Two SFU pipe bands — with 19 Tri-Cities players — ready to win world titles

A total of 19 pipers and drummers from the Tri-Cities will be flying to Scotland this month to compete on an international stage.

The players with the six-time champion Grade 1 SFU Pipe Band (SFUPB) and its youth program, the Grade 3A Robert Malcolm Memorial Band, will be at the famous Glasgow Green on Aug. 18 and 19 for the World Pipe Band Championships.

Coquitlam's Rob MacNeil, president of the SFU Pipe Band Society, told the Tri-City News the trip will be very special for the organization.

Not only is the Grade 1 ensemble marking its 40th return to the event, but it will be headlining the prestigious pre-Worlds concert that was postponed due to the pandemic in 2021.

That show was supposed to take place at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall; however, due to renovations, the Aug. 16 performance will be held instead in the SEC Armadillo auditorium — a slightly bigger and newer venue in Glasgow.

As of last Thursday, they had sold more tickets than the Royal Concert Hall capacity. "It's worked out in our favour," MacNeil said.

For that concert, the Grade 1s will present a program called "Generations" to highlight the SFUPB families and their music.

Two days later, the band will face 15 other Grade 1 groups to compete in two events before a panel of judges: a March, Strathspey and Reel (MSR), made up of three pre-arranged tunes, and a Medley, consisting of a short selection of music.

SFUPB's competitors are:

78th Fraser Highlanders Canada
Closkelt Northern Ireland
Field Marshal Montgomery Northern Ireland
Inveraray and District Scotland
Johnstone Scotland
Peoples Ford - Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia Scotland
Police Scotland and Federation Scotland
Police Scotland Fife Scotland
ScottishPower Scotland
Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Scotland
St. Laurence O'Toole Eire
St. Thomas Alumni USA
Manawatu Scottish New Zealand
Canterbury Caledonian Society New Zealand
Auckland and District New Zealand

Last year, Field Marshal Montgomery clinched the title with Inveraray and ScottishPower taking second and third places (there were no championships in 2020 and 2021).

The last time SFUPB earned a spot in the Top 3 was in 2012 when it took bronze; it last won first place in 2009.

MacNeil said the COVID-19 pandemic hiatus gave time for the SFU pipe bands to get better: In 2022, its drummers — under Coquitlam’s Reid Maxwell — took the top prize in a category recognizing the world’s best drum corps.

Treena Duncan, who is organizing the junior Grade 3A trip, said the players with the Robert Malcolm Memorial Band are “proud” to take part. Like its senior counterpart, it has secured the Worlds title six times for its category.

"As we march forward to the World Pipe Band Championships, we are filled with a mix of excitement, nerves and a deep sense of camaraderie among our band members," she told the Tri-City News.

"We express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have been a part of this remarkable journey because without their encouragement, guidance and belief in us, we wouldn't have come this far. With Scotland's rich heritage as our backdrop, we eagerly await the chance to play on the world stage."

Meanwhile, two Port Coquitlam pipers are already in Scotland to defend or improve their title under the Grade 1 ScottishPower banner.

David and Shaunna Hilder, formerly the Pipe Major and Pipe Sergeant of the Grade 1 Dowco Triumph Street Band, told the Tri-City News that they competed with ScottishPower at the Scottish Pipe Band Championships in Dumbarton last Saturday, in the Medley competition, and “the standard of the Grade 1 pipe band class has never been higher.”

In that competition, ScottishPower garnered the Best Band on Parade prize and took sixth place overall in the Grade 1 competition.

“We are very much looking forward to Worlds Week and attending the SFU Pipe Band pre-Worlds concert,” they wrote in an email from Scotland.

“We would like to wish all the bands the best of luck at the World Pipe Band Championships 2023 with a shout out to ScottishPower, SFUPB and RMMPB!”

A fundraising page is set up to pay the trip costs for the Robert Malcolm Memorial Band. Those that wish to donate can visit the group's GoFundMe page.