drumming 6/8 march:  Amber S 4th place

Thanks to Mid Section Director Marcie MacRae’s fiance Curtis for volunteering to keep track of the results “on the day” for us this year!

Northwest Junior Pipe Band’s Grade 4 team attended the Sons of Scotland Highland Games in Delta, BC for the first time in the band’s history on Saturday, June 13th. The band was missing several pipers due to Graduation ceremonies and other important conflicting events, but the band fielded 9 pipers, 3 tenor drummers, 3 side drummers and a bass drummer in the competition. The heat of the beautiful day was a challenge for the band to overcome, and stamina seemed to suffer a bit, but the band managed its third 1st place of the season, and the second at an outdoor Highland games event.

With Steven filling in for the second time this season as lead stroke because of Joseph’s shoulder injury, the band won best drum corps and very helpful comments from the judges. The midsection with instructor Marcie MacRae filling in because 2 of our 4 tenor drummers were unavailable also received excellent comments. Both the ensemble judge and the drumming judge put NWJPB in 1st place. In piping, NWJPB received a 1st and a 2nd. Band Director Kevin Auld asked the band what they thought about the performance and there was a lot of feedback about things that could be done to improve in the future.  Each time the band competes, they get constructive feedback about how to improve from judges with a wide variety of competition experiences, as well as learning to be more aware of their own performance and the band’s overall performance, and many band members are getting pretty good at predicting some of the judges’ feedback. 

This was a unique Highland Games, apparently attended by Scottish Dancers, their families, solo piping & drumming competitors and Pipe Bands. There seemed to be a lack of general public at the event for entertainment. When the time came for massed bands after watching the final pipe band events with Simon Fraser University, Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band (Grade 1) and the New Westminster Police Pipe Band (Grade 2), we looked around the field to see the crowd we would perform for in massed bands and noticed that there wasn’t one. The BC Pipers’ Association announced there would be no massed bands, and the band results were brought to the beer tent, and our band members were joined by other juvenile band members around the outside of the tent to hear the results.

Solo competitions also went very well for NWJPB members:

Piping:

• Beginner (Chanter):  Morgan S. 1st place
• Grade 4 2/4 March:  Saul 2nd, Matt A 3rd
• Grade 4 Strathspey & Reel:  Saul 2nd, Devon 5th
• Grade 3 2/4 March:  Aaron 4th
• Grade 3 Strathspey & Reel:  Aaron 1st
• Grade 3 Jig  Aaron 3rd
• Grade 2 2/4 March:  Alexander 4th
• Grade 2 Jig:  Alexander 6th

Drumming:

• Grade 4 2/4 March:  Bryce 2nd, Steven 3rd
• Grade 4 6/8 March:  Bryce 1st, Steven 3rd
• Aggregate:  Bryce (tie)
• Grade 3 2/4 March : Amber 5th
• Grade 3 6/8 March:  Amber 1st
• Grade 2 Tenor Drumming 2/4 March:  Ali 2nd, Alexander 3rd

The Bellingham Highland Games on Saturday June 6th set several new milestones for the Northwest Junior Pipe Band.  The weather was almost perfect, overcast in the morning, clearing in the afternoon.  After setting so many new milestones in 2008, the band wasn’t sure what to expect from this year, but back to back wins at our first two competitions of the season is giving the band a very positive outlook. 

• Grade 5:  Best Drum Corps, Best band on ensemble preference.
• Grade 4:  Best Drum Corps, Best band.
• A sweep of all the top prizes in two band grade levels. 
• First time in the band’s history winning 1st place at the Bellingham Highland Games in Grade 4.
• FOUR aggregate winners (best combined score across 2 or more solo events):  Grade 4 Side Drumming, Grade 3 side drumming (tie), 2 aggregate wins in Grade 4 Piping (tie).
• NWJPB fielded solo competitors in every grade (G1 bass, G2 tenor and piping, G3 side and piping, G4 side and piping, G5 piping) with top 6 finishes in every grade.
• First Juvenile Pipe Major leading the band during a regular season competition, at least in the past 6 years.  Last year at the Crieff Highland Games in Scotland, Pipe Major Matt Maier led the band to a 1st place win and celebrated his last competition with the band.

