A youth bagpipe band is always working to teach, develop, and build the next generation of pipers and drummers, while hoping to build an appreciation for talented piping and drumming in our community and beyond.  We encouraged our band members and families to be up in the wee hours last weekend on August 14th to see the top bands in the world compete, broadcast live worldwide for the second year in a row.  In this 12 part post, we’re pleased to link to videos by the BBC of the top 12 bands in the world.  We’re especially proud that two of the twelve bands are based in our competition region (both are in BC, but our region runs through Oregon), and several musicians from both Simon Fraser University and Dowco Triumph Street live in Washington.

Many of these bands have incredible histories, and are made up of some of the most talented and dedicated musicians (of any kind) in the world.  The piping and drumming community knows, but many in the public may not realize that memorization of this music is required, unlike many orchestra and many other competition based music events.  Not only do they have the multiple tunes in these medley selections memorized, but they have a 2nd medley selection and two different March, Strathspey & Reel selections that are chosen at the start line.   As the bands are preparing to compete, they have no idea what music they will be playing, so all 4 music selections have to be mastered to ensure a chance at success.

12th place, Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band, Vancouver, BC.  Pipe Major David Hilder, Drum Sergeant Andre Tessier.  After winning the World Championships in Grade 2 while part of the Simon Fraser University organization 3 years ago, the band was promoted to Grade 1 and then re-formed with a new name after the former Triumph Street Pipe Band asked the band members to take on the name, returning to the forefront as a Grade 1 band.  Triumph Street Pipe Band, under the leadership of Pipe Major Hal Senyk, placed 5th in the World Championships in 1979, winning the Sash for best drum corps…the first band outside of Scotland to ever win a top prize in the major championships. DTSPB has made it through the qualifier each of the last two years and then competed in the final 14 bands. This year, there were 18 bands in the qualifier, and only 6 came through. A remarkable achievement for a new band in Grade 1 to place in the top 14 two years in a row, this year is one placing higher than last.

—————————————————————————————————–

11th Place: Robert Wiseman Dairies Vale of Atholl, Atholl in Perthshire, Scotland, Pipe Major Adrian Cramb, Drum Sergeant Paul Turner

With over 100 years of history, promoted to Grade 1 in 1983 and repeatedly in the top 6 at the Worlds, British, Scottish and European Championships. 

—————————————————————————————————–

10th place: The 78th Fraser Highlanders from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Pipe Major Bill Livingstone, Drum Sergeant Drew Duthart (son of Scottish drumming legend Alex Duthart, and a legendary drummer in his own right, achieving every drum corps prize possible between the ages of 14 and 19 and winning the World’s Juvenile Solo Drumming Championship).

Founded in 1982, over the 16 times it has traveled to and competed in the premier Grade 1 at the World Pipe Band Championships in Scotland, the 78th have been in the prize list 12 times, and in 1987 the 78th became the first non-Scottish band to win the top award.

Unfortunately, embedding was disabled at time of posting, so click the image below to watch the Medley performance.

—————————————————————————————————–

9th Place:  Inverary and District Pipe Band, Inverary, Scotland, Pipe Major Stuart Liddell, Drum Sergeant Steven McWhirter

Both leaders are former players with Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and very well known soloists, this band is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of competitive pipe bands.  The beginning band was officially founded in 2005 as a Novice Juvenile pipe band, the very beginning of the competition level in the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association.  Their second year 2006, they placed in the top 6 in every event they entered. In 2007 then they won 4 of 5 championships and promoted to Juvenile in where in 2008 they won 4 of 5 championships again and were promoted to Grade 2, where in 2009, they won all five championships and received promotion to Grade 1.  The core players are very young, with the addition of some new talent after the last two promotions, it’s remarkable that a Grade 1 band in its first year was pre-qualified and managed a top ten placing in the final results.

—————————————————————————————————–

8th place: Fife Constabulary. Scotland, UK. Pipe Major James Murray, Pipe Sergeant Drew Mathieson. Founded 2007, the last of the 8 Scottish police forces to have their own pipe band.  Another remarkable story for a Grade 1 pipe band to finish 12th in 2008 and 9th in 2009 and now placing 1 better than that.

