Vale of Atholl Pipe Band

The Vale of Atholl Pipe Band is a Scottish pipe band organisation based in Perthshire, Scotland. It comprises two competitive pipe bands that compete in the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association's competitions each year. The bands compete in Grades 3 and 4. Since the late 1980s until 2018 it also had a Grade 1 band.

Vale of Atholl Pipe Band
Established1906
LocationPerthshire, Scotland
Grade3 and 4
Pipe majorMark Stewart (G3A); Roddy Weir (G4A)
Drum sergeantAlasdair McNab (G3A); Amy Wilson (G4A)
TartanMurray of Atholl
Notable honours3rd place, World Pipe Band Championships: 1989, 1990, 1st Place European Pipe Band Championships: Grade 3A 2022, 1st Place British Championships: Grade 3A 2022
Websitewww.thevale.org

History

The organisation was founded in 1906 as the Vale of Atholl Pipers Association, with the Marquess of Tullibardine as patron and led by pipe major Mitchell Pirnie.[1] The band started in competing in competition in 1931 under the leadership of Robert Pirnie, and played at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.[1]

Ian Duncan, brother of Gordon Duncan, joined the band in 1965 and took over as Pipe Major in 1973.[1] The band first entered competitions organised by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association in 1977, starting in Grade 4, but by 1983 the band had been promoted to Grade 1.[1] The band came second in the Champion of Champions table during the 1980s, and won the European and British Championship titles in 1988 and 1989 respectively.[1] In 1993, the band reached a sponsorship agreement with Macnaughtons of Pitlochry, and changed its tartan from traditional Murray of Atholl tartan to the Muted Macnaughton.[1] For much of this period, the organisation had a feeder system of youngsters who competed in the Novice Juvenile and Juvenile grades.

Andy Renwick succeeded Ian Duncan as Pipe Major of the Grade 1 band at the end of 2000, and in 2002 sponsorship was secured with Robert Wiseman Dairies. Adrian Cramb took over the role of Pipe Major in 2008.[1][2] Alastair McNab took over the role of Lead Drummer in 2013, replacing Crawford Allan.[3] By this time the organisation's Novice Juvenile and Juvenile bands were ended and replaced with Grade 3 and Grade 4 bands.

Pipe Majors
  • Mitchell Pirnie (1906–?)
  • Robert Pirnie (?)
  • Allan Cameron (?–1973)
  • Ian Duncan (1973–2000)
  • Andy Renwick (2000–2008)
  • Adrian Cramb (2008–2018)
  • Scott Oliphant, Angus Clarke, Graham Mulholland and Ross McNaughton have all been Pipe Majors of the Grades 3 and 4 bands. In 2019/20 Mark Stewart and Gary Nimmo were appointed Pipe Majors of these respective bands.

Discography
  • Cam ye By Atholl (1982)
  • Both Sides of The Tracks (1985)
  • Salutations (1988)
  • No Reservations (1989)
  • Live 'n Well: The Motherwell Concert (1995)
  • Live from Frankfurt, Germany (2005)
  • Back to The Future (2006)

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vale of Atholl Pipe Band.
  1. "History". thevale.org. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  2. "Adrian Cramb new Vale of Atholl Pipe-Major". pipesdrums.com. 30 September 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  3. "Bongo takes leading role in Vale of Atholl drum section". pipesdrums.com. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
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