Fife-based Douglas Murray’s appointment as Pipe Major of Grade 2 US pipe band, LA Scots was announced yesterday.
Today the former Pipe Major of Fife Police, and a champion solo piper, spoke to Piping Press about the challenges that lie ahead for him.
‘Firstly I have to say it is a great honour to be asked to fill P/M Scott MacDonald’s shoes. He has been an outstanding pipe major of the band leading it into Grade 1 and very respectable placings at the Worlds.
‘My ambition is to take the band once more back into the top grade. My work begins immediately and I will be having a good look at our MSRs and our Medley. If I can get them right then I think we will be in a strong position to challenge the best bands in what is a very difficult grade.
‘I will also, of course, be looking to see if there is room for improvement in our sound. The band currently play Shepherd Mark 3 chanters and Chesney reeds, a great combination. But of course I have my own ideas and will be examining every aspect of our tone: projection, volume, accuracy. This is something every new pipe major strives to get right and I will be no different.
‘It seems on paper very difficult for a Scotland-based pipe major to run a California-based band. However we already have a small nucleus of players here in Scotland and a few in Ireland.
‘Add to that our leading drummer Scott Walsh, the drumming tutor at Stewart Melville School in Edinburgh, lives only a few miles away from me in Dalgety Bay in Fife, and you can see that the job will be easier than first imagined.
‘Of course modern technology will play a part and I will be making recordings for the US guys to work on and then I’ll take them online to make sure everything is coming together.
‘We actually have an IT expert in the band who has new technology which allows distance playing in real time. That will be a great boon for us if it works out. As everyone knows simultaneous playing over the web is impossible because of the delay. If we can overcome that then online practices with unison playing will become a reality.
‘That said I will be making three or four trips to California each season for face to face work. We have ten pipers in Los Angeles and I will go out there for band practices, teaching and maybe a recital or two. I actually have an aunt in San Diego that I haven’t seen for many years!
‘Our aim for 2027 is to compete in at least two Majors, the Worlds and the Euros at Perth. If things come together we could add another Major perhaps earlier in the season.
‘It may be possible for my brother Jim to fly in from Australia to play with us, and there are a few other pipers, all excellent players, who may be joining us to strengthen the pipe corps.
‘Promotion to Grade 1 has got to be our main aim. I want the band to be back where it belongs and where it deserves to be. I had eight years with Fife Police and know what it takes in the top grade. But first we have to get there.
‘I will do everything I can to make that happen and build on Scott MacDonald’s legacy. Already this year we have seen another US band, Ulster Scottish, promoted to the top grade. I want to see the LA Scots added to that list of Grade 1 American bands.’
- Contact Douglas via social media or by emailing pmmurray@lascots.org.
Pipes & Chanters
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