Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch

RSPBANI
	Branch logo
Founded	October 1950
Location	Unit 34 Crescent Business Park, Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, BT28 2GN;
Coordinates	54°30′49″N6°04′39″W / 54.513559°N 6.077392°W
Key people	President: Winston Pinkerton Chairman: Ray Hall
Website	www.rspbani.org

Last updated February 26, 2024

The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch (RSPBANI) is a governing body to oversee Pipe band competition in Northern Ireland. It represents approximately seventy pipe bands in full membership of the association in Northern Ireland and over three thousand individual members.

The RPSBANI organises and delivers all Championship Pipe Band and Drum Major Contests in Northern Ireland and the Ulster Solo Piping and Drumming Championships. The branch provides advice, assistance and guidance to the piping community generally on organisation, governance, education and music development. They also provide a teaching facility across Northern Ireland to nationally accredited standards.^[1]

History

Formal gatherings of pipe bands in Northern Ireland, for the purpose of competition, date back to 1912 when the Northern Ireland Bands Association regularly held indoor contests. Due to a growth in numbers of bands and the necessity to compete outdoors, the Northern Ireland Pipe Band League was formed in 1945. It was also in 1945 that an association of pipe bands was set up in Southern Ireland and both organisations endeavoured to work together to create the All Ireland Pipe Band Championships, an event which continues today under the auspices of the Joint Authority Council.

To become an affiliated branch of the parent body in Scotland, at that time the 'Scottish Pipe Band Association', it was necessary to have interest from at least ten bands and so in October 1950, the Northern Ireland Branch was formed.

As bands and Branch membership grew, an educational plan to service and develop the membership bands and individual musical competence as well as to develop new member bands and individuals was established. Out of this plan the RSPBANI School was set up in approximately 1979 so that pupils could receive instruction in both the practical and theory elements of piping and drumming. Over the years the education project of the Branch has had a number of brand names, including the Northern Ireland Piping and Drumming School but now is known simply as the RSPBANI Branch School where pupils can achieve standardised and recognised SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) qualifications.

Operating Arrangements

To service the whole of Northern Ireland, the Branch is divided up into four sections: County Antrim, County Down, Mid Ulster and County Fermanagh. The Sections are made up of bands operational in their respective areas and they operate with a full structure of Office Bearers. Section meetings are held regularly throughout the year and each has an Annual General Meeting. Each Section also appoints a representative who sits on the Branch Executive to maintain communication throughout the organisation.

All member bands operate with committees made up of chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. This allows the channels of communication to remain open from playing members through to the Sections and Branch to the executive committee which runs the Branch.

Member Bands

Related Research Articles

A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common.

The Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was established in 1901 and is based at The Belfry near Birmingham, England. It has a membership of over 7,500 professionals with 1,500 working overseas in more than 70 countries worldwide. Since 2017 the chairman of the board has been Alan White, club professional at Lanark Golf Club.

The Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming is a British Army training establishment that provides instruction on Scottish pipe band music to military pipers and drummers.

The Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band is a competitive grade one pipe band from Lisburn, Northern Ireland named in honour of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. The band has won the World Pipe Band Championships 13 times, making it the third most successful competing pipe band in history behind the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band and the Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band.

Dollar Academy, founded in 1818 by John McNabb, is a private co-educational day and boarding school in Scotland. The open campus occupies a 70-acre (28 ha) site in the centre of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, at the foot of the Ochil Hills.

Jori Lance Chisholm is an American professional bagpipe player and teacher who lives in Seattle, Washington. Chisholm is a successful solo competitor winning the United States Gold Medal four times and has placed in the top three in Scotland's Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal competition. He played with the six-time Grade One World Champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and was a featured solo performer for the band on multiple occasions. Chisholm has performed in front of sold-out audiences with The Chieftains and with ex-Grateful Dead rocker Bob Weir and his band Ratdog, and has been featured as a soloist or band member on over 20 recordings. His debut solo album Bagpipe Revolution was nominated for Album of the Year by Pipes|Drums magazine. He writes the "Sound Technique" column for the National Piping Centre’s bi-monthly Piping Today Magazine. The New York Times featured Chisholm's online teaching program, BagpipeLessons.com, and described him as a "top-tier teacher" in a front-page story about the growth of Skype music lessons. A cover story in American Profile Magazine named Chisholm one of the "world's elite pipers."

