A Serious "Hobby" for Pipers With Award-Winning SFU Pipe Band
By DANIELLE MILLAR
VANCOUVER - This August marked the twentieth consecutive trip to the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow for Burnaby's Simon Fraser University Pipe Band. It was a special year for me as it was my tenth annual Worlds as a piper in the band.
LEAD DRUMMER Reid Maxwell and Pipe Major Terry Lee
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Under the direction of Pipe Major Terry Lee since its inception, the band has been a model of consistency, receiving 10 top-two finishes at the World Championships and on four occasions, walked away as world champions: 1995, 1996, 1999, and 2001.
This year, on August 14, the SFU Pipe Band took second place overall. In Grade One, the top tier of four grades, we compete in two events: the March, Strathspey and Reel (MSR), and the Medley. The best pipe band competition analogy I have heard is to figure skating – the MSR represents the “compulsories” while the medley is like the “free program.” Four judges adjudicate each event, and the band with the highest overall ranking wins.
A year's preparation goes into those two performances, which are over in a total of about 13 minutes for each band. Weather can be a factor on the day as the contest is held outside, and runs as scheduled rain or shine.
In Scotland during the week leading up to the contest this year, we experienced torrential rain, which flooded areas of the country and caused mudslides, closing down roads. On Saturday, miraculously, the sun shone, which was a great relief to the 230 bands and nearly 45,000 spectators who attended the big event.
We were very happy with how we played on the day, and many of us felt that the medley performance in particular was one of our best ever. It was a close contest by all accounts, and when the results were out, SFU won the best drum corps prize and the MSR event. It was not enough for the title, however, which was won by Northern Ireland's excellent Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band.
FOUR-TIME World Championship winners, the SFU Pipe Band marches on to the competition field. This year was their twentieth annual visit to the competition and they took second place overall
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There is a lot of mutual respect and camaraderie between our two bands, and although we were disappointed to be second, we were happy for Field Marshal's win, especially after a difficult year for their band. Their Pipe Major, Richard Parkes, suffered a stroke in the early spring, and the band played under an interim leader for most of the season. By August, amazingly, Richard was again leading the band, and was certainly thrilled to lead Field Marshal Montgomery to their fourth World Championship title.
The Robert Malcolm Memorial Grade 2 Pipe Band, one of the bands in our organization, also made the trip to the Worlds this year, and placed second overall. This band was formed in memory of two SFU Pipe Band members who died tragically in a car accident in 1993.
The band has improved steadily since its formation, and is now one of the top Grade Two bands in the world. Pipe Major David Hilder hopes to take his band back to the World Championships soon, and again compete for the top prize.
It seems that the standard of pipe band music is improving year-after-year, owing to bands in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia continuing to raise the bar. Bagpipe music in general is experiencing great popularity worldwide; this year was the first “Piping Hot Festival” in Glasgow during the week leading up to the World Championships. The festival showcased a great variety of international piping talents at venues around Glasgow, and its success indicates that the event will become an annual one.
THE DRUM CORPS of Burnaby’s Simon Fraser University Pipe Band which travelled to Glasgow to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships.
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The SFU Pipe Band is made up of about 30 dedicated musicians whose ages span 30 years, many of whom moved to the Vancouver area to join the band. Playing in the band is a “hobby,” albeit a serious one. Band members work or attend school full-time and practice and travel with the band in their spare time.
Although the membership of the band has changed significantly over the last 20 years, the strong leadership of Terry and Jack Lee and lead drummer Reid Maxwell has ensured a very consistent standard.
I moved to Vancouver in 1994 to attend university and have played with the SFU Pipe Band ever since. During that time, I have had the honour of playing at Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and at 10 World Pipe Band Championships.
My membership in the band has provided me with many challenging, satisfying and proud moments alongside some of my closest friends. I met my husband in the band and we have been married two years. Although we did not win the Worlds this year, it was certainly a wonderful day of pipe band music that we will not forget...and we will be back next year.
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