Simon Fraser University Pipe Band
Events
The Simon Fraser University Pipe Band of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada was formed in 1966 during the university’s inaugural year. Over the years, it has become a respected institution in the community and has brought fame to B.C. with its capture of national and international prizes.
Led by Pipe Major Terry Lee and Lead Drummer J. Reid Maxwell and wearing the Ancient Clan Fraser tartan, the band consists of a talented core of over thirty players. In 1982, the band won the Grade 1 North American Championship, the top prize on the continent. In August 1995 at Glasgow, Scotland, the band captured the ultimate prize on the globe, the Grade 1 World Pipe Band Championship. A year later, the band returned to Scotland and captured the title again becoming the first pipe band from outside the United Kingdom to win the World Championship more than once. In 1999, the band regained the World Championship title, winning the World Drum Corps Championship in the process, and most recently, the SFU Pipe Band was the World Champion in 2001! In 2001 SFU also won the Australian Pipe Band Championship.
The band has produced nine recordings, two concert/documentary videos, and appeared on four BBC Radio Scotland broadcasts.In 2002, the band gave three sold-out concerts in Vancouver, Belfast, and Glasgow, making it one of the busiest winters ever. In April 2001 the SFU Pipe Band recorded a CD Live at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. On February 20, 1998, the band performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City. This concert marked the first time a pipe band has performed a concert at this prestigious venue. This debut performance was recorded and released in June 1998 as Simon Fraser University Pipe Band – Live at Carnegie Hall. In June 1996, the band released its first live album Alive in America, the first live, in concert recording in the United States of a pipe band. Both these concerts are captured in the band’s videos “The Legacy: The Road to Carnegie Hall and Beyond” and “Alive in America – The Concert”.
Most recently, the band has produced two new recordings both in studio and in front of a live audience at SFU. Called “On Home Grouind,” Volume I and II [to be released in 2006] capture the sound of the band with some of its best-ever material.