General Information about the Band
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The City of Melbourne Highland Pipeband is one of the largest pipe bands in Australia,
with in excess of thirty pipers and twenty drummers.
The members range in age from ten to sixty years, and represent an extremely broad cross section of the community. About half the band are women.
Practice
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Practice is held on most Thursday nights, from 7:30 to about 10PM .
Practice is held at 239 A'Beckett St Melbourne. This is on the corner of A'Beckett and William Sts , opposite the Flagstaff Gardens.
Before major competitions, some additional practices are held at the same location on Tuesdays.
In the basement of the practice rooms, is the MacLennan Tavern
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New Members
New members at all levels are always welcome, from complete beginners to expert players. Tuition is provided.
Learner pipers begin with a small instrument called a practice chanter which can be purchased for under $100.
The band has some sets of pipes available for loan when the learner has progressed to that point, but eventually pipers need to purchase their own pipes.
Drummers use band drums.
If you are interested in joining Contact the band or just come along to practice one Thursday and watch what goes on.
Contacting the Band
City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band
PO Box 3242
Melbourne Victoria 3001 Australia
Phone 0409 010 685
Fax +61 3 5428 4790
Email : enquiries@melbournehighlandpipes.com
Competition Bands
Full Pipe band competitions are held at Highland Gatherings in Victoria between December and April each year.
Some smaller mini band competitions are held over the winter.
Full details about the dates and locations of these competitions are available from Pipebands Victoria
The City of Melbourne Pipeband band is a regular competitor at these contests.
For contests, the band divides into a number of smaller
competition bands which participate at different levels.
Currently one group competes at Grade 2 and another at Grade 4. Both bands are Victorian Champions for 2003.
Uniform
The band's uniform incorporates the Logan/McLennan tartan in honour of its first Pipe Major Lewis MacLennan.
The standard uniform is a contemporary style suited to
the warm Australian climate and outdoor marching performances. The band provides
the major items of uniform (including a kilt) for each member, but members are expected to purchase their own socks and shirts.
On some very formal occasions a more traditional highland full dress uniform is worn.
