New-look City of Washington prepares for 2008
The Grade 1 City of Washington Pipe Band of Washington, DC, is preparing for the 2008 competition season with the most change the band has seen since its move to the top grade after winning the 1999 Grade 2 contest at the World Pipe Band Championships.
The band reports that it has added five new pipers to its ranks, mainly from the Guilford & Glencoe District Juvenile Pipe Band.With the Oran Mor Pipe Band’s promotion to Grade 1, City of Washington has increased opportunity to compete, starting with the Fairhill games on May 17th in Maryland. The band plans to compete at the North American Championships at Maxville, Ontario, in August, and is looking at returning to the World Championships in 2009.
“We are also thrilled that Oran Mor has been upgraded and there will now be Grade 1 band competitions on the US East Coast,” Lyden said. “This will no doubt be a huge boost to the standard of American pipe band playing.”Green commented: “The transition has been good and it is nice to play in a band that has peaceful transfers of power. The hardest part is not tapping my foot, but I’m working on it.
Best of luck to Dan and City of Washington going forward. It has been a pleasure listening to CoW these past 18 years under the professional and innovative leadership of both Mike Green and Jon Quigg. CoW has had many successes, both in North America and Europe, and Mike and Jon should be very proud of CoW’s accomplishments under their direction. Cheers – Brendan Halligan