About

The Beginnings

In the mid-1960s J.W. (Bill) Merriman, Jack Sutherland and Jerry Golanty – all members of the City of San Francisco Caledonian Pipe Band – recognized that with no organized effort to train young pipers and drummers in the Bay Area, this unique cultural art could eventually die out. In 1967 they assembled a small group of young pipers and drummers and started recruiting beginner students. A year later the Band was officially incorporated as a non-profit educational organization, the Prince Charles Junior Pipe Band.

Bill Merriman served as piping instructor, Jerry Golanty as drumming instructor, and Jack Sutherland as tenor/bass drumming and marching/deportment instructor. Several years later Trevor Atkinson, another Caledonian band member, became the drumming instructor.

All four of the founders have since passed away; however, the guiding principles they established – quality instruction, commitment and personal accountability – have not changed. As pipers and drummers grow in experience and maturity they are expected to pass on their learning to others.

A History of Success

The band, which began with a modest number of students, to date has trained approximately 500 pipers and drummers. There are very few bands in California that do not have former Prince Charles Pipe Band members in their ranks. And a number of Band alums have gone on to play in the top Bands in the world, including Field Marshall Montgomery, Simon Fraser University, St. Laurence O’Toole, and Inverary & District.

The Prince Charles Pipe Band has actually been many bands over the years, from Juvenile and Grade 5 all the way up to Grade 1. At one time the organization fielded a competitive Ladies’ Band. Besides entertaining for hundreds of events, the bands have competed successfully in the United States, Canada and Scotland. The Band has also been invited several times to perform as a featured Pipe Band at the Festival Interceltique Lorient in France.

Just five years after it began, the Band had increased to over 70 members and in 1973 traveled to Scotland to compete in international competition for the first time. The Band was awarded the Marching and Deportment Trophy at the Cowal Games, and was the Guest Band at the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban, the first time ever for a mixed-gender youth band. The Band established a name for itself, even among those in the old country who did not support the idea of both boys AND girls playing pipes & drums!

In 1978, the band returned to Scotland with much success, receiving a fourth place in the Juvenile grade at the World Championships and first place finishes at the Cowal Championships, the Rothesay Games and the Princes Street Games. At Princes Street, they “played up” to Grade 3 and finished 2nd!

In the 1980s, the Band did not travel to Scotland but competed with good results in North America, including Chicago, the Maxville North American Championships, the Vancouver Indoor and other venues in the US and Canada. Returning to Scotland in 1991 the Band won second place in Juvenile at the World Pipe Band Championships, capturing the first place award for drumming. This successful trip included a 5th place at the European Championships, and repeat first place finishes at Cowal, Rothesay and Princes Street. Playing up, the Band took a 2nd in Grade 3 at Perth and a 4th in Grade 2 at Princes Street.

In 1997, a new Prince Charles Junior band competed at the World Championships, receiving a third place in the Juvenile grade, as well as a third place at Cowal and first place at Crieff. In 1998, the Band, now competing as a Grade 3 Band, took 5th place in the World Championships and 1st at Crieff. In 1999, the was upgraded once again and traveled to Scotland as a Grade 2 band, finishing 2nd at Bridge of Allan and 6th at the Worlds. In 2000, all the hard work paid off and the band captured the World Championship trophy for Grade 2.

In 2001 the Western US Pipe Band Association (WUSPBA) elevated the Band to Grade 1, the highest grade possible.  The Band competed successfully on the West Coast and returned to Scotland in 2003 and 2005 to compete in the Grade 1 World Championships.  At the same time, a Prince Charles Grade 3 Band comprising younger, highly motivated talent was “tearing up the field” in competition and traveled to Scotland in 2003 to successfully capture first prize in the World Championships in Grade 3B. With two World Championships in a three-year span, the Band was riding high. But the cyclical nature of school, careers and family priorities led the organization through another transition in 2006-07. A new Senior band emerged in fall of 2008 with the establishment of a Grade 2 competition unit.  This Band won the 2009 WUSPBA Grade 2 Champion award in its first year of competition, and went on to win it quite regularly during the next decade. In 2015, the Grade 2 Band was undefeated in every WUSPBA event it entered, and also placed 6th overall (3rd in Medley) at the North American Championships in Maxville, Ontario, and 2nd in Montreal.

Competition Highlights

  • 1973 – Guest Band at Argyllshire Gathering, Scotland (First overseas and mixed-gender youth band to perform there)
  • 1978 – 1st Place, Cowal Gathering, 4th Place World Championships Juvenile
  • 1991 – 1st Place, Cowal Gathering, 2nd Place World Championships Juvenile (1st place Drumming)
  • 2000 – WORLD CHAMPIONS, Grade 2
  • 2001-05 – Senior Band is Grade 1 (WUSPBA Champions three years)
  • 2003 – WORLD CHAMPIONS, Grade 3B (Junior Band unit)
  • 2009-18 – Senior Band Grade 2 WUSPBA Champions 8 of 10 years
  • 2015 – Grade 2 Undefeated in WUSPBA events, 3rd Place in Medley at North American Championships

The 50th Anniversary

The Band celebrated a half-century of musical excellence, camaraderie and fun during its 50th Anniversary year. In October 2016 a Reunion Gala dinner and ceilidh drew Band alumni from all the “generations” of the Band dating back to its inception in 1967. In June 2017 a “Friends and Alumni” picnic in Golden Gate Park in conjunction with a weekend Band Practice helped kick off a summer celebration that culminated with a trip to the Festival Interceltique Lorient held in Brittany, France where the Band was a featured guest performer.

The Future

The key to an organization’s ability to sustain itself is to keep teaching and growing.  Just like in the early days, the Prince Charles Pipe Band’s enduring magic has always started with a modest number of eager students who mature into talented competitors and sometimes world-class professionals. The Band welcomes all youth who are willing to commit to learning from the best instructors and want to have a fun and rewarding experience!

The Prince Charles Pipe Band is now in its second half-century of existence and is still going strong, thanks to the values and principles established by its founders and embraced by its members through the years.