Winter Storm responds to drummers leaving with revamped line-up

Twelve hours after drummers Jim Kilpatrick, Tyler Fry and Scott Currie publicly revealed that they had decided to resign from the 2008 Winter Storm faculty, the not-for-profit Midwest Highland Arts Fund – the group that organizes the event – communicated to pipes|drums that the event will be “the biggest and best yet.”

Replacing Kilpatrick at the January 11-13, 2008, event will be Drew Duthart, leading-drummer of the Scottish Lion-78th Fraser Highlanders, who joins John Fisher, SFU L-D Reid Maxwell, Strathclyde Police L-D Eric Ward, and ScottishPower L-D Barry Wilson.

Henry Spangler, a director with the Kansas City, Missouri, event, added that Winter Storm 2008 will have “biggest bass-drum panel ever,” with Mike Cole (Windsor Police), Johnny Rowe (Scottish Lion-78th Fraser Highlanders) and long-time Toronto Police bass drummer Duncan Gibson staffing the weekend.

Tenor drumming will also be expanded, with Emily McLeod of St. Laurence O’Toole and Michael O’Neil of SFU joining Haggis MacLeod of Field Marshal Montgomery.

New piping instructors, Spangler says, include Highland Society of London Gold Medallists Chris Armstrong and Colin MacLellan, who join John Cairns, Mike Cusack, Ken Eller, Alasdair Gillies, Jack Lee, Stuart Liddell, Angus MacColl, and Fred Morrison.

The organization will add a drum-majors’ course, led by Kevin MacHeffner of the Los Angeles Scots.

“Winter Storm wants to congratulate Jim, Scott, and Tyler on their new venture, and wish them the best,” Spangler said. “[We] remain the highest quality, all-around piping and drumming event in North America, with international amateur, Silver, and Gold Medal events, the highest purses, a one-of-a-kind concert, workshops for the open player to the beginner, and a great weekend of fun at this great passion of ours. Our non-profit status ensures all profits are driven back into the Weekend, to best promote the arts of piping and drumming.”

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