Thanks to our amazing community of supporters and volunteers who helped us raise nearly $10,000.00 at our Ceilidh fundraser on Mothers’ Day “Eve” last month.  Without you, this kind of positive experience for youth would not be possible.  NWJPB had several pipers and drummers out due to injuries, school events, and family illnesses, but still managed to pull through with amazing success.

Solo results are available on the BC Pipers’ Association website.

Congratulations to all band members for a solid showing! 

• 5th in Grade 5 piping 2/4 March, 4th in Grade 5 Slow Air
• 1st, 2nd and 6th in Grade 4 piping 6/8 March, 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th in Grade 4 piping 2/4 March, tie for “aggregate” win, best overall score in their grade for two NWJPB pipers.
• 6th in Grade 3 piping Strathspey & Reel (1st place for NWJPB Alumni PM Matt Maier)
• 3rd in Grade 2 piping Hornpipe and Jig and 5th in the March, Strathspey and Reel for our Juvenile Pipe Major
• 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th in Grade 4 Side Drumming 2/4 March, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 4/4 March.  Lead Drummer Steven won the Aggregate award for the day.
• 1st in Grade 3 Side Drumming 6/8 March, 3rd in the 2/4 March and a tie for the aggregate award for the day.
• 3rd and 4th in Grade 2 Tenor Drumming 2/4 March, 4th in the 6/8 March.
• A sweep of Grade 1 Bass drumming.  NWJPB entered 3 competitors and took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (although we were the only three competitors)

Eleven Northwest Junior Pipe Band pipers and drummers competed in solo events at the 77^th Annual British Columbia Pipers’ Association Annual Gathering Friday and Saturday April 10^th and 11^th ; the largest turnout of solo competitors to the event in NWJPB history. 10 placed in the top 6, for a total of 15 top six finishes, including:

Piping

• Grade 5 Piping 2/4 March, Megan M 1^st Place. 8 registered to compete
• Grade 4 Piping Strathspey & Reel; Elliot T 1^st place. Matt A 6^th place. 20 registered to compete.
• Grade 3 Piping Strathspey & Reel; Aaron S 5^th place. 23 registered to compete
• Grade 2 Piping March, Strathspey & Reel; Alexander S 1^st place (William Lamont Memorial Trophy). 25 registered to compete
• Grade 2 Piping Piobaireachd; Alexander S 2^nd place. 20 registered to compete.
• Grade 2 Piping Hornpipe & Jig; Alexander S 5^th place. 24 registered to compete.
• Grade 2 Piping Aggregate Winner; Alexander S. Heather MacInnes Collins Memorial Trophy and Scholarship to Mastery of Scottish Arts Winter School, presented by the Celtic Arts Foundation

Drumming

• Grade 4 Drumming 2/4 March; Steven W 2^nd place, Bryce K 4^th place. 11 registered to compete.
• Grade 4 Drumming 6/8 March; Steven W 1^st place, Bryce K 2^nd place. 9 registered to compete.
• Grade 4 Drumming Aggregate Winner; Steven W. BC Pipers’ Association Shield
• Most Promising Drummer; Steven W. Roderick MacLeod Memorial Trophy and Piping Hot Summer Drummer School of Scottish Pipes & Drums Scholarship
• Grade 3 Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel; Amber S 3^rd Place. 9 registered to compete.
• Grade 3 Drumming 6/8 March; Amber S 3rd place.  9 registered to compete.
• Grade 2 Tenor Drumming 2/4 March; Alexander S 3^rd place, Ali N 4th. 5 registered to compete

In the Band Competition, Northwest Junior sent two Grade 4 mini-bands for the first time in our history. Each band was larger than the entire competition band in 2004, with 8 pipers, 2 snare drummers, 2 tenor drummers in NWJPB Grade 4 A, and 7 pipers, 2 snare drummers, 2 tenor drummers in NWJPB Grade 4 B. Bass drummer Morgan S. played for both bands (as allowed by the BCPA competition rules) for a total of 24 Northwest Junior Pipe Band members. Bands competing included White Spot Pipe Band, Keith Highlanders Grade 4, Portland Metro Youth, Robert Malcolm Memorial IV and NWJPB A and B.

