By: Caitlin Kingsmill, News Writer
The SFU Pipe Band brought home a bronze shield after placing third overall at this year’s World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland on August 16 and 17. This marks their return to the top three for the first time since 2012. The group is just “one of four bands from outside the United Kingdom to have ever won first place at the championships,” which they have now achieved six times.
The pipe band was formed in 1966 and consists of 45 players, led by pipe major Alan Bevan and lead drummer J. Reid Maxwell. In first place at this year’s world championships was Scotland’s Inveraray and District, with Northern Ireland’s Field Marshal Montgomery in second place. Pipe bands involve bagpipers, side drummers, bass drummers, and tenor drummers, with the first pipe band in Canada being formed in 1759, brought by the Scottish.
The Peak interviewed Robert MacNeil, president of the SFU Pipe Band Society, for more information. MacNeil began as a member of the band in 1981, shifting into an administrative role in the ‘90s. “The thing that has kept me interested all along is the pioneering things that the SFU Pipe Band has done and how it meshes so well with the mission of the university,” he said. MacNeil explained that SFU has always been a university that “sets its own path,” and so has the SFU Pipe Band.
MacNeil described the feeling of returning to the top three this year as “wonderful!” He attributed the band’s success in Glasglow to their steady improvement in competition since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In previous years, the band typically performed its best on the second day, but “this year was the reverse,” said MacNeil. “I think it gave the players [ . . . ] this feeling as if we can do this, we played two good runs, we can do it on the Saturday,” he continued.
While the world championships only last for two days, the players’ commitment to the band is year-round. “If you’re joining the band, you’re essentially reshaping your life around that,” expressed MacNeil.
“SFU as a community really has found its place over a number of decades and to represent that organization worldwide is really easy for us, and we’re really proud to be able to do that.” — Robert MacNeil, president of the SFU Pipe Band Society
Individual players are also expected to rehearse on their own and in small groups, teach in the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band youth development program, and adjudicate for competitions. The Memorial Pipe Band, also based at SFU, teaches piping and drumming to “foster the playing and performing of Scottish music by youth aged six to adulthood from all cultural backgrounds.”
The band’s youth development program plays a large part in finding committed players for the SFU Pipe Band. Since the program’s inception in 1994, many students in the program also ended up playing for the pipe band. “That’s a tremendous motivating factor for any parent that wants to get their kids involved in music work,” said MacNeil. “They can see if their child works hard and has dedication, how they can start as a beginner and eventually make it up to the SFU Pipe Band.
“There’s a lot of players playing in the SFU Pipe Band today that got that start as a beginner in our system and it’s very rewarding to be able to see these players come through.”
MacNeil also reflected on the importance of having a strong administrative team to support the band in its success: “The administration’s support has to be at the same caliber as the music that is being generated by the band, which means that if the band is operating at this top level, we have to have an administrative structure that supports that,” he said.
“SFU as a community really has found its place over a number of decades and to represent an organization worldwide is really easy for us, and we’re really proud to be able to do that,” expressed MacNeil. “So we want to give credit also to the community up the mountain that is also doing exceptional things.”
