Lothian & Borders Police to perform in concert for first time ever

In what is thought to be a first in the band’s long history, the Grade 1 Lothian & Borders Police Pipe Band will perform a full-length concert in Larne, Northern Ireland, on June 6, 2008, as guests of the County Antrim section of the Northern Ireland Branch of the RSPBA and the Larne Borough Council. The band will also compete in a contest in Larne the following day.

The band is in its second full year under Pipe-Major Davie Barnes, who took over the band after a lengthy search for a new leader.

“This will be an excellent opportunity for the band to showcase some new material we have been working on and as far as I’m aware, although the band has a long and very successful history, it will be the first time it has ever put on a show of this type,” Barnes commented. “We are working hard to put a good show together, which will be mix of both new and old material.”

The concert will be held at the Leisure Centre in Larne

Barnes also revealed to pipes|drums that his band’s numbers are healthy, with 26 pipers, 10 snare-drummers and a mid-section of seven. Lothian & Borders Police narrowly missed making the Grade 1 Final at the 2007 World Pipe Band Championships, finishing sixth in the qualifying round.

Further information on tickets for the concert are available from 07870 389874. Pricing had not been set at the time of publication.

Beginning in the 1950s, the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band – the name of the band before 1975 – started a trend in extending the repertoire of a pipe band beyond competition MSRs and marches by including hornpipes, jigs, airs and reels for short performances. Under Donald Shaw Ramsay in the 1950s and Iain McLeod in the 1960s and ’70s, the band travelled the world and won the World Championship seven times in the space of 20 years.

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