Dumfries & Galloway searching for leaders
The Grade 2 Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary Pipe Band of Scotland is in need of a Pipe-Major and Leading-Drummer after Callum Watson and David Sheridan, respectively, made “personal decisions” to leave. The band said that Watson decided to stand down “to allow someone with fresh ideas to come in, felling that he can take the band no further.”
Watson had been Pipe-Major since 1990 and during those 21 years in charge he saw the band rise to being a consistent contender for prizes in Grade 2 at majors, including winning the grade at the 2010 British Championships. The drums section gained a first at the 2011 European, and the band finished eighth overall at the World’s.
“The band wishes to thank Callum Watson and David Sheridan for their service over the years and wishes them well in their future playing careers,” said Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary member Mark Jackson. “Both leave with the best wishes of the band and remain as valuable friends to the band members.”
The search is on for replacement leaders, whom the band said “will be expected to build on . . . success and possess the ambition and qualities to take an aspiring Grade 2 band to the top of the grade and beyond. You will also come to a band whose members value commitment and loyalty and you can expect that your pipe and drum section share your ambition to succeed.
“The band has support from Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Executive, and a solid business structure is in place to ensure the smooth running of the band activities leaving the musicians to focus on why they are there – to play. Pipers and drummers of a standard likely to complement the already established players in the band are also invited to join by audition.”
Jackson said that those interested are welcome to contact him by e-mail.
Speculation continues surrounding the future of Scotland’s police pipe bands due to potential amalgamation of the country’s forces into a single, unified force. The possibility of amalgamation is due primarily to the desired budget efficiencies.
Wow! It’s quite something to click on the pipes|drums logo and then see Dumfries and Galloway all over the page. It’s my home area. Really hope some brilliant people apply for these positions. Attending practices in such a great part of the world would be great–if you were travelling a distance and wanted a change from the motorway, you’d get great chances to see some amazing places and scenery, like Dalveen Pass.D and G is tucked away in the South West corner there, so misses a lot of the bizz, but it’s a great place in that you can access Ireland from Stranraer, England’s only 44 miles away, and Glasgow and Edinburgh also easy by bus/train, and esp by car. You could visit the Angus McKay Cairn, have tea in the Doonhamer, hang out at the Midsteeple, visit Burns House and Mausoleum, paddle in the Solway, look at Belted Galloway coos, eat Cream o’ Galloway Ice Cream, oh and practice with the band of course. Have I sold it yet?
Belted Galloway coos? You must mean the Oreo Cookie “coos (as my kids called them).”
haha! Oreo Cookie coos! That’s brilliant! I’ll never look at them the same way again!
Someone headed in the Shotts direction, I wonder….?
Stranraer is to loose the boats soon I hear, up the coast to Cairryan in the next couple of years. Lovely quiet beaches in this area of Scotland
Yes, just up the road to Cairnryan or up again to Troon, and a choice of five golf courses while you’re there. We’re getting there! Galloway Cheese, a Guid Neighbours festival, Queen of the South fitba’ team, quiet beaches, great coastal walks, friendliest people on earth, broad Scots-speakers, Ecclefechan Tarts, Moffat toffee, granite town of Dalbeattie, -no end to it really – brilliant part of the world.