![]() ![]() While in graduate school in Boston, I enjoyed playing for The Boston Blazers, President George H.W. Over the years, I have played at over 85 weddings (I just counted them up!), in addition to other celebrations, parties, funerals, etc. I have been piping for 20 years, originally learing in Oakland, Maine. The Prince Charles Pipe Band will be honored at the Caledonian Club of San Francisco Gathering Games this weekend at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.My name is John, and when I am not chasing after my two boys and their trusty goldendoodle, Ella, I love playing bagpipes. They are a group that has been working very, very hard, and their work has paid off." Woodley said. "It has been very fun to lead a group that started with high school kids. Woodley, who is finishing a doctorate in electrical engineering at Stanford University, is proud to bring his knowledge and experience to the band. That band, the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band out of Vancouver, won the Grade 1 World Championship in Scotland in 1995. ![]() Woodley joined the band three years ago after playing with a Canadian pipe group for more than a decade. Pipe Major Bruce Woodley, 30, of Palo Alto, is a veteran when it comes to winning championships in Scotland. Of those 14, 10 had come up through the junior band." We had 14 pipers and drummers playing in Scotland. "The band has been fortunate to be able to attract members by people seeing either them or the junior band performing and then expressing interest. The players have been very diverse over the years, ranging from Caucasian to Chinese to Filipino," Merriman said. "There were a few of us back then who realized that there wouldn't always be Scotsmen coming here to play. Merriman, who no longer performs with the band, has been a bagpipe enthusiast since growing up in San Francisco and playing with the City of San Francisco Pipe Band in the mid-1960s. "None were popular - mostly jigs, some dance tunes and a classic Scottish song called 'Deputy Chief Wingate.' There were quite a few people standing about watching." "We performed a medley selection of music which gave us the ability to be a little more free-form," Berta said. The bands were separated into groups of 22, which were then narrowed down to two groups of six finalists. Pipe Band Association and recently received corporate sponsorship from a major manufacturer of Scottish-style amber ale.Īt the annual competition in Glasgow, 44 bands from as far away as Australia and the United States competed on an outdoor green. The Prince Charles Pipe Band was named in honor of Bonnie Prince Charles, an 18th century Scottish monarch and heir to the British throne who led the Scottish Highland Army in the rebellion of 1745.įounded in 1968, the band is considered one of the best in the Western U.S. Players practice three times a week at various locations throughout the South Bay. "The only requirement is a love for the bagpipe," Merriman said. They range in age from 18 to 64 and have diverse backgrounds. The band has several members from Marin, as well as Sacramento, San Jose - and one piper who flies in for occasional practices from New Jersey. ![]() "They will be one of only three Grade 1 pipe bands from the United States." "The win puts the band in the unique position of becoming a Grade 1 Pipe Band in the fall, after the season ends," Merriman said. It was really amazing to see 200 bagpipe players of all different grades competing." "The top six finalists went head-to-head against each other. "Saying the players were excited about winning is an understatement," said founding member Bill Merriman of San Rafael. They recently proved their mastery by winning the Grade 2 Bagpipe Competition in the World Pipe Band Championships Aug. The oak-studded brown hills of Novato may not be the same as the moors of Scotland, but Berta and his 24 fellow pipers are inspired. "But it really depends on the person how long it can take to master the instrument." "It took me six to eight years to get really good at it," he said. The band performs at weddings, funerals and, occasionally, nightclubs. The 20-year-old musician quit taking violin lessons at the age of 8 in favor of learning the bagpipe, ultimately becoming one of the mainstays of the highly regarded local troupe. ![]()
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