Tessier leaves Dowco-Triumph Street; Hendrickson new L-D

Peter Hendrickson is the new Leading-Drummer of the Grade 1 Dowco-Triumph Street Pipe Band of Vancouver following the departure of long-time L-D Andre Tessier, who resigned in order to commit more time to his family.

Hendrickson joins the band with a long resume of Grade 1 experience, most significantly as L-D of Alberta Caledonia, and inherits from Tessier a corps comprising 15 snares, seven tenors and a bass. He has also been a member of Edmonton Caledonia, Simon Fraser University and Spirit of Scotland.

“This very difficult decision was necessitated by my strong desire to spend more time with my family and  to play a more active role in raising my young children, They  are at an age where they need me to be there for them more than ever,” Tessier said in an exclusive statement to pipes|drums. “I am very grateful to [P-M] David Hilder, [P-S] Shaunna Hilder and the rest of the band for trusting me with leading the drum corps these past seven seasons.”

Tessier had been L-D since the amalgamation of Triumph Street with the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band, which dissolved after a dispute with the SFU organization over the latter band moving to Grade 1.

“I’ve always admired the talent, musicality and strong personal relationships embodied by the Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band,” Hendrickson said. “When asked to step into a leadership position I was extremely honoured and excited by the opportunity.”

Hendrickson plans to move from Edmonton to Vancouver by the end of 2013. In addition to pipe band drumming, he studied music with a Jazz performance major at Grant MacEwan University and St. Francis Xavier University.

“I would like to thank Andre for all of his dedication and passion for the band throughout the past seven seasons,” Hilder said. “Along with Shaunna, we achieved our success in building Dowco-Triumph Street into a competitive Grade 1 pipe band. With the beginning of a new chapter, I am very excited to be working with Peter. He is one of the most talented percussionists I know and has some fantastic energy to share with the band.”

Dowco-Triumph Street placed ninth in drumming in both the MSR and Medley in the Grade 1 Final at the 2013 World Pipe Band Championships, the highest placings the band has received for drumming at the World’s so far. The band has qualified for the World’s Grade 1 Final in each of the last five years.