‘We’re working to put a medley out there that people are going to appreciate on their first hearing because that may be all you get’
At 23, he already has considerable Grade 1 ex-
perience, and was with the Halifax Citadel band when they won the Grade 1 North American title at Maxville in 2003 and played in the finals at the 2005 World Pipe Band Championships. Moreover, he enjoys the support of two amply qualified pipe sergeants: his father, double gold medallist Bruce Gandy, and his predecessor as pipe major: Roderick MacLean, who led the band for more than a decade and, in 2002, took a 13-year-old Alex Gandy into the band’s Grade 1 pipe corps. The band have not been dragging their feet.
Last year and in 2010, the 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipes and Drums took second place at the North American Championships. Their 11-year old Halifax Citadel Regimental Association sponsorship is secure, their instru- ments and uniforms are in good shape and the band are in a very good place to be going to the Worlds, according to Alex. What kept them out of contention in
Scotland for the past four seasons was a drop in membership. “Because Halifax is so isolated it’s hard to sustain numbers,” said Alex. “Roddy was doing a very good job and the band’s not been weak but it’s hard to get taken seriously in Scotland when you don’t have 20 pipers. “Then people just began turning up again and I didn’t have to do a lot of recruiting. We had some up and coming players in the band, we got people coming to Halifax for university, and people joined us who’ve played in the past but hadn’t had the time to be involved. I was approached by a lot of people who wanted to come and play and I haven’t had to turn many away yet. Luckily for me, and for the band as a whole, numbers aren’t an issue this year… it all just came together.” The Halifax Citadel band have at least 20 pip- ers going to Scotland, a number of whom will compete in solo events as well. “There’s me and my dad, Rod MacLean, Matt MacIsaac, Andy Rogers and Brittney Otto — we’ll all be compet- ing, and Thomas Harrington, probably… and
some of the younger players will be playing in amateur competitions.” The leadership handover has been amicable.
“Roddy has a young daughter now and he just felt it was a good time to bring in someone young with a different perspective,” said Alex. “I’ll be finishing my degree work at St Mary’s University in April and it just seemed like the right thing for the band, and for me, at the right time. “It’s a strong team. Roddy’s good with the
sound and will be a great help to me; he’s a good strong player and, as far as I know, he has no plans of leaving… it’s just been a leadership change. “Between dad, Roddy and me, there’s about
70 years of Grade 1 experience — so I’m not at a loss. There’s always someone there to help me. Roddy and I consult all the time and he’s great to have in the band. “When the news was out that I was leading the band, there were other people who came forward and invited me to ask them for help — Robert Mathieson and Dave Hilder both sent me really nice notes.
I really appreciated
hearing from people like that. “Though we’re competing, they’re very sup-
portive. Even if my dad wasn’t in the band, I’d still be asking him a lot of the questions I have been.”
Alex contributed new tunes and sets to the
band’s repertoire last season and, for this year, put together their full competing package. “We got it up on the pipes in December,”
he said. “I started working on it last April. I had some ideas swirling around in my head and began making notes. “We’re opening with a hornpipe I wrote and
it’s still developing. The tunes are the same but there are tweaks here and there. It’s a mix of old and new and the work now is on polishing the balance. “We’re working to put a medley out there that people are going to appreciate on their first hearing because that may be all you get,” Alex
PIPING TODAY • 17
PREPARATION
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