Monday, June 29, 2020 by Mary O'Connor | OCMS

Today's assignment is a little different but it shows how determination, hard work, practice and believing in yourself can take you a long way.

Inverary and District Pipe Band didn't sound so great when they started out but...

Adapted from https://idpb.co.uk/history/

In September 2003, the Inveraray Piping Project was born. With the assistance of local people, Tuesday nights at Inveraray Primary School became the time and venue for weekly piping tuition and practices and the small group began to grow. By May 2004, there were five young pipers and a drummer who remain members to this day.

In 2005, built upon these foundations, Inveraray and District Pipe Band was formed. It competed in its first competition in the Novice Juvenile grade at Cowal Games in August 2005, with borrowed drums and its young members clad in uniforms of various colours.

• 2006
  • Winner of the overall Scottish award for Best Lottery Funded Project (and a win in the UK-wide “Local Legend” category for Stuart Liddell) in the National Lottery Awards.
  • Prize winner in all five RSPBA major Championships in the Novice Juvenile grade in IDPB’s first full year.
• 2007
  • Winner of four out of five Novice Juvenile major championships, including the Worlds.
• 2008
  • Winner of four out of five Juvenile major championships, including the Worlds.
• 2009
  • Winner of all five major championships in Grade 2.

The Grade 2 band’s success in 2009 meant that it was immediately promoted to Grade 1 for the 2010 season.

The band continues to be a regular prize winner at the major events and a centre of excellence built on strong foundations. The attention to detail and focus on individual and collective playing quality that were a feature of its embryonic beginnings remain to this day in all sections of the band. The current incarnation of IDPB is less parochial- in fact, truly international- with members from several continents. The membership features highly decorated individual performers; graduates of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; an abundance of capable composers and arrangers, and several performers with a wider musical pedigree than purely piping or drumming.

In 2017 Inveraray and District Pipe Band won the World Pipe Band Championships.  A total of 219 bands including 8,000 pipers from 15 nations took part in the contest, now in its 70th year.

Edit!  I posted this at 9:00 am EST (June 30, 2018) and later in the day, Inveraray and District Pipe Band won the Grade One European Pipe Band Championship.

Another Edit! The band won the World Championships for the second time in 2019.

This is Inveraray and District's performance of the band's Masterblaster medley which won the band the Grade One European Pipe Band Championship on Saturday 30 June 2018. The event was held in a meticulously prepared, sun-scorched Grant Park. These championships will be moving on to Inverness in 2019 after six very successful years in Forres.

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