Ulster reaches the ultimate: a conversation with Ulster Scottish P-M Eric Ouellette and Lead-Drummer Derek Cooper

For a 104-year-old organization, the Philadelphia-based Ulster Scottish Pipe Band in some ways feels new.

Perhaps that feeling comes from effective leadership and a vision for success that comes not through browbeating pipers and drummers to win at all costs, but by seeing a bigger, more important picture: finding, keeping, and nurturing talented players with the right attitude for long-range success.

That vision truly gelled when Pipe-Major Eric Ouellette joined Lead-Drummer Derek Cooper in 2022 to foster a successful formula that, on September 25, 2026, saw Ulster Scottish achieve the highest classification when the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association elevated the band to Grade 1 after winning Grade 2 at the 2026 Worlds, after narrowly missing the 2025 Worlds prize and winning the grade at the 2025 European Championships.

Originally from Connecticut, the 37-year-old Ouellette honed his piping skills as a member of Oran Mor, the now-defunct New York-based band that excelled in Grade 2 and rose to Grade 1 status under Pipe-Major Andrew Douglas. Ouellette was, and is, a successful solo piper at the Open/Professional level, winning significant prizes on the eastern US circuit and competing frequently at invitational indoor contests.

In 2016, a few years after Oran Mor was absorbed into the Grade 1 Stuart Highlanders of Massachusetts, Ouellette successfully joined Scotland’s Grade 1 Inveraray & District, a band that would win its first World Championship in 2017, his first season with the group. He enjoyed six years with Inveraray, including the pandemic years that wiped out the UK’s competition seasons in 2020 and 2021.

In 2022, Ouellette accepted the opportunity to become pipe-major of then Grade 3 Ulster Scottish, which was quickly elevated to Grade 2 by the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association.

Today he lives in Poestenkill, New York, a scenic four-hour drive from band practice in Philadelphia.

If there’s a piping and drumming gene, the Ulster Scottish Pipe Band is in Derek Cooper’s DNA. His great-grandfather was a founding member of the band in 1922, his grandfather served as pipe-major for an astonishing 42 years, and his uncle served as pipe-major for 15 years.

While his Ulster Scottish blood runs deep, Cooper, like Ouellette, sought more experience to bring back home. He was a corps drummer under Grade 1 Simon Fraser University Lead-Drummer Reid Maxwell for eight years before joining Inveraray & District for another eight years under Steven McWhirter.

Those combined 16 years honed his skills and helped him become one of the world’s elite pipe band snare drummers. He has won rafts of solo prizes throughout North America and has reached the World Solo Drumming Championship final eight times: 2008, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2025. His 2008 achievement marked the first time an American reached the final, and his best overall result so far is a fifth-place finish in 2022.

Cooper qualified for the semi-final of the 2026 World Solo Drumming through his success at the British Solo Drumming Championships last August and will head to Glasgow for the big event on October 17th.

No doubt, Ouellette and Cooper’s experience with Inveraray & District, led by two of the world’s most famous, effective, and visionary leaders, Pipe-Major Stuart Liddell and Lead-Drummer Steven McWhirter, helped shape the approach they’ve taken together over the last four years at Ulster Scottish.

On October 10th, the band will celebrate its success with a victory parade and shindig to follow in Glenside, Pennsylvania. In addition to the performances, speeches and camaraderie, the $25 admission includes beer.

We connected with the leaders of the newly minted Grade 1 band for a brief chat about the band’s success and ethic, how they got there, and how they plan to remain and thrive in Grade 1.

Eric Ouellette joined while he and his family were on holiday hiking in the Dolomites, a beautiful mountain range in northeastern Italy, while Derek Cooper logged in before another busy day at his flourishing auto business near Philadelphia, close to his home in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.

For those who like to read, we salute you. Here’s a transcript of the conversation, with minor edits for written clarity.

pipes|drums: We have another great interview, this time with Pipe-Major Eric Ouelette and Leading-Drummer Derek Cooper, leaders of the Ulster Scottish Pipe Band of Philadelphia, just moved to Grade 1 by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, and will almost definitely be upgraded by their home association, the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association.

We should add that Eric is coming to us from the Dolomites, where he’s on holiday and took a few minutes away from his family. And Derek is hard at work at his business near Philadelphia.

Congratulations on the promotion to Grade 1. That’s an incredible achievement in a relatively short period of time since you guys have been running the band, since 2022. The band has been around since 1922; it’s very well established.

You had a close call last year to being moved up to Grade 1. Were you worried that it might not happen again, or were you expecting it?

Eric Ouellete: I have tried to not put too much expectation behind things like our grading or our results. I always focus on the band overall, the music, technical excellence, tonal excellence, all those sorts of things. For me, last year it was sort of just going with the flow. I thought maybe it would happen. In hindsight, it was actually probably a good thing that we didn’t go up. And I’m certainly thrilled that we were able to finish out our time in Grade 2 by winning the Worlds.

That’s what everyone wants to do. Going into this fall, I felt like our body of work the last few years spoke for itself, and decisions were going to be made. It was outside of our control. I felt confident, but at the end of the day, we didn’t lose a whole lot of sleep on it one way or another.

“One of the things we focused on right away when we took over was creating an atmosphere and an environment that wasn’t solely based on results, but on making all the players better.” – Lead-Drummer Derek Cooper

pipes|drums: Derek, were you expecting this move after all your success in 2026?

