The band plays on, in Scotland

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Members of the Lord Selkirk Boys Pipe Band practise in Assiniboine Park for their trip to the World Pipe Band Championship. (PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

They're dreaming of playing their way to gold at the World Pipe Band Championship in Glasgow on Aug. 11.

Their mouths are watering at the thought of sampling a Scottish delicacy -- the legendary deep-fried Mars bar.

But, perhaps more than anything, for the 21 kilt-clad members of Winnipeg's Lord Selkirk Boys Pipe Band, competing against the best in the world in Scotland means a chance to pay tribute to the man who brought music into their lives -- Pipe Major Robert Fraser, who died in March at the age of 89.

After immigrating to Winnipeg with his wife and three children in 1957, the beloved pipe major with the thick Scottish accent founded the youth band, an organization for boys aged eight to 18. For 55 years, this compassionate, dedicated man taught generations of boys, including my own son, the art of the highland pipes and what it means to be a gentleman.

When he learned to play the pipes at the age of 10, his instructors refused payment, asking only that he pass his knowledge on for free to other boys. And that's just what he did. His philosophy was simple -- every boy, regardless of his family's finances, should have access to a set of pipes or drums at no cost.

To the boys in the band, he was a soft-spoken rock star in a kilt.

"It's going to be amazing playing in honour of Mr. Fraser," 16-year-old piper Jack McLarty explained Monday evening as the band tuned up in the sweltering heat at Assiniboine Park in one of their final practices for the worlds.

"He was a hero to everyone in the band. It's going to be a completely different trip. He'll be looking down on us that day. It was one of the hardest losses I've ever had to deal with. He was the person we looked up to. He brought music into my life."

The band leaves Aug. 7 for what is considered the Olympics of the piping world, a competition that draws more than 200 bands from around the globe to Glasgow every summer, including 17 from Canada this year.

It will mark the seventh time since 1981 the band has travelled to Scotland. On the last trip, in 2009, the boys managed a remarkable eighth-place finish in the novice juvenile division.

To say they're excited is like saying Winnipeg hockey fans were mildly pleased at the return of the Jets.

"I'm really excited," declared lead drummer Danny Murray, 17, as he tapped his drumsticks on a park bench while talking to a visitor. "We're not only competing on a world stage, but we get to learn about our Scottish heritage and culture.

"It's going to be very difficult, but we've been practising really hard. We believe we can go there and place in the top 10."

The band has been rehearsing in parks around the city for the past few weeks to get used to playing outdoors, as it will in Glasgow on Aug. 11. Their secret weapon is a tune entitled A Salute To Pipe Major Robert Fraser, written for the band's 50th anniversary in 2007.

"It's become the band's signature tune since Mr. Fraser passed away," explained instructor Dan Sloan, 46. "They're taking a piece of Mr. Fraser with them. The boys are pretty pumped up and so am I. I was on the first trip in 1981 when I was in the youth band. The experience of going overseas and seeing Scotland is amazing. It's overwhelming at that age."

For most of the boys, it will be their first time in Scotland. But for McLarty, it's no big deal -- he was born there and only moved to Winnipeg when he was eight. "Scotland doesn't really excite me, but going with the band is going to be fun," he beamed.

Unlike most of his cohorts, flame-haired Jack isn't salivating at a chance to wrap his taste buds around a deep-fried Mars bar, a sugar-intensive delicacy at Scotland's fish and chips shops. "It just doesn't appeal to me," he laughed. What he can get excited about, along with playing at the worlds, is the band's visit to the Lennoxlove Estate to play for Lord and Lady Selkirk, for whom the band is named. There's also a parade and a performance for the Lord Mayor of Glasgow.

But the emotional highlight will be a trip to the port town of Arbroath, birthplace of the band's founder, Mr. Fraser.

"I think it's going to be bittersweet," Murray confessed over the skirl of the pipes and the thunder of the drums. "We're there honouring his memory and life, playing a song written for him, but it will also be a reminder to the guys that he's not there anymore."

With a hint of a Scottish accent, McLarty added: "Playing for Mr. Fraser is probably more important than playing in the worlds. The day before he passed away, I was in Scotland, so I wrote him a letter telling him what he meant to me."

What the boys in this band need to know is, no matter what happens in Scotland, they're already champions. Faced with a devastating loss, they've conducted themselves with Amazing Grace.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 1, 2012 0