Pipe dreams: Wasatch & District Pipe Band to perform 'A Heritage to Remember'
KATE MCNEIL - Daily Herald
If you enjoy the solo bagpiper who frequents the conference center, then get set for a plethora of plaid and pipes in Utah County on Friday.
Wasatch & District Pipe Band, a 35-member bagpipe and drum ensemble, will perform "A Heritage to Remember" at UVSC's Ragan Theatre on Friday night at 7:30.
"If you like bagpipes, you're going to love it," said Andrew Morrill, pipe major.
The pipe band just returned from the Woodland games in Sacramento where it placed third in the quick march medley. It also captured first in the timed medley, beating the previously undefeated Misty Isles band from Southern California.
"The morale is very high right now," said Mike Postma, drum sergeant. "We're very excited for the concert."
Decked in the traditional Scottish garb -- kilts, knee-highs with ghillie brouge shoes, a military white shirt and black tie, and topped off with Glengarry hats -- the Wasatch & District Pipe Band will play traditional marches, reels, jigs and modern beats at the one-hour performance.
The band's plaid, the MacTavish tartan, is also a sight to be seen.
"None of us are of the MacTavish clan," drum sergeant Mike Postma admits. "We just thought it was the best-looking one."
Several Scottish dancers will accompany the pipes and drums to create a night of Celtic connection.
"It will be a good dose of different kinds of Scottish music," piper Megan McDonald said. "It's our goal to promote our heritage through music."
With that heritage, comes some stereotypes. To poke fun of those, Morrill revealed a secret plan for the performance.
"For the first time we're going to try to sing a Scottish drinking song," he said. "None of us drink, but we're still going to sing it. It should be fun."
A bagpipe teacher at Bountiful High School, Morrill has been playing the pipes for 30 years. Like many members of the group, Morrill is of Scottish descent and wishes to continue the traditions of his ancestors.
"It's our heritage remembered," he said, "we're playing to remember the people who came before us."
In contrast, Postma does not have Scottish blood -- at least not that he knows of.
"If you trace your family tree long enough, you'll find a link somewhere," Postma said.
Drums in a pipe band work to complement and accentuate bagpipe rhythms. After intermission, Postma says the drum line will perform a drum salute, something it rarely gets to do in competitions.
"Concerts are fun because we can throw in more flavor and variety with the smaller, melodic pipes and drum salutes," Postma said.
In its two years of playing, Wasatch & District Pipe Band has competed extensively. This past October, it joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Utah Symphony in "A Celtic Celebration," an O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert. It has competed in several summer Highland games all over the West from San Diego to Payson to Jackson Hole, Wyo.
The group was formed almost two years ago and members range in age from 15 to 50. Group members live along the Wasatch Front -- from Bountiful to Payson. They practice once a week at Bountiful High School.
If You Go
Watach & District Pipe Band
Where: Ragan Theatre, on the campus of Utah Valley State College
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 students/seniors; $7 adults; $15 family in advance; $1 extra at the door
Info: 856-2332, www.wdpb.org
KATE MCNEIL - Daily Herald
If you enjoy the solo bagpiper who frequents the conference center, then get set for a plethora of plaid and pipes in Utah County on Friday.
Wasatch & District Pipe Band, a 35-member bagpipe and drum ensemble, will perform "A Heritage to Remember" at UVSC's Ragan Theatre on Friday night at 7:30.
"If you like bagpipes, you're going to love it," said Andrew Morrill, pipe major.
The pipe band just returned from the Woodland games in Sacramento where it placed third in the quick march medley. It also captured first in the timed medley, beating the previously undefeated Misty Isles band from Southern California.
"The morale is very high right now," said Mike Postma, drum sergeant. "We're very excited for the concert."
Decked in the traditional Scottish garb -- kilts, knee-highs with ghillie brouge shoes, a military white shirt and black tie, and topped off with Glengarry hats -- the Wasatch & District Pipe Band will play traditional marches, reels, jigs and modern beats at the one-hour performance.
The band's plaid, the MacTavish tartan, is also a sight to be seen.
"None of us are of the MacTavish clan," drum sergeant Mike Postma admits. "We just thought it was the best-looking one."
Several Scottish dancers will accompany the pipes and drums to create a night of Celtic connection.
"It will be a good dose of different kinds of Scottish music," piper Megan McDonald said. "It's our goal to promote our heritage through music."
With that heritage, comes some stereotypes. To poke fun of those, Morrill revealed a secret plan for the performance.
"For the first time we're going to try to sing a Scottish drinking song," he said. "None of us drink, but we're still going to sing it. It should be fun."
A bagpipe teacher at Bountiful High School, Morrill has been playing the pipes for 30 years. Like many members of the group, Morrill is of Scottish descent and wishes to continue the traditions of his ancestors.
"It's our heritage remembered," he said, "we're playing to remember the people who came before us."
In contrast, Postma does not have Scottish blood -- at least not that he knows of.
"If you trace your family tree long enough, you'll find a link somewhere," Postma said.
Drums in a pipe band work to complement and accentuate bagpipe rhythms. After intermission, Postma says the drum line will perform a drum salute, something it rarely gets to do in competitions.
"Concerts are fun because we can throw in more flavor and variety with the smaller, melodic pipes and drum salutes," Postma said.
In its two years of playing, Wasatch & District Pipe Band has competed extensively. This past October, it joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Utah Symphony in "A Celtic Celebration," an O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert. It has competed in several summer Highland games all over the West from San Diego to Payson to Jackson Hole, Wyo.
The group was formed almost two years ago and members range in age from 15 to 50. Group members live along the Wasatch Front -- from Bountiful to Payson. They practice once a week at Bountiful High School.
If You Go
Watach & District Pipe Band
Where: Ragan Theatre, on the campus of Utah Valley State College
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 students/seniors; $7 adults; $15 family in advance; $1 extra at the door
Info: 856-2332, www.wdpb.org
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