The 12th annual pipes|drums New Year’s Honours

2013 Drummer of the Year

Steven McWhirter, Inveraray, Scotland

In 2013 McWhirter captured his third straight World Solo Drumming Championship and his fourth overall, while leading his Inveraray & District drum section to more success, ending the year with a win of the drumming at the Cowal Championships. While this category was very close, it was McWhirter’s solo success and his commitment to teaching that brought him to the top in 2013 with our panel. This is Steven McWhirter’s fourth time being named Drummer of the Year in the annual pipes|drums New Year’s Honours.

Panelists’ comments:

• “A piper’s drummer if there ever was one.”
• “He seems to have a symbiotic musical relationship with Stuart [Liddell].”
• “When he plays you can tell he’s in some sort of zone. His ability is as much about focus and commitment as it is a bout technique and expression.”

Also considered (in alphabetical order):

Gordon Brown, Whitburn, Scotland – Brown’s Boghall & Bathgate drum section started the season with a win at the Scottish Championships, and continued with strong showings over the balance of the year.

Andrew Elliott, Toronto – Field Marshal Montgomery’s rise in drumming and ensemble in 2013 was due in part, it must be said, to the strategic addition of Elliott as leader and instruction of the band’s bass-section. Elliott was able to work within FMM’s musical style, producing a bass-section of complementary musical restraint, always enhancing the overall sound.

Keith Orr, Belfast – for the first time in its history, Field Marshal Montgomery was a consistent threat to win the drumming at championships, which the band did at three of them in 2013, including its first World Pipe Band Drumming award.