Results:

1. Northwest Junior Pipe Band “A”, winning the Malcolm Nicholson Shield for the best Pipe Section, and the John MacKenzie Memorial Trophy.
2. White Spot Pipe Band
3. Keith Highlanders’ Pipe Band
4. Northwest Junior Pipe Band “B”
5. Portland Metro Youth Pipe Band
6. Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band IV

The top three bands all competed and placed at the World Pipe Band Championships in 2008, so the competition is very close in this grade level. Northwest Junior Pipe Band greatly appreciates the hard work of the dedicated volunteers of the British Columbia Pipers’ Association for their work staging an incredible event featuring hundreds of pipers and drummers from the Northwest. Full results from the event will be posted soon at www.bcpipers.org/results.html

NWJPB 2009 Ceilidh Tickets are SOLD OUT

THANK YOU!  Our Event is now SOLD OUT.  2010 (our 15th anniversary) promises a new location that will seat more people.  We hope to see you then, stay tuned for information

SOLD OUT:  Buy tickets online now by clicking the photo above, or contact us at concert@nwjpb.org or call us at 206-508-1261 for 4 or 8 person table reservations.  Adult tickets are $40.00 each or reserve a table of 8 for $300.00 until April 23rd.  Youth 6 to 18 are $30.00, 5 and under free with paid adult.  Sorry, this event is SOLD OUT

Entertainment: 

• Karen Shelton Highland Dance
• The Bucketmen
• Northwest Junior Pipe Band
• and more!

Lake City Way Elks
14500 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

May 9, 5:00 to 9:00 pm.

Help us spread the word by printing your own flier!  Click the thumbnail below:

Party with NWJPB May 9th!

Ken Yiesly in his Piping Live! 2008 T-shirt shows off his silver Bagpipes

NWJPB is an extended family.  This story celebrates the life and history of NWJPB Grandparents celebrating their 52nd anniversary, and pays a lot of attention to bagpipes, and the experiences of a couple of NWJPB members on our recent trip to the World Pipe Band Championships, 2008.  A brief excerpt from the story:

Ken was able to retire from the military shortly after in 1975 and the family was finally able to put down roots. 

To mark the occasion, Mieko bought him a set of silver bagpipes, his favorite instrument since childhood. 

“That’s all he wanted, the nut,” Mieko said. “But he’s my nut.”

Congratulations to Ken and Mieko on your 52 years!

We found this video after our return from Scotland.  We’ll continue searching for video, pictures and stories, because one thing about our trip to Scotland that has many of our members eager to go back again, was the welcoming attitude and the warm, open arms the people of Glasgow, Perth, North Berwick, and Crieff, the Piping Live! Festival organizers, and the RSPBA and the organizers of the World Championship events showed us on our first visit to Scotland.  Passers-by were talking about the band’s talent and using phrases like “I thought they were Scots,” reporters, photographers, and the BBC seemed to be watching us at every event, and we were often asked to pose for photos. 

The Evening Times / The Herald published this video on YouTube, which featured NWJPB performing in George Square as the opener to the story about the week long Piping Live! festival.

August 16^th, the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow Scotland. The day NWJPB had been planning,  fundraising, and practicing for for years for had finally arrived. There is no pipe band competition like the World Championships anywhere. The field was enormous; there were 224 pipe bands competing and 23 bands in NWJPB’s grade, Novice Juvenile. There was a light rain falling occasionally, but for the most part the sky stayed free of it. The band’s qualifier started at 9:00 AM so the band arrived, unloaded instruments and got to work tuning up and working through the music. Seeking out competition arena 4, the band approached the final tuning area to play their three tunes that comprise the “MAP” tune set, or a required set of marches all Novice and Grade 4 bands play in order to qualify for the championship round, when they then play a longer set of tunes.

Performing in the Qualfier

Northwest Junior Pipe Band placed third in the qualifying round, and only one point behind the two bands who tied for first place in “Qualifier 2″ which included 11 bands. NWJPB advanced on to the finals feeling jubilant at the recognition of their hard work and clean sound.

NWJPB goes on to the championships

White Spot Pipe Band was there at the qualifier to cheer on NWJPB, as were many of the Keith Highlanders Pipe Band. Some NWJPB members went to watch the Keith Highlanders compete in their qualifier round, in which they were placed first by both MAP judges in Grade 4B. The next stop for NWJPB members was the Juvenile competition to hear White Spot  compete in their field of 10 Juvenile bands.  White Spot put on a solid performance in Arena 5 at 10:30.  Many members also went and watched the Keith compete. 

