Honourary Doctorates of the Great Highland Bagpipes and SFU

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Mike Chisholm

Dr. Terry & Jack LeeCongratulations to Tartantown Manager P/M Dr. Terry Lee and his brother P/S Dr. Jack Lee for being awarded Simon Fraser University’s highest honour – an honourary PhD for their contributions to both the university and the SFU Pipe Band. — with Terry Lee and Jack Lee.

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Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band needs your help !

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Mike Chisholm

TSPB 2Fresh from their band trip to Cosa Misa, California to compete at the annual ScotsFest USS Highland Games, the Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band is now gearing up for the BC spring and summer competition season and their upcoming trip to Glasgow, Scotland for another crack at the world championship title. This is a band that is on the rise, cracking the top 10 last year with a ninth place world finish. The golden ring is within sight, and it would glorious for another great BC pipe band to capture the world trophy in competitive pipe band competition.

However, getting to Scotland each year from Vancouver is an expensive proposition. It can cost up to $100,000 for this trip alone, and much of those costs are borne by the pipers, drummers and their families.  This year the band is appealing to supporters of great highland piping and drumming to help get the band overseas once again. TSPB #3

Please go to the this website if you are interested in helping out.  Every contribution is welcome and goes towards supporting the highest level of piping and drumming in British Columbia, and the world.

 

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Delta Police Pipe Band’s recent trip to Germany

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Mike Chisholm

From March 2013. The Delta Police Pipe Band’s third performance in their 2013 tour of Germany

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Shamrocks and bagpipes: Five great ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Vancouver.

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Mike Chisholm

1. Hire a bagpiper for your St. Patrick’s Day party or pub crawl.Top off your green-themed house

Four Leaf Clover

Four Leaf Clover

party with a grand entrance of a fully kilted bagpiper. Celtic tunes echo while everyone dances and drinks green beer. Or join any number of pubs and bars in Vancouver throwing parties with pipers and dancers this weekend. There’s nothing like great piping to set the scene.

2. Wear green. Dig out that green Christmas tie from your 65810_leprechaun 2mother-in-law or your least favourite green sweater. It’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. Today’s the day to flaunt the green. And for those who feel particularly pumped about St. Patrick’s Day, wear a leprechaun costume.

Continue reading →

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Playing bagpipes for Police Funerals and for Deputy Sherriff Jeremiah MacKay

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Mike Chisholm

A lone piper stood outside the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office on February 14,

Dep. Jeremiah MacKay, San Bernardino Sherriff's Dept. Bagpiper, father.

Dep. Jeremiah MacKay, San Bernardino Sherriff’s Dept. Bagpiper, father.

lamenting the death of a fellow piper and deputy sheriff, Jeremiah MacKay.  After years of playing at funerals for fallen police colleagues as the chief piper for the Inland Empire Emerald Society, friends are now playing for Jeremiah MacKay.

MacKay was killed in a shoot-out with ex-LAPD police officer Christopher Dorner in California who was found dead in a burning cabin after a shootout with authorities.

Continue reading →

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The Pied Piper of East Van

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Mike Chisholm

Pied-Piper-3The ancient story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin is a well known children’s fairy tale.

The citizens of the German town of Hamelin needed to rid their community of rats. They hired a piper for the job, who played his pipes and led all the rodents from their nooks and cranny’s to their death in the nearby Wiser River. The mayor refused to pay him so the piper turned on the magic once again and led all the children from the village, never to be seen again. Continue reading →

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Top 10 reasons a bagpiper can transform an event

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Mike Chisholm

I monitored a Twitter conversation recently about bagpipes. The “tweeters” seemed to associate the bagpipes solely with funerals and death. A Yahoo conversation was similar; many people south of the border have only heard the pipes at funerals of police officers, firefighters and soldiers. It’s kinda sad. They don’t know what they’re missing.Piping for city crew II

BC (and the Pacific Northwest) is a hotbed of great bagpiping. A long history that continues today with two of the top 10 pipe bands in the world. Eighth place Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band (Pipe Major Dave Hilder) and third place Simon Fraser University Pipe Band (Pipe Major Terry Lee), also six time World champions. However, it’s not always about competition.

Continue reading →

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Brightening “a stable all forlorn” with bagpipes and celebration

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Mike Chisholm

Domenichino's The Adoration of the ShepherdsIn the Christmas song “Mary’s Little Boy Child” written by Jester Hairston (check out this corny but popular disco version by Boney M), the song relates the story of Christ’s birth “in a stable all forlorn”. The song relates that “trumpets sound and angels sing”. From the famous 17th century painting “The Adoration of the Shepherds”, Italian painter Domenichino has captured singing angels, but there’s no trumpet. Instead, a bagpiper is seen soothing the new born child. The poor shepherds had been alerted to the birth by a bright star and angels singing and have come to the stable to visit and adore. The pipes were a common accompaniment while working in the fields and it would be very appropriate for a few tunes to be played for the Christ Child.  

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New Years, Auld Lang Syng, First-Footing & bagpipes!

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Mike Chisholm

Happy New YearThe door is suddenly thrown open. The midnight countdown has ended. The crowded room stops, stares, then cheer as a bagpiper, in full regalia, playing Auld Lang Syng strides into the centre of the room. Music fills the house as guests join hands in a large circle, singing the traditional Scottish New Year’s poem penned by Scotlands’ bard Robert Burns.Ian McKinnon, Rawlins Cross

In British Columbia, this event happens twice a year.  For local residents, the countdown to New Year is at its traditional time: midnight. For ex-patriots of Scotland, the celebration arrives eight hours earlier – 4pm New Year’s eve: midnight in Scotland. For years Lower Mainland Scots have been celebrating this milestone at homes and in pubs with food, singing and of course, bagpipes.  The strong contingent of Scots are proud to gather together in local pubs to mark the turning of the year in true Scottish style with whisky, beer and bagpipes. But it’s not only the Scots who are getting in on the bagpiping act. Continue reading →

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Thirty years of great piping and drumming & six World Championships: SFU Pipe Band

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Mike Chisholm

Jack and Terry Lee reflect on the past 30 years of the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Pipe Band

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