Calling all pipers and drummers

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This article was published 08/06/2022 (1558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A young bagpiper whose songs invoke a time and place far from modern-day Manitoba recently earned the title of most promising piper.

Silver Heights resident Spencer Roberts, an 11-year-old member of the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band, won this honour — and the title of first place solo performance — at the Saskatchewan Highland Gathering and Celtic Festival in Regina, Sask. over the May long weekend.

Spencer joined the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band in 2019. He started out playing a chanter, an instrument that resembles a recorder, from which the bag and drones of a bagpipe are attached. Spencer graduated from the chanter to the complete setup through weekly lessons after a couple of years.

The band, which boasts the motto of sharing traditional Scottish music with young people, is calling on new members to pick up their drumsticks or bagpipes and join the group. (The band’s numbers have dwindled due to the pandemic and the upcoming graduation of four of its older members).

If a prospective member doesn’t have an instrument, that’s alright, too. Because the organization provides the uniforms, instruments and lessons at no charge, as the founder would have wanted it.

The band was started by a piper named Robert Fraser, who moved from Scotland to Winnipeg in 1957. Upon arriving in Canada, Fraser started a Boy Scout pipe band. And, for nearly a half-century, he taught music to thousands of young musicians — for free.

Today, the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe band is open to musicians of all genders and levels of musical experience from ages seven to 17.

“Once they can play five tunes, they get their uniforms,” said Westwood resident Rob Tighe, the father of 13-year-old snare drummer Danny Tighe.

At the Saskatchewan Highland Gathering and Celtic Festival, Danny earned a gold medal for his 2/4 time signature march, a silver medal for his 6/8 march, and tied for the honour of drummer of the day. Both he and Roberts were awarded scholarships to attend a band camp in Regina later this summer.

Many students who graduate from the program go on to play for other local groups, including the St. Andrews Pipe Band and the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary at City Hall. It’s volunteers from these bands that teach the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band.

“It can be a lifelong thing for them,” said Roberts’ mother, Tara Roberts.

The band creates strong mentorship bonds between the younger and older musicians, Tara said.

“They’re all really great kids,” she said. “It’s nice to see the support they get … If we could get some more kids out, that would be wonderful.”

Some Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band members will be competing in solo competitions hosted by The Prairie Pipe Band Association of Manitoba in June and July. The band will also give a tribute performance on June 18 for Bob Cooper, an instructor who died last year.

“Even though they don’t really practice throughout the summer, they do parades throughout the summer,” Rob said. “They’ll be in Altona; they’re going to be in Brandon on the 11th. Anyone can join at any time.”

For more information about the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band, or to sign up for the ensemble, visit www.lsrfmpb.ca