—————————————————————————————————–

7th place:  Strathclyde Police, Glasgow, Scotland. PM Don Bradford, DS Eric Ward

A roller-coaster story over the past couple years, Strathclyde Police has been in the news repeatedly with headlines of “It’s Over” and “Pull the Plug”, losing support of their sponsoring police force, receiving conflicting messages from the Police Chief and other sources and finally losing players as a result, Strathclyde Police has battled back this season to provide top performances.  Pipe Major Ian McLellan led the band to most of its former championships, and Don Bradford was the Pipe Sergeant under the most recent PM, Donald MacKay who left the role during the past years’ troubles. Don Bradford stepped up to Pipe Major and ended up resigning and then bravely stepping up again to rebuild the band at the last minute to help rescue this historic organization. Well done to all involved in this band’s history.  Strathclyde Police were formed in 1883 and was one of the first pipe bands to be formed outside of the British military.

—————————————————————————————————–

6th Place: Scottish Power Pipe Band, Scotland, Pipe Major Chris Armstrong, Drum Sergeant Barry Wilson

Chris Armstrong is producing a lot of unique, contemporary, entertaining and challenging solo bagpipe music,  is a full time instructor at the National Piping Centre, and has been leading the band since 2005.  The band has twice won the World Championships.  Two time winners of the Scottish Championships and the Cowal Championships, the Band has also held the All-Ireland title and placed second in the World Pipe Band Championships twice.

—————————————————————————————————–

5th Place: The House of Edgar Shotts & Dykehead. Shotts, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.  Pipe Major Robert Mathieson, now Gavin Walker, Drum Sergeant Jim Kilpatrick (one of the winningest drummers in the world) and well known lead tenor Tyler Fry

Celebrating their 100th anniversary, and Grade 1 since 1936, Shotts & Dykehead are known to challenge tradition in their performances.  Last year the crowd at the Grade 1 arena cheered wildly when the drummers turned around and faced the audience during their medley, after the rules were relaxed to allow it.  This year, the band took the field with two bass drummers, to great effect. 

Shortly before the World Championships, PM Robert Mathieson announced that he was stepping down after 23 years in the post.  According to reports, he wishes to continue playing with the band, but believes it’s time to hand over the leadership to younger talent.  It was great to see the band in the top 6 again, though many wished they had placed 1st, an ideal tribute to an incredible leader.

—————————————————————————————————–

4th Place:  Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia, West Lothian, Scotland, Pipe Major Ross Walker, Drum Sergeant Gordon Brown

Founded in 1972, the band leads a Novice Juvenile and a Juvenile band as well as their Grade 1 band.  Current Pipe Major Ross Walker and Leading Drummer Gordon Brown are products of this Pipe Band “academy“ learning to play with the band’s youth program in the late 70‘s.

—————————————————————————————————–

3rd Place: Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC. Pipe Major Terry Lee, Drum Sergeant J. Reid Maxwell (the first leader of drum corps with two different pipe band World Champions and literally dozens of championships under his belt in solos and bands)

Simon Fraser has been an incredible force in the piping scene world wide for a number of years.  With 6 Word Championship titles, including the 2008 and 2009 World Championships, there’s no question they’re one of the top bands in the world.  Additionaly, they have a beginning program, no longer limited to youth, but that has produced top notch, championship winning bands in Juvenile competitions, and there are many talented and up and coming players in the Robert Malcolm Memorial pipe band organization.  The band debuted a new kilt design this year to mixed responses, but their performance, especially in the Medley, was top notch and many expected them to place higher in the end results, but the differences in talent and precision execution between all of these bands at the top level are so minor, it’s always difficut to predict the top 6 the judges will pick, even to trained ears who see all the bands compete.

Embedding appears to be disabled on this video, click the photo for the Medley link.

—————————————————————————————————–

2nd Place: Field Marshal Montgomery, Lisburn, Northern Ireland.  Pipe Major Richard Parkes MBE, MSc, Drum Sergeant Keith Orr

Having won as many championships as Simon Fraser University, FMM is always in the top 6, and usually in the top 3 in recent years.  Founded around 1945, they’ve been a strong competition focused band from the beginning.

—————————————————————————————————–

2010 World Champions:  St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band, Pipe Major Terry Tully, Drum Sergeant Stephen Creighton

Founded 100 years ago, having won every other championship but never the Worlds, this was a powerful season for SLOT and a lot of people were expecting them to do very well.  Even among some of the biggest fans of the other bands, after their performances, there was a lot of speculation that they had done it.  Terry Tully is known for beautiful piping compositions, some of which are fast becoming “standards”, and NWJPB plays some of his music as well.  Following the Medley performance below, take a look at Terry’s interview after the announcement, it was an incredible moment.