The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) is an association aiming to oversee pipe band competition, and to promote and encourage the development of pipe band culture worldwide. It was founded in 1930.

The City of Whitehorse (CoWPB) was a competition pipe band, based in Nunawading, Victoria, Australia. The band's previous incarnations had been successful on the Australian Pipe Band competition circuit for numerous years, and was placed 11th in the final tables of the World Pipe Band Championships in 2006. The band reformed in 2014 and was led by Pipe Major George Shepherd and Drum Sergeant Olav Goud. The band ceased operations in 2016 following the decision of Pipe Bands Australia to suspend five members and later, terminate the band's membership following a protracted period of behaviour deemed unacceptable by the association.

The Victoria Police Pipe Band is a former Grade One World Pipe Band Championship-winning pipe band based in Melbourne, Australia. The band still operates today, though with reduced numbers and not competitively, after a controversial decision in 2000 to reshape it.

The World Pipe Band Championships is a pipe band competition held in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Western United States Pipe Band Association is an association of pipe bands from the Western United States. It sanctions band and solo piping competitions and has a membership of over fifty bands.

The Midwest Pipe Band Association is an association of pipe bands in the Midwestern United States. Within its area of jurisdiction, the association includes over forty pipe bands, offers band, solo piping and drumming, and drum major competitions with sanctioned judges, and is responsible for overseeing seasonal competition among its member bands.

The Eastern United States Pipe Band Association (EUSPBA) is an association of pipe bands in the Eastern United States and is a member of the Alliance of North American Pipe Band Associations. Its function is to sanction band and solo piping, drumming, and drum major competitions in the East Coast. It is also responsible for ranking and regrading its members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada</span>

The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada, established in 1990 in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, is an international school teaching Highland bagpiping, Scottish-style snare drumming, Highland Dancing and Island step dancing. General (Ret'd) John de Chastelain was a director at the college. The College of Piping is the most prestigious piping organisation on Prince Edward Island. The college has won 5th place in Grade 3B at the 2012 World Pipe Band Championships and 4th place in Grade 3b at the 2007 World Pipe Band Championships. In addition to these accomplishments are numerous awards from Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the Eastern United States. Many of the members of The College of Piping Pipe Bands are also award-winning soloists, bringing home local, regional, national and international prizes for their respective grade.

The Irish Chess Union, is the governing body for chess in Ireland since its formation in 1912. ICU is a member of FIDE since 1933 and the European Chess Union. The ICU promotes chess in Ireland and maintains the chess rating for players registered with the ICU, which are published monthly. It runs competitions such as the Irish Chess Championship and selects teams to participate in international competitions for Ireland.

5th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.

The Conservative Women's Organisation (CWO) represents the female members of the Conservative Party in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Steven McWhirter is a pipe band drummer from Northern Ireland. He has won multiple World Championship titles as a solo performer and as part of band. He is the lead drummer for the Inveraray & District Pipe Band.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary Band was the public duties branch of the Royal Ulster Constabulary of Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1905 under District Inspector George C. Ferguson as the Band of the Royal Irish Constabulary. Shortly after the reformation of the RIC as the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the band remained on in that force. The original members were drawn from British military bands, with the band representing 28 independent British Army battalions by 1936. It performed regularly ay many official functions in Belfast as well as special occasions. It was the primary performer of the RUC marchpast, The Young May March. In 1977, a drum corps was created. The band also maintained a pipe and drums band. The pipes and drums were regarded as one of the best in the world. It was a grade 1 pipe band in the 1980s and 1990s. It was dissolved in 2001 with the establishment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the PSNI Pipes and Drums.

The City of Dunedin Pipe Band is a Grade 1 pipe band out of Dunedin, Florida. It is led by pipe major Iain Donaldson and drum sergeant Eric MacNeill.

References

↑ "Northern Ireland Branch School".

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Northern Ireland Branch School".

[1]