ADVENTURES — with Ursula Maxwell-Lewis
If playing one of the two loudest instruments in the world has been your dream, it may be about to come true.
The Cedar Hills Caledonian Pipe Band is always looking for new musicians—and you don’t have to know how to play anything to join the band.
“It’s never too late to start,” says Garth Newlands, the band's pipe major. “The advantages of group lessons being that a piper or drummer gets to learn with their peers and can learn more quickly because they get encouragement from those around them.”
Although the instruments tend to attract people in their 30s or 40s, Newlands says two of the three most recent new members are in their 60s.
Originally formed as the Whalley Legion Pipe Band in 2002, the organization became a registered society in 2006 and is also member of the B.C. Pipers Association.
“In 2014, we started offering a pilot program for six months and that worked out so well—we had six students enrol right away—that we decided to offer it full-time and have been running it full-time for the last 11 years now,” Newlands explains.
Student pipers start with a practice chanter (similar to a recorder) and drummers with sticks and a drum pad.
“In a very short period of time you can see a lot of development in your playing,” Newlands says. “I’ve got one student who’s only been with us since December. She’s already playing tunes or music on the chanter. The average player can be on the bagpipes between 6 and 18 months. It’s all dependent on how much effort they put into it.”
Music is generally about tradition and the pipes and drums are no exception. So, I asked Newlands about the bagpipes he plays.
“I play a set of 1914 Peter Henderson Bagpipes made from African Blackwood, sterling silver, and ivory,” Newlands reveals.
The pipes were issued to his grandfather, Alexander Austin Newlands, during World War I when he was Pipe Major of the 48th Highlanders of Canada, 15th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Canadian Expeditionary Force.
“He played them until he was 82 years old,” Newlands continues. “They were loaned to his friend Bob Young with the Vancouver Police Pipe Band for a few years to keep them being played until my brother Colin learned to play in 1980.
“My brother Colin played them till he passed away in 1996 of a massive brain aneurysm and that is when I then took up piping and have played them ever since. These pipes have been played continuously for the past 111 years.”
Newland’s son, also a piper, plays a set of 2014 Peter Henderson Bagpipes made from African Blackwood, engraved nickel, and imitation ivory.
For the student without a heritage set of bagpipes, Newlands explains that one will spend about $100 on a practice chanter and $40 for a music book, which will remain a reference book.
The band's "Learning Program," which offers weekly lessons for one year, costs $500.
As for the Cedar Hills Caledonian Pipe Band, where do they play?
We’ll see and hear them at local events, and perhaps one day cheer them on at the World Pipe Band Championships in Scotland and other high profile Highland Games.
The Cedar Hills Caledonian Pipe Band offers weekly bagpipe and drumming group lessons on Tuesdays from 7 - 9 p.m. at Southridge Community Church, 12642 100th Avenue in Surrey.
For further information, visit chcpb.ca or email pipe.major@chcpb.ca. They can also be found on Facebook at facebook.com/CHCPB.
Ursula Maxwell-Lewis is the former owner/managing editor of the Cloverdale Reporter. Contact her at utravel@shaw.ca.
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MORE "ADVENTURES":
—————2012—————
Meet your muse in Surrey and Vancouver
—————2016—————
Sherlock Holmes: The Swiss Connection
Home on the range at the Cloverdale Rodeo
Off the British-beaten track by coach
A toast to Robbie Burns country
—————2017—————
Michael Jackson and the Rat Temple
Vimy Ridge on Canadian Museum of Flight radar
Volunteers at Cloverdale evacuation centre take the heat off of wildfire evacuees
—————2018—————
Tea tempts a self-professed coffee fanatic
-————-2019————--
Explore Nevada by travelling into a pioneer’s past
Japan’s courtesy, ofuro-style bathing, and snow monkeys
-————-2021————--
Historic Cloverdale United Church, signs of the times
Calgary’s Heritage Park offers a great deal of attractions
A Rocha’s Brooksdale Environmental Centre in Surrey offers rich experience
A trip to investigate some local magic
Prince Philip just got on with it—to our surprise
Festive reflections and recipes
*****
TABLES TURNED: Ursula Maxwell-Lewis chats about life, travel, and her start in journalism
-————-2022————--
Going through old paperwork and mementoes offers window into the past
A Lunar New Year lucky dip with historian Bob Sung
Caring and understanding at new hospice in Langley
Caring and understanding at Surrey Hospice Society
Escape to ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’
Emancipation Day and the Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia
‘Beyond King Tut’ is mysterious, magical, and impressive
The reluctant traveller’s Christmas gift
-————-2023————--
Local grandmothers group helps African grandmothers
Living History: The coronation of King Charles III
Surrey’s close connection with the RCMP Musical Ride
100-year-old Surrey quilt reunites McAdam family
Surrey International Writers’ Conference welcomes people from around the world
Your own family story is a priceless gift
Sally Ann Kettle Campaign is about more than Christmas cheer
-————-2024————--
Chinatown Storytelling Centre offers window into proud Chinese-Canadian history
A passion for print: reflecting on the life of Wally Coombs
Women in history, featuring Ireland's Pirate Queen
Christmas Gifts Amazon Doesn’t Sell
-————-2025————--
Cedar Hills Caledonian Pipe Band open to new members