Share on Facebook

We have seen many examples of the positive impact our program can make in kids lives.  NWJPB has the biggest fundraiser in our history coming up on May 8th, and it’s important to know that with the number of students in the program now (more than 40) it costs nearly $100,000 per year to keep the organization successful and thriving.  Our $55 dinner/concert/auction tickets and your support will provide an important part of the income that helps make our 15 year anniversary a successful year and helps provide stability for the future of a number of youth from the Puget Sound region.

The impacts of music are many and varied.  A supportive, nurturing and challenging environment where youth can learn to be leaders, grow their talents as musicians and travel are all things we consider critically important, and this video reminded us of just some of the benefits of the work so many of us do on a daily basis to keep the organization growing and successful. 

Please visit http://nwjpb.org to purchase tickets for our 15th Anniversary Mothers’ Day Eve celebration at Lynnwood Convention Center. The deadline to purchase dinner tickets is April 25th.

Share on Facebook

We found this video on IrishClub.org that has shots of almost every entry in the 2010 St. Patrick’s Day parade, including NWJPB. Thanks Irish Club of Seattle and Laura (Cosacchi) Adams Guy!

Share on Facebook

 The North American season end is drawing near for Northwest Junior Pipe Band.  The Grade 4 band went to the Portland Highland Games at Mt. Hood Community College on July 19th.  The drum corps placed first, the ensemble judge placed the band first, and the band tied with White Spot Pipe Band in another close contest between these bands this year.  The points were tied, but NWJPB won on ensemble preference.  The victory at Portland makes 4th straight first place finish for Northwest Junior Pipe Band.

Two competitions remain before the band leaves for Scotland.  NWJPB’s Grade 4 and 5 bands will perform at a free concert on Friday evening at 7:00 PM at the Pacific Northwest Highland Games in Enumclaw Washington, then both Grade 4 and Grade 5 bands will compete both Saturday and Sunday July 26th and 27th.  The band has signed up two bagpipe quartet competition groups, the Grade 5 drum corps drum salute and a bunch of solo competitors as well. 

Here’s a shot of the band leaving the competition circle in front of the packed grandstands at Portland:

Share on Facebook

Northwest Junior Pipe Band started off the week learning they are the only youth bagpipe band from the United States scheduled to compete at the ultimate competition for pipe bands, the World Pipe Band Championships on August 16th, 2008.  33 youth pipe bands from around the world will compete, with the young band from Washington as the only US entry.   The recent draw listing the order of play for the two qualifying competition heats puts NWJPB up first at 9:00 am.

Northwest Junior Pipe Band Grade 4 then went on to wrap up a two day competition at the sunny Skagit Valley Highland Games in Mount Vernon, WA on July 13th, winning the title “Washington State Grade 4 Pipe Band Champions.”   The band placed 1st of 5 bands on Saturday and 1st of 3 bands on Sunday, winning best drum corps both days. 

The Grade 5 band performed very well Saturday, turning in one of their best ensemble performances of the season and finishing with a first place award.  The beginner drum corps wowed and surprised the crowd Sunday, winning the drum salute competition in a field of 3 drum corps entries from Grades 3, 4, and 5.

Solo competitions were a great success for band members as well, with many top placings in both piping and drumming. 

During the upcoming trip to Scotland, the band will begin their two weeks in Scotland competing at the North Berwick Highland Games August 9th, followed by the Perth Highland Games August 10th.   They will perform on the first day of the week long Piping Live! festival on August 11th.  Saturday the 16th is the World Championships, followed by the Crieff Highland Gathering on August 17th before they return to the US.

Northwest Junior Pipe Band’s cast of Washington State Champions is 22 musicians between the ages of 9 and 18, who travel to Shoreline 2 to 3 times a week to hone their surprising skills from all around the Puget Sound including Auburn, Enumclaw, Marysville, Snohomish and beyond as well as those from Seattle and Shoreline.  Experience on their instruments ranges from 18 months to one member with nine years playing bagpipes, but the average is about 2.5 years.  The beginning band has a lower average age, with most having around one year of experience, but one piper with only 3 months playing the Great Highland Bagpipe.

Share on Facebook

Posing with the Grade 4 Trophy at the BC Highland Games.

Northwest Junior Pipe Band Grade 4 won best drum corps and first place of seven bands at the British Columbia Highland Games on Saturday June 28th, 2008.  2008 marks only the third season of competing at this level after receiving a promotion from Grade 5 in 2005, and this is the first first place victory in a BC Pipers’ Association sanctioned Highland Games.

