PPBSO Music Committee plans “Drumming Problems, Solved by Drummers” summit

Under new President Andrew Giles and new Education Committee head Ross Davison, the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario is planning to hold a special summit on pipe band drumming to discuss ideas on how to “foster collective solutions to the general state of drumming and improve the current drumming culture in Ontario.”

Davison said that the PPBSO plans to conduct a research survey next week to collect information from leading-drummers from all PPBSO member and non-member bands in the province.

“Simply put, we’re looking to have “Drumming Problems, Solved by Drummers.” – Ross Davison, PPBSO Education Committee chair

“Simply put, we’re looking to have “Drumming Problems, Solved by Drummers,” Davison added.

The summit is being spearheaded by Grade 1 78th Fraser Highlanders’ Leading-Drummer Drew Duthart and Grade 2 St. Andrews College Association Leading-Drummer Dave Fenton, and was spurred by recommendations outlined in the PPBSO’s “Brief Report on the Dire State of Drumming Education in Ontario” from a few years ago.

The summit is planned for spring 2024 as either a virtual or in-person meeting, with another session in the autumn, and the initiative is the first of its kind for the Ontario pipe band scene, and possibly anywhere in the world, Davison said.

He added that the recently published Part 4 of pipe band drumming leader Hugh Cameron’s pipes|drums Interview has helped to spur discussion, and several of Cameron’s points could be apt topics for the summit.