NWJPB performed again at 12:12 PM.  It was a strong performance and the band was hopeful. The rest of the day was spent watching many of the bands around Glasgow Green, especially the Grade 1 bands, including the exciting new “Spirit of Scotland” pipe band with some of the best known names in piping and drumming that weren’t in bands, including Jacquie and Jamie Troy, Craig Calhoun (Hoss, creator of Hosbilt tenor and bass drums) on bass, Roddy MacLeod, John Fisher, Alasdair Gillies and more. The band was one of 5 Grade 1 bands to go on to the final round of the championships out of 14 to attempt it, but they did it with only a week of practice together as a band. Congratulations to Simon Fraser University Pipe Band for being the obvious winner in the Medley, according to many who heard them play. Some members also stayed around to hear the other Novice bands compete, and the ultimate Novice World Champion Bucksburn and District was an amazingly good Novice band who played without any noticeable mistakes, as well as an impressive performance musically.

Thanks also to the people of Scotland for opening their hearts and arms to the youth of NWJPB. There were literally hundreds of comments overheard and given directly to us at each of our performances and competitions about how talented the band was, and photographers and newspaper reporters almost everywhere we performed and competed.  Many told the band’s leadership that the kids had a great chance at it. We’ve got many more stories to share, keep an eye on our blog to get them over the next couple weeks or so, or join our mailing list by visiting our contacts page.

NWJPB lead instructors and musicians at the 2008 World Pipe Band Championships

Northwest Junior Pipe Band wins fifth

The band came in seventh in the field of 11 competitors, which considering the challenges faced tuning the drones while they filled with water, and rain dripping off of faces and chanters, causing for slippery fingers and finally the water wheel effect of the tenor mallets flinging rain back into the faces of our mid-section, wasn’t bad. Combine all these elements with the adrenaline and nerves brought on by the pure wonder and awe of the first competition for a Washington youth pipe band in Scotland since 1969, the band was happy to end up near the middle of the grade.  Below you you can see a good shot of the band, followed by a closeup of the rain.

The band and rain at North Berwick Highland Games

The close-up:

Close-up shot of the rain on the competition field

 The band also challenged up to Juvenile to compete against their friends to the North, White Spot Pipe Band. In a field of seven competitors, NWJPB placed 5^th, one behind White Spot performing their Selection Medleys. The rain stopped in the afternoon, and the Grade 2 and 1 bands had a much easier time of the afternoon. North Berwick is a beautiful city by the sea, and some band members managed to make their mark at North Berwick in other ways as you can see by the photo below.  More photos of North Berwick are now posted in our photo album.

NWJPB leaves it's mark at North Berwick

Sunday morning brought a new day and a new opportunity to perform as well as possible. The forecast predicted a low chance of rain, we reached final tuning and the rain began, but lightly and briefly. The air was warmer and fingers managed to keep their feeling. The band competed in Grade 4 (as they do in the US and Canada) since there was no Juvenile competition. The band was a little intimidated by the huge class of 24 pipe bands in Grade 4, a competition so long that the judges were given a half hour break from judging after twelve bands.  In addition, we had no preparation in advance that the group would be this large, because Perth and the RSPBA did not post information in advance of the games about the number of bands who were signed up.  NWJPB arrived and unloaded the instruments from the coaches and dived in to prove that they could do better than Saturday. Saturday’s competition was now a distant memory as the tuning and warm-ups took over.

The band was drawn to play 6^th of the 24 bands, which made some members nervous. The judges would need to really remember the band’s performance through several hours of judging talented band after talented band, from all over the world. The Royal Army of Oman pipe band was parked next to NWJPB and several members took pictures with them and received lapel pins. The Oman pipe band is a military band from Oman, with the most unique and beautiful uniforms (Best Dressed Band at Perth).

Washington’s Keith Highlanders Grade IV band was at the games when NWJPB arrived, and they were drawn to perform just after NWJPB.  The bands compared notes about the games, the rain, the North Berwick Games, and the many KHPB members who flew in Saturday evening after 10:00 pm after spending more than 30 hours on flights to get to Glasgow. 