Derek Cooper: It certainly doesn’t hurt! Eric alluded to it. One of the things we focused on right away when we took over was creating an atmosphere and an environment that wasn’t solely based on results, but on making all the players better. And the natural progression would say, let’s move into Grade 1. I’m quite happy that that’s the outcome, but it helps us realize that we need to start working even more.

pipes|drums: What’s your recipe for such consistent success? You guys stayed with it, stayed focused after last year, and had great results this year. What’s the cause of that consistency?

Derek Cooper: I go right back to what I said: the atmosphere. It’s the identity of the band that we created and, ultimately, the leadership we have in place. It’s easy to get caught up in wins and losses, and that’s the cherry on top in competitive art forms, right? But you have to take a step back and look at the bigger picture, and Eric and I were very motivated to make better musicians and better band members. And so, if the outcome was a better band, we were happy with that. But ultimately, we did set out to just make a better atmosphere for people to play in. And ultimately, that’s just created a band that is excited and all just playing really well at the moment.

pipes|drums: And the move from Grade 2 to Grade 1, we’ve talked about it in the past on pipes|drums. It’s a difficult move, not much the move itself, but to do it consistently, to sustain that long-term success in the top grade. Why do you think that is, and how do you plan to thrive and sustain the band in Grade 1?

“Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing we didn’t go up last year. Longevity and consistency are really important. I wonder if maybe there are times when bands here didn’t quite have all those pieces in place when the move happened, and maybe that’s when cracks start to show.” – Pipe-Major Eric Ouellette

Eric Ouellete: That’s a tough question. It’s certainly a topic that I have thought about. Just thinking back to my comment that maybe it wasn’t a bad thing we didn’t go up last year. Longevity and consistency are really important. Not to speculate on any other bands’ particular situations in the past, but I wonder if maybe there are times when bands here didn’t quite have all those pieces in place when the move happened, and maybe that’s when cracks start to show. It’s hard to say. In our case, what we’ve thought long and hard about is creating a sustainable atmosphere to keep as many of our players as we can coming through the door year after year, to continue building on their development.

We have a very solid positioning of leadership in each part of the band, including Derek’s wife Danielle, who’s done an outstanding job with the midsection. it’s really about having all the chess pieces in place on the board and being successful and consistent in Grade 2. And once that recipe is developed, it’s just a continuation of what we’ve been doing from here on out.

The problems that we tackle in the band hall every week are all problems of degree. Every band experiences it, from the low grades up to Grade 1. The end goal is to converge on the same level of technical, musical, and tonal excellence. We’ve come a long way, and we certainly have a lot to go, continuing to focus on those key elements and retaining all of our excellent people who are both wonderful musicians and some of my best friends.

That’s the key to me: keeping that positive atmosphere going.

pipes|drums: And Derek, a drum corps can be difficult to keep together, and sometimes it seems like the flux, particularly at the top, revolves around the drum section – not entirely, but it’s often the case. Many around the world might not understand how particularly difficult it is in North America, being widespread, to maintain a drum section. What about you? How are you able to keep that stability in the drum section?

Derek Cooper: It’s a really good question. It’s definitely no secret how difficult it is here in North America to keep drum corps going. We’ve been on AGMs, and we’ve been on calls with the EUSPBA where people are constantly complaining that they have no drummers. But it’s a two-part answer. First, you have to see it through. A lot of people are looking for instant success, and they’re not willing to build it.

You mentioned that the band’s been around since 1922. I’ve been involved in this band either teaching, playing, or being the leading-drummer since 2000. So, this is a culmination of all those years of putting in hard work, of learning and putting hard work in and motivating.

“My wife, Danielle, has done an amazing job with the midsection. She keeps the girls and guys on the ball, motivated, and engaged, as if we were seeing everybody every week. We just don’t have that luxury because the band is so spread out and the geographical area we’re covering is so large.” – Derek Cooper

The second part of that answer is you have to get creative. You have to figure out ways to keep the guys motivated, both in the band hall and at home. We’re spread across North America. We have players all over, and we travel once a month for practices. How do you keep the guys engaged when you’re not at those practices? We’ve had to turn to things like Zoom or Google Meet, online practices, or just communication.  Our communication has to be high so everybody’s on the same page, and you’re not wasting time. You should be as efficient as possible.

And getting out there and making sure that all the guys are doing what they need to do. That’s the thing. The same goes for my wife. Danielle has done an amazing job, as Eric has pointed out, but she does the same thing with the midsection. She keeps the girls and guys on the ball, motivated, and engaged, as if we were seeing everybody every week. We just don’t have that luxury because the band is so spread out and the geographical area we’re covering is so large.

pipes|drums: What are your competition plans for 2027? Is the Worlds part of that? Maxville, Chicago, British Columbia, who knows what, will be after you to attend. Any plans so far that we can look forward to?

Eric Ouellete: Well, it’s quite likely you will see us in Glasgow in August. Outside of that, Chicago has been a staple for us, and with St. Thomas Alumni attending annually, I don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t continue to be. Beyond that, we’re taking a look at things. We admittedly haven’t fully committed to a whole lot of stuff because we were waiting to see what might happen here. Now we have clear direction, and some of those other pieces can fall into place. But you’ll see us in August in Glasgow.

pipes|drums: Everyone will look forward to that, for sure. Eric, you’ve got a holiday to continue, and Derek, you’ve got real work to do. We appreciate you guys taking the time. Congratulations once again to you and everyone in Ulster Scottish. It’s a terrific achievement, and we’re sure you’re very proud of everyone in the band. And we’ll look forward to hearing you.

All: Thank you very much.

Our thanks to Eric Ouellette and Derek Cooper for making the time to share their experiences and perspectives with pipes|drums.

Stay tuned to pipes|drums for more enlightening and inspirational stuff like this coming soon.