Monash bagpiping duo take Scotland by storm at World Pipe Band Championships

The Canterbury Caledonia Scottish Society Pipe Band in action.

Photo courtesy Thomas Cameron.

Just over two weeks ago, a pair of Monash bagpipers attended the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, to compete with their respective pipe bands.

Thomas Cameron, a second year music student, performed with the Canterbury Caledonia Scottish Society Pipe Band of Christchurch New Zealand in the Grade 1 competition, while second year engineering/commerce student, Mihin Perera, represented the Hawthorn Pipe Band in Grade 2.

The World Pipe Band Championships is the biggest bagpiping and pipe band event in the world, over 15,000 spectators attend the event and the BBC provides a global broadcast.

Of the 15 Grade 1 bands in attendance, Cameron’s was the only band based in Australasia, competing against the best pipe bands in the world, including 10 ‘local’ bands from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Cameron said it took hours of preparation for both himself and his New Zealand based band to prepare for the competition.

“I go over (to New Zealand) maybe – before a competition – two or three times to play with the band,” Cameron said.

“I practice pretty much two hours a day on my own.” 

Thomas on national tv.

Photo courtesy Thomas Cameron.

The 21-year-old is of Scottish decent and said competing on the biggest bagpiping stage in the world meant a lot to his family.

“I grew up going to highland gatherings…my grandfather played for the band, my dad played for the band, all my uncles and aunts played for the band,” Cameron said.

“With all my family and friends back home watching, it was really nerve-wracking marching up, but as soon I started I completely forgot it was the World Championships.

“It was big being the first one in the family to be on the world stage.”

Cameron and the Canterbury Caledonia Scottish Society Pipe Band had four performances across the two day event.

After a solid start to the campaign and three good performances at about “90% of what we thought we could put on the park”, Cameron said everything fell into place during the bands final performance.

“Our last performance was the best performance by far, it was 100%, we smashed it out of the park,” Cameron said.

“After that set I had chills running down (my spine), it was insane and I felt so happy – the tuning was really, really good.

“As we were walking off I couldn’t stop shaking and smiling.”

The Canterbury Caledonia Scottish Society Pipe Band of Christchurch New Zealand finished 12^th overall, an impressive display for the youngest band competing in Grade 1.

Monash’s other representative at the event was 19-year-old, Mihin Perera. Perera performed with the 2018 National Pipe Band Champions – the Hawthorn Pipe Band – in Grade 2. 

Mihin takes the field in Glasgow. 

Photo courtesy Mihin Perera.

Grade 2 bands performed one ‘qualifying’ set before performing a ‘final’ set if it progressed after the qualifying round. Unfortunately for Perera, his band didn’t progress past the qualifiers, however he said the experience alone was its own reward.

“We (Hawthorn Pipe Band) went into the qualifying round and we were really happy with how we went, you know, the performance we put on the park,” Perera said.

“Unfortunately we didn’t qualify, which was obviously quite upsetting for us considering how we felt about the performance but ultimately we were happy with our own personal development.

“The band is 105 years old and it was the first time in those 105 years that it travelled to compete at the World Pipe Band Championships, so historically for the band it was a massive thing.”

A highlight for both performers was the opportunity to perform in-front of such a large crowd and on national television. The electric atmosphere was something the boys were sure to soak up.

“As I was marching up, every single time I was freaking out,” Cameron said.

“Watching our final performance, I reckon there was close to 500-700 people watching just us and then there’s the BBC doing the live coverage.

Perera was similarly awestruck by the large number of on-lookers in attendance.

“Going into the ring itself and actually performing on the day – there’s a crowd of around 15,000 – so it’s pretty big, definitely the largest crowd I’ve ever competed in-front of,” Perera said.

Both performers have upcoming competitions for their respective bands, so keep an eye out for more results from our talented bagpiping duo.

Congratulations on your efforts overseas boys, we here at TeamMONASH couldn't be prouder!

#BleedBlue #MonashPride

Written by Joseph Arthur, Media Coordinator