New Era as Outdoor Contest Season Starts for Tweedvale Pipe Band.

After 9 years as a Grade 4 band, a new era dawns for Tweedvale Pipe Band this Saturday 12 May at the Dunbar Pipe Band contest, the traditional season opener. When the band draws up to the line to commence the first performance of their tenth outdoor competition season it will do so as a Grade 3 band, having been promoted at the end of the 2006 contest season. Grade 3 provides new challenges to Tweedvale not least the fact that the band now has to have two competition pieces ready for performance – a medley lasting between 3 and 5 minutes where almost anything goes, and the traditional March Strathspey and Reel set.  This year’s Dunbar contest, held as always in Winterfield Park, is a large event with 14 bands entered in Grade 3 with 5 other grades of competition being held on the same day. Tweedvale will be taking to the contest arena just before 2.30pm having been drawn to play 9^th out of 14 bands in the Grade 3 event, which this year requires a March Strathspey and Reel set to be played. The band has also entered the Grade 2 event, allowed for under the rules.

Speaking at a practice before the Dunbar contest, Tweedvale Pipe Major Bruce Gillie said "I’m reasonably happy with the way the band is shaping up for the season. Our playing and our sound are coming along nicely. We have had to work extremely hard on our competition pieces this year as we have had to learn two completely new pieces for scratch because of the requirements of Grade 3. This year may well be a tricky one for us because of our upgrading – most band members have not played at this level before and will have to do a lot of learning very quickly. This Saturday will be a big test for them but I’m sure they will come through with flying colours. I know that the rest of the band members are looking forward to a challenging season with lots of good performances and possibly prizes to go with them.”

This Saturday sees the first contest of a ten contest long season for Tweedvale Pipe Band. Directly after this weekend’s contest at Dunbar comes the first “major” championship of the year, the Scottish at Dumbarton. Following on from that are contests at Bathgate and Innerleithen. There is a month’s break from the competition circuit in July before another run of 5 contests commences at the end of the month and continues all the way through August into September. Band supporters are reminded that seats on most contest buses are in short supply because the playing size of the band has increased. It is essential to pre-book places on buses this year. Please contact the band secretary for further details via email: charles.gray@ed.ac.uk. If any local business would like to sponsor a Tweedvale Pipe Band coach, they are also encouraged to contact the band secretary. Further information about the band can be found on the band’s website at www.tweedvalepipeband.com.