There’s something stirring about the sound of bagpipes. Residents and staff at Fairvern Nursing Home gathered for a performance by some of the members of Cameron of Lochiel Pipes and Drums on Tuesday night (October 3). Many of the residents clapped or moved their hands in time to the music, clearly enjoying the rousing tunes.
The band also presented a cheque for $210 for Fairvern’s redevelopment fund. The funds were raised at the band’s annual performance in the Concert on the Docks series – donations received that night are split equally between Fairvern and the band for use in purchasing instruments. It has been sharing those proceeds with Fairvern for the last four or five years, noted Pipe Major, Cameron Renwick.
Tuesday night’s performance was also an opportunity for two of the band’s three new tenor drummers to make an appearance.
Last fall, when Heather Panton joined, there were no longer any tenor drummers in the pipe band though there had been previously. When she saw video of flourishing tenor drumming – in which drum sticks are swung around between beats – Panton knew that’s what she wanted to do.
“The style of tenor drumming has changed since the last time the band had a tenor drummer,” said Panton.
Panton encouraged her best friend Sondra Van Dolder to join the band. “We just sort of took to it,” laughed Van Dolder. “We’re naturals.”
“Because of what we do, it looks much better when there’s more than one person doing it,” added Panton. “It’s a visual representation of the music. We always have people afterward saying, ‘you were amazing, that was so cool.'”
Look for Panton and Van Dolder at right in the video below.
They soon realized, though, that the aging drums and drum sticks in storage needed replacement, particularly for the flourishing style.
The two began fundraising to purchase some new drums. On National Tartan Day, April 6, they raised money at Huntsville Place Mall, and then the band applied for and received a $2,500 District of Muskoka Pay It Forward grant. That was enough to purchase and ship two tenor drums, along with clothing for new members, and Panton decided to buy her own tenor drum as well. The pipe band now has three tenor drummers – Leslie Tempest recently joined and was ‘kilted’ last week.
The tenor drummers have been learning to play and flourish under the tutelage of former OPP pipe band tenor drummer Bill Summers.
“It adds a different level of sound to the band,” said bass drummer Bill Beatty.
A total of four new members have joined the band in recent months and two new piping students are also learning to play. The band provides free lessons to those who want to learn – find out more on their Facebook page here.
Cameron of Lochiel Pipes and Drums formed in 1952 under then-Pipe Major Gibby Cameron.
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