The St Andrew's College Pipe Band will be travelling to Glasgow later this month to take part in the World Championships, the biggest week of piping and traditional music in the world. Some 8 000 performers from 150 countries will participate in more than 200 events. As many as 50 000 spectators are expected.
The St Andrew's College Pipe Band will be travelling to Glasgow later this month to take part in the World Championships, the biggest week of piping and traditional music in the world. Some 8 000 performers from 150 countries will participate in more than 200 events. As many as 50 000 spectators are expected.
The St Andrew’s band will be competing as an adult band, as some of the players are 18 years old and Old Andreans form part of the band. The bagpipes were made by Chris Terry who has been a continuous inspiration to members of the band.
For the last 76 years the haunting melody of the pipes have drifted across the playing fields of St Andrew’s College and out over the town, conjuring up a bygone era which is still very much part of the school.
The St Andrew’s College Pipe Band is the oldest school pipe band in the country, dating back to 1938. Since its inception it has formed part of the cadet corps, and both have been a vital feature of St Andrew's ever since.
Many Old Andreans volunteered for active service in various wars and many lost their lives fighting in these wars. The continuation today of the cadets and the pipe band has more to do with maintaining tradition and instilling discipline than any military motive. The pipe band provides the musical accompaniment to the cadet parades.
The genesis of the St Andrew’s pipe band can be traced back to Patrick Terry, who taught himself how to play the pipes without any help. He began a programme of instruction and taught others how to read music and utilise the correct finger movements.
More recently, Ross Hoole has continued this tradition by teaching a number of boys from St Andrew’s Preparatory School how to play the pipes, which has meant that those continuing on to College already have a basic knowledge.
In1994, Christine Harris, a pupil at the Diocesan School for Girls, become the first girl to join the college pipe band. Since then, there has been at least one girl in the band. Sarah Kirk, a drummer, is one of only two girls in the band presently. She said she enjoys being part of something so traditional.
“I feel like any other member of the band who loves what we do,” she said.
Girls are a welcome addition to the St Andrew’s College Pipe Band, which works to maintain the close relationship between the two schools.
Playing a musical instrument is an immense benefit to the development of the brain. Learning to play the pipes demands a great deal of self-discipline and concentration from those that play them. It is a difficult ensemble to join and the result is a highly motivated and passionate team that strives for excellence.
Richard Hobson, a piper, asserts that playing the pipes requires “time, patience and hard work".
"The bagpipes are a great way to escape the world around you; when I play, it is as if everything around me disappears and I can have some time to myself, and enjoy my own music,” he said.
Ulindelwe Ratsibe, who joined the band to stretch his musical horizons, said that the pipe band has “rewarded me with a new skill and helped me gain friends for life”. Ulindelwe hopes to continue playing the drums in a pipe band once he has left St Andrew’s and perhaps even to teach tenor drumming. Hobson also wishes to pursue piping after school.
"I have no intention of giving up my playing," he said, "even though future experiences will never be the same as the experiences which I have had with this band."
In August, the band will be travelling to Glasgow to take part in the World Championships, the biggest week of piping and traditional music in the world. Some 8 000 performers from 150 countries will participate in more than 200 events attended by as many as 50 000 spectators.
The St Andrew’s band will be competing as an adult band, as some of the players are 18 years old and Old Andreans also form part of the band. Every piper in the band will be playing on bagpipes made by Chris Terry, who has been a continuous inspiration to the members of the band.
The band often performs for the greater Grahamstown community and pipers are often asked to play at weddings, funerals and other significant occasions. The band takes part in memorial Sunday every year with the SADF and assists them as much as possible when they require a parade band.
The St Andrew’s College Pipe Band is where the old and new meet, a space steeped in tradition and a place where every member becomes part of something bigger than themselves.
Chris Terry
Chris Terry has been a member of the St Andrew’s College Pipe Band for 32 years and has been an inspiration and guiding spirit whose name has become almost synonymous with the band.
He first started playing the bagpipes in 1961 under the guidance of his brother, Patrick, who taught himself how to play the bagpipes. Apart from five years when he was away from College, Terry has taken part in every parade that the St Andrew’s College Pipe Band has participated in.
Regarded as one of the top pipers in the world, Terry has an in-depth knowledge of, and passion for, Piobaireachd, the classical music of the Highland bagpipe.
He has a string of local and international competition victories under his belt, including Solo Successes, 16 “100 Guineas/SA National Titles” and eight places in prestigious Gold Medal competitions at Oban and Inverness, Scotland. At the Braemar Games, also in Scotland, he has twice won the silver medal given to the best competitor from overseas. He won the gold medal in 1985. He has been placed eight times in gold medal events and has 48 placings in various Highland Games.
Terry has been making pipes and practice chanters since 1980, earning him the nick name the Pipe Maker. Since then he has made more than 250 bagpipes; each one takes about 50 hours to make.
All the pipers in the SAC Pipe Band will be playing on bagpipes made by Terry at the World Championships this month.
Although, Chris has retired from College, he still coaches senior pipers and is an invaluable asset to the St Andrew’s College Pipe Band.
