Great Scot - The Scotch Family Magazine - Issue 151 September 2017 GreatScot_Internal_Sept_2017_FA | Page 34

Tours and Excursions
Eyes open to the world
of pipes and drums
We stood on the line, palms sweating, our
minds focused on what was ahead of us – our first
competition on UK soil.
We only had one shot at this. One shot to get
a perfect start. One shot to blow steadily through
the bagpipes. One shot to hit the drums perfectly
on the beat. One shot to get a perfect finish to our
competition set. One shot to do our best in the
2017 All-Ireland Pipes and Drums Championships.
Over the Term 2 holidays, the Scotch College
Pipes and Drums B-Band flew away from
Melbourne’s winter and into Scotland’s summer
(and yes, it was difficult to tell the difference).
Scotland. The home and heart of pipes and
drums. Months of preparation had led up to
this journey. Our annual camp, the extra school
practices, the hours of effort put in at home – all
of it had revolved around this trip, and that one
chance to continue the legacy that previous
Scotch College bands had left in Europe.
After a long and arduous flight, we arrived in
Glasgow to an unusually warm and sunny day.
From there, we began our tour of Scotland and
Northern Ireland. We travelled around the country,
squeezed into our bus, taking in as much of
Scotland as we could.
While we spent a great deal of time discussing
music, playing music and observing the
prominence of music in Scotland, we also spent
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much time learning about the culture and history of
the country, and the evolution of pipes and drums.
From visiting the Bagpipe Museum in Glasgow,
where we discovered how our instruments have
changed over the years and how they have been
used, to visiting the famous Giant’s Causeway in
Northern Ireland, our trip not only improved our
playing, but also provided us with a great deal of
information about these two fascinating countries.
The band also gained valuable experience
through a variety of performances leading up to
and after our actual competition. To the delight
of many a tourist, we performed at Stirling
Castle, Dunvegan Castle and Edinburgh Castle,
experiences that we will never forget. The feeling
of playing at a castle that has been standing for
hundreds of years is truly incredible and unique.
However, the two musical highlights of our
trip were our performance at the All Ireland
Championships, and our joint performance with
the Isle of Skye pipe band in Portree town.
Our performance in Belfast provided us with
an insight into how central bagpipes are to cultures
all over the world. As the only Australian band
there, we received a warm welcome and had
a spectacular day, both in terms of playing and
spectating. Overall, we tied for sixth place out
of 25 bands in the combined grade 4A and 4B
categories – an achievement which we were all
delighted with, especially as we were competing
against all adult bands.
Finally, our performance in the Isle of Skye
with the local band truly opened our eyes to how
widespread pipes and drums are throughout the
world, and the opportunities they bring.
Much of the small town of Portree (as well as
tourists) came out into the town square to watch
our performance with the Isle of Skye Band. In
this special moment we played with people from
halfway across the world, people who we had
never met before, tied only together by our shared
love of our instruments. This was a fantastic
performance for us, and made us appreciate our
tour even more.
I would like to thank Mr Buchanan, Mr Saul, Mr
Warren, Mr Birrell and Mr Earl, the mentors and
teachers who came on the tour, and who helped
us greatly, both before and during our journey.
The group’s trip has provided us with a better
band mentality, improved playing, and a new,
burning desire to continually improve. This was our
first time playing in the UK, and we are sure it will
not be our last.
NICHOLAS KLUCKOW - YEAR 9
Great Scot Number 151 – September 2017