Simon Fraser University Pipe Band

Infobox Pipe band
name = Simon Fraser University Pipe Band


established = 1966
location = Burnaby, British Columbia
grade = 1
major = Terry Lee
pipe sergeant = Jack Lee
sergeant = J. Reid Maxwell
tartan = Ancient Fraser
honours = Winner, World Pipe Band Championships: 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2008
website = [http://www.sfupipeband.com/index.htm www.sfupipeband.com] |The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band (SFUPB) is a grade one pipe band affiliated with Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada (a suburb located just east of Vancouver, BC). The band has consistently placed in the top three in world competition and has won the Grade One World Pipe Band Championships Five times: 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, and most recently in 2008. SFUPB is one of only three bands located outside of the United Kingdom that have won a World Pipe Band Championship (the other two being the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band and the Victoria Police Pipe Band). In addition, the band has placed second seven times -- finishing in the top two in the world in 12 of its 26 years.

SFUPB regularly competes in Highland Games competitions sanctioned by the British Columbia Pipers Association in the northwestern United States and southwestern British Columbia before traveling to Scotland in August for the World Pipe Band Championships. The band wears the Ancient Fraser tartan.

Since 1994, the SFUPB has led an extensive family of pipe bands which each compete in their own grades. This organization is called the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band.

The band has produced nine recordings, two concert/documentary videos, and appeared on four BBC Radio Scotland broadcasts. In 2002, the band gave three sold-out concerts in Vancouver, Belfast, and Glasgow, making it one of the busiest winters ever. In April 2001 the band recorded a CD live at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. On February 20, 1998, the band performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City. This concert marked the first time a pipe band has performed a concert at this prestigious venue. The debut performance was recorded and released in June 1998 as "Simon Fraser University Pipe Band - Live at Carnegie Hall". In June 1996, the band released its first live album "Alive in America", the first live, in concert recording in the United States of a pipe band. Both these concerts are captured in the band's videos "The Legacy: The Road to Carnegie Hall and Beyond" and "Alive in America - The Concert". [http://www.sfupipeband.com/html/history.html]

The band performed twice for Queen Elizabeth during her 1983 Vancouver visit and opened for rock star Rod Stewart at his 1989 and 1991 Vancouver concerts. In addition, the band has been profiled internationally on CNN and BBC, nationally on CBC Newsworld, CBC Radio, and CTV, and has been featured several times on Vancouver television and radio stations. [http://www.sfupipeband.com/html/history.html]

Notable SFUPB personalities

* Jori Chisholm
* Jack Lee - Pipe Sergeant
* Terry Lee - Pipe Major
* Robert MacNeil
* J. Reid Maxwell - Lead Drummer
* Stuart Liddell
* Alan Bevan
* Steven McWhirter
* James Beaumont
* Callum Beaumont

External links

* [http://www.sfupipeband.com/ Simon Fraser University Pipe Band]
* [http://www.bagpipelessons.com/bbcworldsvideo.html A video of the SFU Pipe Band.]
* [http://www.tartantown.com/ Tartantown.com - Official supplier to the SFU Family of Bands]
* [http://www.phsd.net/ Piping Hot Summer Drummer - SFUPB Piping and Drumming Summer School]
* [http://www.rmmpipeband.com/ Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band - The SFU feeder band]