The fourth part of our 2012 Pipes+Drums Recital of Grade 1 band pipe-majors and leading-drummers features Los Angeles Scots Colin Armstrong and Glenn Kvidahl with four selections from the August 8th event The band saw its way back in to the Grade 1 Final round at the World Pipe Band Championships three days later, ultimately finishing as the thirteenth best band in the world.
pipes|drums kicks off a new feature for subscribers: “One Great Day,” a series of articles by famous pipers and drummers who recall a particularly memorable day in their life. We will ask them to choose one day that stands out in their mind, perhaps because of its historical importance, or a personal achievement, or for anything else that they might choose. This year is the 25th anniversary of the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band’s World Pipe Band Championship win. At the quarter-century mark, it made sense to see what Bill Livingstone remembered from that historical day in August, when he led his 78th Fraser Highlanders to becoming the first non-Scottish band to win a World Pipe Band Championship. In fact, before then, no Grade 1 band outside of Scotland had won an RSPBA major championship of any kind.