Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch

The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch (RSPBANI) is a governing body to oversee Pipe band competition in Northern Ireland. It represents approximately seventy pipe bands in full membership of the association in Northern Ireland and over three thousand individual members.

The RPSBANI organises and delivers all Championship Pipe Band and Drum Major Contests in Northern Ireland and the Ulster Solo Piping and Drumming Championships. They are dedicated to the promotion of the culture and advancement of Pipe and drum music and the encouragement of arts and cultural tourism across Northern Ireland. The branch provides advice, assistance and guidance to the piping community generally on organisation, governance, education and music development. They also provide a teaching facility across Northern Ireland to nationally accredited standards.^[1]

History

Formal gatherings of pipe bands in Northern Ireland, for the purpose of competition, date back to 1912 when the Northern Ireland Bands Association regularly held indoor contests. Due to a growth in numbers of bands and the necessity to compete outdoors, the Northern Ireland Pipe Band League was formed in 1945. It was also in 1945 that an association of pipe bands was set up in Southern Ireland and both organisations endeavoured to work together to create the All Ireland Pipe Band Championships, an event which continues today under the auspices of the Joint Authority Council.

To become an affiliated branch of the parent body in Scotland, at that time the 'Scottish Pipe Band Association', it was necessary to have interest from at least ten bands and so in October 1950, the Northern Ireland Branch was formed. In its sixty one years of affiliation to what is now the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, the RSPBANI Branch has grown tremendously and now has far and away the largest membership of any branch in the Association and is one of the largest pipe band organisations in the world in its own right.

As bands and Branch membership grew, an educational plan to service and develop the membership bands and individual musical competence as well as to develop new member bands and individuals was established. Out of this plan the RSPBANI School was set up in approximately 1979 so that pupils could receive instruction in both the practical and theory elements of piping and drumming. Over the years the education project of the Branch has had a number of brand names, including the Northern Ireland Piping and Drumming School but now is known simply as the RSPBANI Branch School where pupils can achieve standardised and recognised SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) qualifications.

Operating Arrangements

To service the whole of Northern Ireland, the Branch is divided up into four sections: Co. Antrim, Co. Down, Mid Ulster and Co. Fermanagh. The Sections are made up of bands operational in their respective areas and they operate with a full structure of Office Bearers. Section meetings are held regularly throughout the year and each has an Annual General Meeting. Each Section also appoints a representative who sits on the Branch Executive to maintain communication throughout the organisation.

All member bands operate with committees made up of chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. This allows the channels of communication to remain open from playing members through to the Sections and Branch to the Executive Committee which runs the Branch.

Education

RSPBANI believes strongly that education of our bands, drum majors and young people is the very foundation by which we can achieve our goal. We are extremely proud of what already has been achieved by our education project since its inception almost three decades ago and particularly the achievements since we rebranded our school two years ago. We recognise the potential for further growth and success amongst our students. RSPBANI intends that our school will not only maintain the established centres but to expand where there is identified need and opportunity. We will explore the set-up, within the Branch, of a dedicated educational facility which would, in line with our view that education is central to achieving our vision, also incorporate the RSPBANI office and Project Manager. The piping and drumming tradition that is so strong in Northern Ireland, which demands that our bands achieve world championship success and status, requires the teaching of theory and practice in music to be far more focused and adequately resourced. We intend to continue the development of our educational programme and work towards the day when it is fully integrated within the national curriculum/extracurricular life of our day schools. Some recognition is currently given by the exam boards of Northern Ireland to our musical tradition but we still have to convince these same boards that more appropriate options in music ought to offer to students who wish to study at GCSE or advanced level. Meanwhile, it is for the aforementioned reasons that we currently consider it to be more of an advantage for our students to take the qualifications offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. We suggest that this would also assist not only local pipe bands but would also facilitate the development of school pipe bands within a curricular framework. Some of the advantages arising from the qualifications are; • Students better understanding of music theory and practice • Cascading the learning back to their own bands • Personal development • Degree opportunities We intend over the next three years to examine the use of new technology e.g. Skype to assist in the teaching of piping and drumming. The use of internet technology is no longer a new concept and removes the distance barriers. While this technology is particularly suited to individual tuition, there is scope for teaching classes, particularly master class type tuition.

Member Bands

• Ballycoan Pipe Band
• Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band

References