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Piping in the North Okanagan
Scottish piping and drumming has been established in the North Okanagan for a long time. Our founding member Barry Mattock marched with his father, a bass drummer, in the Kildonan Pipe Band, which ran until the early 1960s.
The MacIntosh Girls' Pipe Band was founded in 1947 by Horace Foote and was active until 1980. Our founding member Sheila Sperling played in it. In the early 1980s a group revived the band as a ladies' band, and it became the Kalamalka Highlanders, with Reg Scott serving as Pipe Major for twenty years.
Don MacLeod became Pipe Major of that band in 2004 and grew it from 21 musicians to 47, including a youth band of 21.
A new band, October 2012
After disagreements with the Society's directors over the direction the band should take, Don MacLeod left, and others followed. The North Okanagan Pipes and Drums was founded in October 2012 with 26 members, with a simple aim: to play music and perform for the community.
We are based in Vernon, and our members come from Armstrong, the B.X., Coldstream and Kelowna as well. Over the years our players have ranged in age from 10 to 82, and several families play side by side.
We wear the Ancient MacBeth tartan, in honour of the old Kildonan band.
We are not a competition band. We play for the pleasure of it, and for the community.
Bruce
Our bass drum is called Bruce. It was paid for by a supporter of the band, Corrine Sly, and named after her father. A small fox was painted on it in her own honour. Corrine died about eight months later, after a battle with ALS.
Photograph - the full band
Photograph - the drum corps
Photograph - Bruce
