Interviews

We bring subscribers to pipes|drums our archive interview from 2005 with the late Donald MacPherson. Piping scholar Barnaby Brown originally assembled the historic piece with the legendary piper, who passed away on April 21, 2012, at the age of 89.

In the final instalment of the Mark Saul pipes|drums Interview, he discusses piping and drumming “traditions,” the ebb and flow of musical creativity, and what happens when bands try to challenge the establishment. The cultural divisions that can be seen with bands from various parts of the world are exposing new concepts and leading to the constant questioning of “authority.”

We continue our wide-ranging discussion with Mark Saul, one of the world’s most popular composers of music for the Highland pipes. In this third instalment, Saul talks about the Victoria Police, the prospects for another Australian pipe band winning a Grade 1 World Championship, and the challenges of leading a Grade 2 band whose reason-to-be is not all winning all the time. Mark Saul touches on the allure of the World’s, and the trend towards amalgamating players for flash-in-the-pan attempts to make a mark in Scotland, and the big picture of camaraderie, music and simply having fun.

We continue our exclusive interview with Mark Saul of Melbourne, one of the leading composers and arrangers of pipe music of our time. In Part 2, Saul discusses the challenges of composing and publishing in the modern piping world, the role that the Victoria Police Pipe Band had on his work, and the band’s organization and strategy in its 1990s glory years. Mark Saul goes in to detail about the management style of Pipe-Major Nat Russell, the tuning genius of Robert Crozier, and dispels a few myths about the band that have evolved since its 1998 World Championship win.

A wide-ranging, exclusive conversation with one of the piping world’s most well-regarded composers and performers. In this four-part interview for subscribers to pipes|drums, Mark Saul discusses his experiences with the legendary Victoria Police Pipe Band, his disappointments and disenchantment with the musical limitations of pipe bands, and his search for enlightenment and wider horizons in music overall. Having just released his third collection of music, Mark Saul’s piping life has taken him around the world and, with a typically Australian attitude, is never content with the status quo. In this first instalment, we discuss Mark Saul’s origins as a piper, his development and inspirations as a composer, and his instinctive desire to strive for more.

In this the final installment of our February 2000 interview with Jim Hutton, the late drumming luminary discusses his views on the World Pipe Band Championships, the RSPBA, teaching and his outlook on his own and the pipe band world’s future. For more than 50 years, Jim Hutton was a primary figure in pipe band drumming, playing for several decades alongside the legendary Alex Duthart in Shotts & Dykehead, Invergordon Distillery and the Edinburgh City Police. Hutton was a link with the formative years of pipe band drumming, and an important figure in the Lanarkshire area’s growth as a nurturing ground for pipe band snare drummers. In this final part he also discusses the “disease” that is pipe banding, and the fact that the best leaders are not always the best players.

We continue our publication of a February 2000 interview with Jim Hutton, one of history’s important figures in pipe band drumming. The original interview had to be edited down to accommodate the now-antequated limitations on print publishing, and we provide the complete text here. Jim Hutton passed away in June of this year at the age of 75. For almost 70 years he led an incredibly active life in pipe bands as a player, teacher and adjuodicator. In Part 2 Hutton discusses the state of drumming at the time, the impact of players like Jim Kilpatrick on the scene, and several of the young bands and players of the time that he predicted would go on to great things. Exclusive to pipes|drums subscribers.

The two-time winner of solo pipe band drumming’s highest award lets pipes|drums subscribers in on his preparation, strategy and the importance of having a musically compatible piping accompaniment. McWhirter also lets viewers in on one of his secrets to gaining sympathetic integration with tempo and the beat.

In this penultimate installment of our February 2000interview with the late Jim Hutton, we get into contentious topics of the time ¨C namely, conflict of interest in the pipe band judging ranks, the emerging game of numbers in the upper-grade bands and the varying standards around the world of pipe band snare drumming. Interestingly, Hutton touches upon the trend that had then only recently re-started with flourishing tenors, and his thoughts at the time foreshadowed the controversy of opinions that would follow over the next decade.

The passing of the famous pipe band drummer Jim Hutton in June of this year brought into focus his role in and contributions to our community. Over Hutton’s 75 years he accomplished much, including competitive, teaching and organizational success. In light of his work, we chose to look back at the interview we conducted with him in 2000, and bring to subscribers to pipes|drums the full text of the conversation in the latest in our Interviews from the Archives series.

We conclude our four-part interview with Gerry Quigg, an early innovator of pipe band music. In this instalment, Quigg continues with opinions on the size of pipe bands, the current trends with pipe band medleys, his judging experiences and much more.

We resume our four-part discussion with Gerry Quigg, a mastermind of early medley construction. In Part 3, Quigg touches on the status of pipe bands in the United States, modern medleys and pipe bands, touring the globe with the United States Air Force Pipe Band the psychedelic sixties, meeting iconic rock stars along the way and even putting up with an emergency landing when a plane’s engine caught fire in mid-flight. As one of the first truly innovative minds, Gerry Quigg adapted concepts from Celtic and rock music to pipe bands. With the City of Toronto Pipe Band he helped to orchestrate landmark selections that keyed in to piobaireachd themes, including “The Glen Is Mine,” “MacIntosh’s Lament” and “The Desperate Battle.” He would go on to help form the musical foundation that established the 78th Fraser Highlanders as a progressive leader of pipe band music. Included in this installment is a rare archival recording of City of Toronto’s “Desperate Battle” medley in competition at the 1974 North American Pipe Band Championships at Maxville, Ontario. Exclusively for subscribers who support pipes|drums.

We continue our frank and candid conversation with Gerry Quigg, an unsung innovator of pipe band music responsible, in many ways, for introducing new musical idioms to traditional pipe band music. In Part 2, Quigg discusses famous pipe band people lifting his ideas and accepting credit for them, the genesis of the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, his regrets about leaving that band and the current state of pipe band music. We also include a rare recording of the City of Toronto Pipe Band’s “MacIntosh’s Lament” medley, performed in competition at the Toronto Indoor Games in 1977. Exclusively for subscribers to pipes|drums magazine.

We conclude our four-part interview with Harry McNulty, one of the greats of the pipe band game. Exclusively for subscribers to pipes|drums, McNulty discusses his experiences and techniques as a teacher, his California travels, his proudest moments and more. As the Pipe-Major of the Lothian & Borders Police, British Caledonian Airways and the Power of Scotland, McNulty holds the distinction of being one of only two pipers to have led two different Grade 1 bands to an RSPBA major championship. One of the friendliest people in the pipe band world, McNulty’s charm and good humour, combined with his talent and competitive drive, have taken him far.

We check in with the 35-year veteran of top-flight pipe band competition on both sides of the Atlantic, and the owner of The British Shop, one of North America’s leading piping and drumming merchandise dealers for our exclusive “10 Questions With . . .” snapshot interviews.