Pipes|Drums magazine asked “a panel of 30 expert and informed pipers and drummers around the world for their votes across several categories for the people, bands and products that made the most news, the biggest impact and the best contributions in the piping and drumming world in 2011.”
Congratulations to Field Marshall Montgomery who had a remarkable last year with a clean sweep of all the major contests. Congratulations to Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band and Simon Fraser University Pipe Band for receiving the nomination, it speaks very highly of the commitment, success, and talent of instructors, band leaders, musicians, and piping and drumming supporters in our region. Five pipe bands were nominated, two of them from the British Columbia Pipers’ Association, a testament to the hard work and dedication to piping and drumming by these bands, the top talent the Northwest has to offer.
Congratulations to former SFU drummer Steven McWhirter, who won the World Solo Drumming Championships, and “Drummer of the Year.” SFU Lead Drummer J. Reid Maxwell was also one of five nominated for this category. The 2011 “Pipes of Peace” concert with St. Laurence O’Toole and Simon Fraser University was nominated in the “Piping/Drumming event of the Year” category (and the 2012 event will feature Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band with Field Marshall Montgomery as posted earlier on this website).
In the past, Reid Maxwell was selected Drummer of the year in 2004 and 2008, and Simon Fraser University won “Pipe Band of the Year” in 2008. SFU, Reid Maxwell, Jack Lee and Terry Lee have consistently been nominated in the nine year history of the awards, and Triumph Street was nominated for their 2007 Grade 2 North American Championships season, shortly before being promoted to Grade 1. Jori Chisolm’s “Bagpipe Revolution” CD narrowly missed winning in 2008 and Andrew Bonar’s “Boney Music” was nominated in 2004 for “Music Book of the Year”.
There may be more stories from the Pipes Drums archive of these events featuring musicians or bands from our area, but this sampling certainly highlights the history of excellence in piping and drumming that the BCPA is proud to be part of. Considering that there are more than 30 Grade 1 pipe bands in the world (and that the category is not restricted to Grade 1 bands), having two bands in our region nominated for an award like this is quite an achievement.
