by Megan Canning | May 1, 2013
New Shotts Leadership P/M Ryan Canning and D/M Jim Kilpatrick looking forward
Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band is delighted to introduce its new band for 2013, with a brand new membership, website, logo, repertoire, and more!
It has been an exciting off season for Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia when the band announced the appointment of Pipe Major Ryan Canning as the new leader at the end of August 2012. Ryan is a 6-Time World Pipe Band Champion, and took up the post after spending 16 years as a member of the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band from Northern Ireland. Ryan quickly appointed Gold Medallist and 2-Time World Champion Glenn Brown as Pipe Sergeant in early September. The two began the task of recruiting over a dozen new members to the pipe corps, and the new pipers along with existing players form a new pipe corps for 2013. The drum corps has also seen significant additions to its membership. While Drum Major Jim Kilpatrick MBE continues to lead his corps for the 27th season running, he welcomed back snare drummers Blair Brown, Graham Brown and Jake Jorgensen who returned after pursuing their own ventures as leading drummers and players in other top bands, as well as adding fresh faces to the ranks in both the snare and tenor sections. In total, the new additions to the band in both the pipe corps and drum corps tip the balance so that just over half of Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band is new in 2013! Have a look at the band’s roster section to learn more about the players who are part of this year’s team.
In addition to new membership, Pipe Major Ryan Canning has also introduced a completely new repertoire for 2013. The new music includes two new March, Strathspey and Reel sets, two new Medley sets, and new sets of 6/8 marches, 3/4 marches, hornpipes, and tune-up tunes. The entirely new repertoire has taken an extraordinary amount of work for every member of the band over a single winter, but is a significant step towards forging a new Shotts band with a fresh musical identity.
The band has also released its new schedule for 2013. Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia will be attending all five major championships, and will also be supporting minor competitions including the band’s home town Shotts Highland Games. You can learn where you can hear the band live by visiting our schedule page.
Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia has also updated its online presence with a brand new website and Facebook page. The new site is reflective of the many changes which have occurred at Shotts over the winter. In addition to providing lots of interesting information about the band’s past, it also serves to represent what the band stands for today. The band has also launched a brand new Facebook page so that friends can better interact with Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia. If you haven’t seen the page already, check it out now and “like” the page to become a friend of the band!
After ten years in partnership, Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia would like to thank The House of Edgar for supporting us as our official sponsor from 2003 to April 2013. The support of The House of Edgar has been a vital help to the band during the last decade, not only in terms of the band’s financial stability, but additionally to the visual presence of the band as the designer and provider of our own unique tartan, which we will continue to wear. We would like to extend a huge thank you to The House of Edgar team for your continued support throughout this period in the band’s history.
The changes in sponsorship mark another important change for the band- the change in our name itself! After ten years, the band returns to its original name- Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band- which is a nod to the past and the original title by which the band has been known for nearly a century. In addition to the name change, the band has introduced a new logo which also draws on the band’s historic past. For over 90 years, Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia had been identified by the castle logo of the MacLean clan crest, worn in honour of one of the band’s founding members. For the past decade the band has adopted The House of Edgar logo in honour of its sponsors during this period- suitably also a castle- and in 2013 it decided to return to the original symbol of its past, with a modern take. We love our new logo, and hope that followers of Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia from the past will recognise the strong connection to our heritage.
All in all, it has been a very busy winter for Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia and it has taken a huge amount of work to introduce so many changes to the band in a single season. However with new leadership, new music, and over half a new roster, Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia greatly looks forward to the start of the 2013 pipe band season.
The band’s first competition will take place in Gourock, Scotland, on Sunday 12 May, 2013.