G9 - A Magical Gathering!

Oct 31, 2022

The 9th South American Pipe Band Gathering (27-30 Oct) was truly a magical comeback, following the 3-years since the G8, and back in Montevideo for the first time since the G1 in 2004!

Pipe bands and dance corps

Eleven pipe bands and dance corps gathered in Montevideo from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, but we are most proud to also have had the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Regimental Pipes, Drums & Dancers of Alberta, the first non-South American pipe band and dance corps to have participated at a South American Gathering:

Argentina:

• Bariloche Highlanders Pipe Band

• Highland Thistle Pipe Band

• South American Piping Association (SAPA)

• St. Andrew's Society of the River Plate Pipe Band

Brazil:

• Brazilian Piper Pipe Band

Canada:

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police Regimental Pipes, Drums & Dancers of Alberta

Chile:

• Chilean Highlands Pipes and Drums

Uruguay:

• Hosts - Scottish Dance Uruguay

• City of Montevideo Pipe Band

• Latitude 33 Pipe Band

Adjudicators and instructors

We were most privileged to have had the following overseas and local instructors and adjudicators:

• Pipes: Craig Munro (Scotland), Scot Walker (USA), Keith Bowes Jr. * (Scotland)

• Drums: Tyler Fry (Canada/USA)

• Dance: Rachel McLagan (Scotland)

• Drum Major: Jared Redekopp ** (Canada)

• March & Deportment: Thomas Hobbins (Uruguay)

* Co-instructor at the Teaching Young Players session, along with Scot Walker

** Instructor at the Drum Major session

Solo Competitions

The G9 opened on Thu 27-Oct at 2pm with the Solo Competitions, at the Radisson Montevideo Victoria Plaza Hotel.  The G9 Solo Competitions included Piping (Adult Intermediate and Adult Advanced), Snare (Open), Tenor (Open), Bass (Open), and  Highland Dancing (Wee, Junior, Youth, Adult),  The G9 actually hosted the first ever South American Bass Drum Solo Competition.

The Solo Competition prize lists are posted below.

Photos: Jeannine Facht

Cocktail and adjudicator concert

The G9's Cocktail was the official opening of the Gathering, and we were honoured to have had this at the Residence of the British Embassy in Montevideo. The camaraderie and joy of being back together was self-evident, as this past gap in between Gs had been too long, but especially tough due to the pandemic.  It was indeed a celebration of both friendship and Scottish Culture.

The highlight of the evening was the Adjudicator's Concert, where Craig Munro, Scot Walker, Tyler Fry and Rachel McLagan delighted us with a sample of both traditional and Red Hot Chilli Pipers' repertoire and dancing!

Workshops and clinics

The G9 introduced a number of changes on the education front, based on feedback dating back to the G2.  At the G2 we realized that the topic-specific sessions were not working for most (for being too general), which is why we switched to band-specific sessions.  By the G8, the feedback was that one hour per band (every 2-or-so years) before the pipe band competitions was not working either, as most time was spent on tuning-up for the competitions.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, we had no choice but to focus on learning through posted materials, plus video-conferencing with instructors.  Generally speaking, SPBASA also pushed bands to focus on the learning opportunities in between Gatherings (a much larger period of time) vs. the comparatively brief weekend of the Gatherings.

Considering all of the above, SDU was able to offer at the G9 both topic-specific sessions (listed below), and band-specific sessions.  Competing bands and dance corps had their band-specific sessions after the competitions, based primarily on competition feedback from the day before.

Topic-specific sessions:

Piping:

• Band Practice Structure

• Individual tuning

• Teaching young players

• MSR Expressions

• MSR/Medley Construction

• Introduction to Piobaireachd

Drumming:

• Drum Corps Ensemble

• Tenor Flourishing

• Drum Majors

Dancing:

• Dance workshop for non-competing dancers

Massed bands

About 300 pipers, drummers and dancers attending the G9 played and paraded down Arocena Street, in the beautiful neighborhood of Carrasco, ending at the iconic Hotel Carrasco at Montevideo's Rambla on the River Plate.  The Massed Bands is the epitome of all pipe bands and Highland dancers coming together, the essence of the Gathering.

The Massed Bands parade ended with a Massed Highland Fling, followed by a street concert by the Adjudicators and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Photos @philliptatton

Solo Competitions - Piping

Solo Competitions - Drumming

Solo Competitions - Highland Dancing

Pipe Band Competitions

Dance Corps Competitions

N/P: No placing, competed for feedback only