The band Saturday consisted of 8 side drummers, 3 tenor drummers, a bass drummer, and 10 bagpipers.  The age range is from 9 to 18, and includes the adult band director Kevin Auld.

The Northwest Junior Pipe Band – Grade 4 members will be the first youth band from Washington State to ever compete in the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in August, and only the second youth band from Washington to travel to Scotland for any competition since 1969.  The band is growing to a crescendo of membership and talented bagpipers and drummers 18 and younger.

Seven pipe bands competed, three focused on youth pipers and drummers, and four bands either focused on adults or largely or with a majority of adult members.  Two Canadian youth pipe bands; Robert Malcom Memorial, and White Spot Pipe Band Grade 4 joined the Keith Highlanders from Bellevue, the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada- a Canadian military pipe band founded in 1910, the Kamloops Pipe Band Society from British Columbia, and the Bellingham Pipe Band from Washington.  During bagpipe band competitions, four judges critique piping, drumming, and ensemble, or how well the pipes and drums perform and sound together.

In the Northwest (British Columbia, Washington and Oregon) pipe band competitions are based on skill rather than age.  Youth bands compete against adult bands, and are judged by the top pipers and drummers in the world who provide valuable feedback to the bands to help them improve their skills.  Northwest Junior Pipe Bands; Grade 4 and 5 travelled north to Coquitlam British Columbia, into the heart of piping and drumming in the Northwest, where the largest numbers of talented pipers and drummers hone their skills, supported by a long tradition and celebration of Scottish culture and pipe band competitions.  Northwest Junior Pipe Band Grade 4 won first place overall and received recognition for fielding the “Best Drum Corps” at the British Columbia Highland Games on Saturday June 28th, a major milestone for the Seattle – area youth pipe band founded in 1995. 

Northwest Junior Pipe Band youth were enthusiastic about their performance on Saturday, but are maintaining laser like focus on their ultimate goal of performing well during their August trip to Scotland.  The band will compete in 4 competitions throughout their two week stay, but the World Pipe Band Championships is the biggest challenge for any bagpipe band, attracting the most talented bagpipe bands in the World, who travel to Scotland every year for this event.  

Band Director Kevin Auld is a full time performer and instructor of the Great Highland Bagpipe, and begain working with the band in 2002.  After Saturday’s performance Kevin told the band “Regardless of the outcome, you performed your best today, and that’s what makes me proud of our performance.”  Mid Section Director Marcie MacRae was one of the founding instructors with the band, and was thrilled with the performance.  Drumming Director Steve Roy leads a large snare drum corps of 8 members, who performed in near-perfect synchronization Saturday. The youngest snare drummer in the Grade 4 band is 9, and the oldest is 16. Steve is a full time percussionist and instructor who has been volunteering with Northwest Junior Pipe Band for four years.  Other volunteer instructors include Rick Rich, working with our Grade 5 snare drummers, and Ben Little, who graduated from the Northwest Junior Pipe Band in 2007 and has been working with the Grade 5 competition band as leading the band as Pipe Major at Highland Games competitions this year.  Former band members often return to help teach the members of Northwest Junior Pipe Band.

The next competition for the band is in Mount Vernon at the Skagit Valley Highland Games on July 12th and 13th.  The band’s full schedule is available on www.nwjpb.org/schedule.

Share on Facebook

5/3 Update:  Sold Out!  

Click Here for the 2009 event info>>

Northwest Junior Pipe Band members are building a new future and history of competitive youth pipe bands in Washington State. They have worked feverishly over the last year to raise over $24,000.00 to travel to Scotland while honing their skills to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships this August.  With less than $10,000 to reach their goal and fly to Scotland in August, the band can almost hear the crowds at Glasgow Green urging them toward the finish line.

The community is helping these prize winning young musicians join 200 bands from all over the world in Scotland this August.  Help them meet their goals by attending a benefit dinner with entertainment, dancing, drink and auctions.

Entertainment will include Northwest Junior Pipe Band, Pipers’ Creek Celtic Ensemble, Scottish Dancing, the Bucketmen and more to be announced. The Northwest Junior Pipe Band has grown to nearly 50 members and started new educational and scholarship programs, reaching out to youth who want to have unique and incredible experiences, while learning to play their traditional instruments to the highest standards.