Royal Army of Oman Pipe Band

The time flew by and NWJPB’s turn on the competition field was near.  The pipes well set, the drums tensioned and dried after a few sprinkles, and the band approached final tuning just after the rain had started coming down, so with plastic covered drums, the band practiced and touched up tuning on the drones and drums. The steward called for the band to enter the field, and the rain had stopped. Taking the line with confidence, the pipers and drummers of NWJPB put their game faces on, and performed the March Medley as well as it has ever been performed in competition. Most of the band stayed behind to watch the Keith Highlanders perform, then returned their instruments to their cases on the coach so they could have lunch and watch more of the bands. Oran Mor is a Grade 1 band in the Eastern US Pipe Band Association, competing in Grade 2 in Scotland. Back in June, they had a fire on their tour bus going to a competition in Ohio.  The band asked to borrow a bagpipe cover from us (possibly because they haven’t fully recovered from the losses suffered in the fire), and we were happy to loan one to them. Oran Mor came in first in their competition, and our bagpipe cover was “there to hear it” as they competed. We’re proud to support another US band going to Scotland and playing very well.

Massed Bands was enormous. There were 42 bands on the field, which was the center of the horse track at Perth. The announcements began with the Drum Major competitions and moved to bands. They announce Grade 4 first, then placings from top to bottom. Grade 4, 1^st place: Northwest Junior, USA!  After a brief moment of confusion, screams of excitement, pride and joy erupted from the band and supporters around the field.  Our once ”little” pipe band from Shoreline, Washington had come to Scotland and won in a field of 24 pipe bands from around the world.

The Grade 4 bands competed in “the winners circle” at the racetrack.   We went back there for photos with our Perth Band Trophy, and took group shots as well as individuals with the trophy.  The most poignant moment of the day was when a piper and a couple of drummers, Elliot, Bryce and Stephen stepped into the competition circle and began playing the Streaker hornpipe and Paddy’s Epic Journey, a favorite tune set from the band’s 2007 Medley Selection.  Some looked around wondering what was going on, but this was a spontaneous and joyous celebration of the events of the day, and piper after drummer after piper quickly made their way to join in on the fun in the circle, playing the tunes from the heart and truly enjoying the last moments for the band in Perth, Scotland on a day the band members will not soon forget.

First place Grade 4 of 24 bands at Perth, Scotland, UK

NWJPB, Number 1 at Perth, UK

NWJPB Pipers in the Winners' Circle

NWJPB Grade 4 snare drummers at Perth

NWJPB Grade 4 Midsection

NWJPB arrived at Seatac airport at 4:30 AM Tuesday morning, to learn that Houston was having flight delays as well as Chicago the night before.  The Continental staff really had their hands full, but ended up getting us checked in on time after a few hours of hurrying up to wait for them to “just get through it”.

The band arrived in Newark, New Jersey expecting a 3.5 hour layover and ended up with approximately 5 hours and one gate change.

The flight crew into Glasgow commented to several of the parents and other travelers that our kids were one of the best groups of kids they’ve ever had on the airplane.  They were respectful and friendly and generally great on the flight to Scotland.  One of the flight crew told several different adults in our party how great the kids were. 

But we arrived in Scotland at approximately 9:00 am Wednesday morning, got checked into our rooms and met for our first practice to make sure the instruments still work correctly after all that time on an airplane.  We practiced under the “M-8″ expressway to stay out of the rain, about 4 blocks down hill from our lodging.   While we were practicing under the M-8 Wednesday, a reporter drove by, who then contacted the National Piping Centre thinking it might be an interesting story for a Glasgow News magazine he works for.  The Piping Centre emailed us and we’re hoping their reporter shows up to our practice Friday morning.  Here’s a camera-phone picture of us at practice under the bridge, right next to the offramp from the M-8 to the Great Western Road (A82):

NWJPB practicing out of the rain, under the M-8 freeway in Glasgow

The rain is coming down here occasionally, a lot like spring in Seattle was this year; gray overcast, mist, light showers and occasional heavy rains all day long Wednesday.   We’re all exhausted after the travels, but got up for 10:00 AM practice Thursday morning (9:00 for Snare Drummers).  The rain held off for the most part Thursday.  We’ve found a place only three blocks away that will let us do morning practices indoors while we’re here, it acts as a bar only on Fridays and Saturdays and hosts performances with the Glasgow School of Art students.  It’s a nice change from the Freeway overpass when we get to use it for our morning practices.  Picture below.  Thanks to the very kind people at the Glasgow School of Art, Margaret MacDonald House for helping us get in at this unique space and to Colin and his co-workers at “The Vic” for scheduling it for us and letting us in when we arrive and ring the bell. 

NWJPB in our morning practice space at "The Vic"

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