LA Scots now Long Beach Police with new “partnership”
The Grade 1 Los Angeles Scots Pipe Band have completed a “partnership” deal with the Long Beach Police Department of California, and the group will take on the name “Long Beach Police Pipe Band.”
The debut of the new identity was made at the Queen Mary Scottish Festival in Long Beach, where the band won the first day of competition, beating Alberta Caledonia
“The fact that the LA Scots have chosen the Long Beach Police Department to represent is a tremendous privilege,” the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement.
According to the department, “the new LBPPB is a ceremonial pipe band that will perform at community events such as parades and festivals, and may also be used in funeral and memorial services. The association between the Police Department and the Long Beach Police Pipe Band will have no financial impact on the Police Department or the City of Long Beach, yet will serve as a positive representation of both and expose the practiced art of piping to our residents and visitors in many different settings.”
The band will also keep its LA Scots identity, but along with “in association with the Long Beach Police.” The band will have a second uniform for performances as the LBPPB.
“This is a great opportunity for the LA Scots organization,” said Scott MacDonald, former Pipe-Major and currently a piper with the band. “Chief [Jim] McDonnell and I have been working on this partnership since August of 2010. The chief attended one of our practices before we left for the World’s last year and said, ‘This is great! What would it take to have a Long Beach Police Pipe Band?’ The support of the police and city will be beneficial to the long term success of the band.”
The LA Scots / Long Beach Police are one of four pipe bands in the United States with Grade 1 status. City of Chicago, Oran Mor and City of Washington each hold the grading designation by their home associations, however, the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association “downgraded” City of Washington after its performance in the Grade 1 Qualifier at the World Pipe Band Championships, requiring the band to compete in Grade 2 if it decides to return to the 2011 World’s.
Stay tuned to pipes|drums for further details as they become available.
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