CANADA
Photos: Mike Paterson
Officer Cadet Pipe Major Cassandra Harpe
“One graduating year can decimate our ranks and we don’t necessarily get those numbers back at the beginning of the winter semester. We lost six good pipers last year, but we gained four good players. “At the moment we have 10 playing pipers
and a great drum corps: eight side drummers, eight tenors, a couple of bass drummers and we have about 25 Highland dancers.” The band also teach piping and drumming
learners from scratch. Eugene admitted: “The number of people who become viable pipers in those four years is low because of the demands of life at RMC but it does happen and they graduate playing with the pipe band. “Most of the Officer Cadets who can
already play when they come here have youth Cadet backgrounds and you see the quality there right away. We have a tenor drummer — Stephanie Clark — who went through the Cadet programme. She’s brought a lot to the corps this year.” An aspiring tank commander, she has helped instruct the tenor section. From Brownsburg, Quebec, she learned
drumming and drum majoring with her local Air Cadets unit. She continued to play during two years at the Royal Military College Saint- Jean, in Quebec, even though there was no pipes and drums option there. She said: “My little brother is a tenor drum- mer too so every time I went home I’d practise with him to keep it up. When I got to RMC, I turned up at the first band practice and said, ‘I
Officer Cadet Ben Deutsch
know how to play, just teach me the routines’. “It is appreciated when you come in with
experience and you generally teach new play- ers. After just a month and a half, two of our new tenor players were at playing level.” Cody Hansen, from Penticton, British Columbia, is the corps’ lead drummer. He too began drumming through the youth Cadet programme. He said: “The Canadian Cadets organisa- tion has a well-developed training programme for pipers and drummers in the Scottish mili- tary tradition. I came to RMC and fell into the pipe band right away. “I’ve travelled in Scotland so I know how much fun it can be. It all helps me to bring on players who are starting here for the first time. I’m very happy I’m able to lead the drum corps at RMC.” RMC’s pipes, drums and dancers are called upon to perform for various RMC and mili- tary ceremonial events, including graduations. They mount several public concerts to raise funds for the local United Way charitable campaign, and conduct outreach programmes in downtown Kingston. The Pipes and Drums often perform with the brass and reeds band. “We have matched Warnock chanters and keep the pitch down a little bit to sound well with the brass and it’s a pleasant combined sound,” said Colin Clancy.
Lead drummer Cody Hansen (right) “The lower pitch is also more comfortable
for an ear that’s accustomed to listening to non-pipe music. “In a competition band, the pitch is higher
and everything is much more complicated but, unless you’ve been listening to that kind of mu- sic for a while, it’s more difficult to understand. “If the pipes are on their own, they’ll pitch somewhat higher.” Beyond RMC, the opportunities for offic- ers to keep up their piping and drumming are variable but there is no bar on officers playing in the ranks of volunteer pipes and drums. “There are a number of volunteer pipe bands in the Canadian Forces,” said Eugene. “I’ve had colonels, majors and captains play in my bands as musicians. Some act as band officers and are part of the band’s leadership but the band has its own command structure. “Quite a precedent was set by RMC gradu- ate and former Commandant General John De Chastelain, who retired as Chief of the Defence Staff in 1995. He piped wearing a private’s uniform with the pipe bands. He was a very keen piper. He just wanted to play.” Colin Clancy fully intends to keep up his piping once he is commissioned. He said: “John Cairns achieved his double gold while he was still in the military. I’ll still be competing for a good many years yet. “I’ve got a lot of things I still want to do in piping.” l
PIPING TODAY • 48
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