Two Grade 1 pipe bands with more than a dozen Tri-City musicians will return from Scotland this week without capturing the title.
Last Saturday, the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band placed fifth overall at the worlds at Glasgow Green while the Port Coquitlam-based Dowco Triumph Street Band — led by PoCo resident Pipe Major David Hilder — earned 12th spot.
Taking the top three positions were Inveraray & District (Scotland), Field Marshal Montgomery (North Ireland) and St. Laurence O’Toole (Ireland).
The six-time international titleholders from SFU — led by Coquitlam drummer J. Reid Maxwell — includes the Tri-Cities’ Richard Gillies, Alistair Lee, Andrew Lee, Dani Millar, Anna Smart, Louise Bentley, Gavin McRae, Duncan Millar, Stephen Paynter and Kyle Wallis; Robert MacNeil of Coquitlam is the president of the SFUPB Society.
Pipe Major Alan Bevan said he wasn’t disappointed as the score was close.
"This is a great result for the band. It feels great to be back in the top six,” he said in an SFU news release, which also noted the band took seventh place last year. “We’re really happy with all four performances. It just felt like the band kept ramping it up and getting more and more confidence every time out.”
Bevan added, “There’s a great feeling in the band right now. Everyone is very positive and confident about the band's advancement and success."
Meanwhile, SFU’s junior Robert Malcolm Memorial Grade 3 band took sixth place among a roster of primarily Scottish youth bands.
Earlier in the week, SFU Pipe Sergeant Jack Lee won the Masters Solo Piping Competition. The Masters win is Lee’s second and earns him an invitation to the Glenfiddich piping championship this fall.
Dowco did not immediately return a request for comment.
