Pipe-Majors’ Forum II – Part 1

Eighteen long months have crawled by without most pipe bands being able to practice, let alone compete. Now, thanks to effective vaccines, Norther America and much of Europe are steadily opening up.

While a 2021 pipe band competition season might still be wishful thinking, 2022 holds strong promise of a return in-person contests and performances.

In November 2020, we held our first Pipe-Majors’ Forum, with Chris Armstrong of ScottishPower, Simon Fraser University’s Alan Bevan, and Alen Tully of St. Laurence O’Toole sharing their insights on pipe band life, as it was at the time, under strict lockdown.

We return now with a second Pipe-Majors’ Forum, this time with Bevan, Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia’s Emmett Conway, and Doug MacRae of the 78th Fraser Highlanders.

Bevan and MacRae have been leading their bands for a good number of years, while Conway gained the Shotts job only in 2018. All of these bands were on the ascent in 2019, but the momentum of all bands came to a screeching halt in March 2020 when COVID-19 threw the world into turmoil and putting paid to not one, but two pipe band seasons in the Northern Hemisphere.

These three leaders are perfect choices to share insights on where they are, how they might get back at it, and what they’ve learned from the situation. It’s by no means all dire; each provides illuminating thoughts on how the pipe band world could actually emerge better than ever.

We hope you enjoy Part 1 of the pipes|drums Pipe-Majors’ Forum II.

Related

P-Ms Video Forum: Armstrong, Bevan and Tully on pipe band life in the pandemic – Part 1
December 3, 2020

P-Ms Video Forum: Armstrong, Bevan and Tully on pipe band life in the pandemic – Part 2
December 4, 2020