Review of 2008

Good evening all and welcome to the University of Queensland Pipe Band Dinner for 2009. This year has been an extremely busy year for the band, packed with performances and experiences that will not be forgotten for a long time to come.

The year began with our usual recruitment at Market Day in ‘O’ Week on the 25th of February. Somehow we ended up sandwiched between the UQ Rugby team and some martial arts guys with sharp looking knives, (but at least we had a place to sit).

We again took our place in the St Patricks Day parade on the 14th of March and enjoyed marching (in the rain… again). We also enjoyed as is customary the celebrations which followed at the Irish Club, sharing a pint or two with our good friends from the Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band.

We marched on ANZAC Day through the city for the diggers 94 years on from the Gallipoli landing and for the crowd of about 50,000 people. It was one of the bigger bands we fielded this year and sounded great with everyone on board. We again enjoyed some refreshments and some more playing at the Irish Club.

On the 1st of May (running until the 3rd) we crammed ourselves into a mini-bus and headed off to the Australian Celtic Festival in Glenn Innes in New South Wales. After finally squeezing everything in we were so keen to get there that we only stopped at one of the highway wineries for a taste. We stopped again at Tenterfield for 10 minutes and though it was only our second time in the place were instantly recognised by the woman behind the 7/11 counter... “Hey, weren’t you guys from that band that was here last year?” (I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.) We played for ourselves on Friday night, in the street parade on Saturday morning and on stage multiple times throughout Saturday and Sunday, plus quite a number of impromptu pub or roundabout gigs. John “Antlers” Manfield inadvertently started a trend which would have us recognised wherever we went. It’s fair to say it was a very successful and enjoyable weekend for the band.

Another highlight for this year was the University of Queensland Diversity Week Concert on the 28th of May. The concert was a fundraising event for the UQ Multi-Faith Chaplaincy Service and it was great to be able to support the university and to represent Emmanuel College to the wider UQ community. This is a snippet of that performance.

We also took part in the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan ceremony at St Paul’s Presbyterian Church on the 21st of June. It was hosted by the Scottish Clans’ Congress of Queensland and was attended by Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. She personally spoke to and thanked the members of the band for the performance and despite the rain it is fair to say that everyone enjoyed yet another memorable performance. The church-ladies morning tea afterwards was in itself worth remembering. We went to Redlands again this year on the 19th and 20th of September for the South Queensland Pipe Band and Solo Championships. A mini-band competed and placed a well-earned second, out of two. But I think it’s fair to say that they did perform well and received very positive comments from the judges. A number of pipers and drummers also competed in the solo competitions and gained valuable knowledge from the experience.

Celtic Fyre also played at a private musical-night-out with friends-of-the-band Chris and Sal on the 12th of September in Park Ridge. It was a great night for those playing and for those who went to watch and enjoy the music. It was also good to mingle with other musicians and to enjoy good company in a relaxed atmosphere.

One of the major events for this year was the Ipswich International Tattoo on the 18th and 19th of April where we played separately as a band and in a combined mass bands performance with Ipswich Thistle and St Andrews Pipe Bands. It was great to work with the other bands and to get to know them better, particularly Ipswich Thistle who are good friends of the band.

Perhaps the most exciting moment for the band this year was the opportunity to perform with Andre Rieu at Suncorp Stadium in front of about 35,000 people. On the 3rd and 4th of December last year as part of the finale for Andre’s World Stadium Tour the band greatly enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not only marching and playing on stage, but dancing and singing as well. I’m sure all of the bands involved would agree that it was an impressive show and something a pleasure to be a part of. We even got our photo taken with the man himself and enjoyed the two after-show parties with the whole cast and crew.

We again performed on a number of occasions at Emmanuel College. These performances included the Emmanuel College Founders Day, the Rugby Fund raising Dinner, Bannockburn Community Awards Dinner, Cultural Awards Dinner and also the swimming carnival earlier in the year. We also performed again at the St Andrews Anglican church fete at Indooroopilly and a mini-mini-band performed at the International House Soiree.

We are now firmly aiming as a band at putting our best performance to date on the park at the Australian Championships at Caloundra in April next year. This will be a step up for most of the band and a challenge which should drive us to improve both individually and as an ensemble and promises to be a great experience for all.

Many thanks must go to the people who make it all happen. To Andrew our intrepid Pipe Major, to Spotty our equally daring Drum Sergeant and tutor, to Fraser our pipe tutor and to Emmanuel College for feeding us every Tuesday night. So thanks guys and thanks to the band and to all who contributed in whatever capacity to ensure that 2009 was a year to remember for the University of Queensland Pipe Band at Emmanuel College.