Act quickly for reserved seating by purchasing a table of 8 for $280.00 until April 30^th.

Northwest Junior Pipe Band “Mothers’ Day Eve” Ceilidh/Party Benefit Dinner
Saturday, May 10^th, 2008
Lake City Elks Club, 14540 Lake City Way NE, Seattle
Doors open for auction 5:30, dinner and entertainment starts 6:30
Silent Auction, Dessert Auction
38.00 adult, 33.00 17 and under
Tables of 8: $280.00 until April 30th, $304 after.
Italian Chicken or Lasagna dinner, with salad, bread, and non-alcoholic beverages.
No-host bar.
Entertainment includes dancing, Northwest Junior Pipe Band and Pipers’ Creek Celtic Ensemble.

Table and half table purchases will receive reserved seating.
email concert@nwjpb.org for more info, or call 206-508-1261

Share on Facebook

Gung Haggis Fat Choy, Seattle; an inter-cultural mash-up event in Seattle on February 24th celebrating Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year is a week away, but the event is nearly sold out, even though the seating was expanded to 340!

The  entertainment at the event includes Northwest Junior Pipe Band, “Gung Haggis Rap Choy” (Robbie Burns Address to the Haggis performed as a Rap), Traditional Chinese orchestral music by Washington Chinese Youth Orchestra, Don Scobie; bagpiper, Scottish Fiddling, Sing Alongs, Chinese Dancers, and some surprises!  Sure to be a memorable evening, make sure to plan ahead and purchase tickets early next year.

See more information on the event, sponsored by Bill McFadden and the Seattle Caledonian/St. Andrews Society here>>.  See news coverage of the event here>> and in the Seattle Times “Best Bets for the Weekend” here>>. 

The event is a fundraiser for Northwest Junior Pipe Band and the Washington Chinese Youth Orchestra.  Northwest Junior Pipe Band is in the final stretch of their fundraising to travel to the World Pipe Band Championships in Scotland this August.  NWJPB is the first youth band from Washington State to go to Scotland since 1969.

Share on Facebook

Yep, you read that right.  And you don’t want to miss it!

Seattle’s second annual, unforgettable mash-up of Scottish Robbie Burns and Chinese New Year celebration returns February 24th at Ocean City Restaurant, 609 S. Weller in Seattle’s International District.  A fundraiser for Northwest Junior Pipe Band and the Washington Chinese Youth Orchestra hosted by the St. Andrews/Caledonian Society of Seattle, this event was one of the highlights of our year in 2007.  Gung Haggis Fat Choy has a wildly successful history in Vancouver, BC starting 10 years ago in a living room with 16 attendees and growing into a week-long festival of events with hundreds of attendees.

Visit www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com for more history of the Vancouver events.

The Seattle Event includes performances by the Chinese Youth Orchestra, Northwest Junior Pipe Band, Don Scobie-Bagpiper, Toddish McWong’s Gung Haggis Rap Choy, Robbie Burns Poetry readings, Melody Dance Group youth Chinese dancers, door prizes and raffles.  Singalongs of traditional and culturally-tweaked familiar songs, such as “When Asian Eyes Are Smiling”, and “My Haggis Lies Over the Ocean, My Chow Mein Lies Over the Sea.”  Traditional Chinese and Scottish Dress, sometimes on the same people.

Northwest Junior Pipe Band will be selling a limited number of tickets.  Contact us soon!  $35.00 for dinner and show.  info@nwjpb.org or 206-508-1261.

More tickets available from the Caledonian Society.

Share on Facebook

“Blood on the Flat Track; The Rise of the Rat City Roller Girls” premiered Thursday night to a near-capacity crowd in the Neptune Theatre.  We only saw about 20 open seats.  What an exciting organization the Rat City Roller Girls are, completely volunteer run, all “business” positions taken on by women, incredible characters, from the “star” of the Blue Moon Tavern sign (and still their bartender) to scientists and mathematicians and women from all walks of life, one thing was certain–they’re passionate about their sport, working 20 to 40 hours a week on their organization and training.

Northwest Junior Pipe Band did make an appearance in the film, appearing on screen for around 5 seconds, but the tune that was played leading the team onto the flat track played through the next 30 seconds or so.  What an entertaining show!  There is a bit of language and some “adult themes” that may be objectionable to parents, but it was a great grass-roots movie about a fun grass-roots organization!

See reviews in the Stranger and the Seattle Weekly.

Share on Facebook