My Scottish grandparents were a strong influence in my love of Scottish culture and particularly in fostering a love for bagpipes. When I expressed an interest in learning how to play, my parents sought out a way to facilitate such an endeavor. Fortuitously, the Lord Selkirk and District Boy Scout Pipe Band under the direction of Pipe Major Robert Fraser was the place they found for me.

Along with many of the current instructors, Lee Bowman, Jock Peden and Bob Stankey, I learned not only how to play music, but perhaps more importantly, make lifelong friends while developing good team member and citizen skills.

My maternal Grandmother purchased my first set of pipes while on a trip to Scotland in 1967. Over the decades since, I have been a member of Lord Selkirk, Centennial, St. Andrew's and Winnipeg Police pipe bands.

Dan Sloan had his interest in the bagpipes sparked at a very young age by watching various parades march down Portage Avenue. His interest was confirmed by watching the Manitoba Highland Gathering taking place in Selkirk Park in the early 1970’s.

Dan joined the Lord Selkirk Boy Scout Pipe Band as a student in September 1978 under the primary instruction of PM Bob Fraser and also Ian Dickson and was kitted and joined the performance band in July 1979. At the time Mr. Fraser also wanted band members to learn highland dance and Dan was instructed in highland dance by Jennifer White along with fellow bandmates Glen Doyland, Eric Dickson, Brian Krebs, Michael and Scott Sangster and Darryl Steel.

As he learned to play in the band and expand his repertoire Dan also took lessons from D.A. Will from 1979 through December 1984.

In addition to learning to play the pipes some highlights of his time in the LSBSPB were the first trip to Scotland in 1981, Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1984, Music camp at the Peace Gardens, various parades and festivals in and around Manitoba and trips to Fargo North Dakota and performances in the USA.

Dan graduated from the LSRFMPB on November 16, 1984. Following his graduation and some time off he joined the St. Andrews Society of Winnipeg Pipe Band under PM Bob Fraser before relocating to Thunder Bay Ontario in January 1990. While in Thunder Bay Dan played with the Thunder Bay Police Pipes and Drums under the direction of PM’s Lorne Clifford and Ken Wilson from 1992 through 1997 when Dan moved back to Winnipeg.

Upon his return to Winnipeg Dan re-joined the St. Andrews Society Pipe Band in about 1999 under the direction of PM’s Bob Fraser and Bob Stankey and remained with that band until the end of the season in 2008. Dan joined the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band in 2009 and currently plays in the parade band with this dynamic group of musicians.

Starting in 2009 Saturday mornings have become one of his favourite days of the week as Dan enjoys working as a chanter instructor with the LSRFMPB students.

I began piping with this band in the mid-60s. Mr. Bob Fraser was my first instructor (along with another fine gentleman named Doug Will on a few occasions), and he changed the course of my life. I learned not only how to play the pipes, but many, more important life lessons through his incredible generosity. On a personal note, after Mr. Fraser taught me the pipes, my dad became infected with the bug, so Bob wound up teaching him, then my younger brother in turn, and finally my son Alex. In the end, he taught three generations of my family, always with the same generosity and great good humour that he had with his many other thousands of pupils.

Once I graduated onto pipes, I played in the band alongside such stalwarts as Bob Stankey, John Fulton, Lee Bowman and Bob Cooper, to name but a few, and formed lifelong friendships along the way that I would never otherwise have made.

After graduation, I played for several years with the St. Andrew’s Band. By the late 90s I had gone into retirement as a player for a number of years, when my son Alex took up the pipes. At that time, I came back to the band teaching the pipes, as my other colleagues had already been doing. It has been my great good fortune to have been at it ever since, even to the point of allowing my son to twist my arm and bring me back into the active fold of piping with the current St Andrew’s Band. As many of our instructors could attest, nothing could be more satisfying than playing in a pipe band with members of your own family.

My wife Karen and I, have two children, Kirstie, and Alex. I have worked for over forty years as a Crown Attorney and am looking forward to retirement in a few months. Playing the pipes has been immensely gratifying for me, and the many wonderful friendships I have formed along the way, have been the greatest source of pleasure, satisfaction, and inspiration in my life.

My life in pipe bands began in chanter class with the Lord Selkirk RFM Pipe Band when I was 7, as the third generation of Pedens to have learned from Mr. Fraser. After graduating to the band, I spent much of my youth playing with the band, including two great trips to Scotland. Since graduating from the band, I've continued piping with friends and family with the Grade III St. Andrew's Pipe Band, and still enjoy passing on the many lessons I learned to the next generation of students. Outside of piping, I'm an economics instructor at the University of Manitoba.

Jane Ross started chanter lessons at the age of eleven with Beth Henderson and soon after joined the Henderson Highlanders Pipe Band. After playing with the Hendersons for five years, she met her future husband Dean and joined the City of Transcona Pipe Band in 1979 playing there until it disbanded in 1983. Jane was fortunate to have received instruction from Doug Will on piping for Highland dancers (she was a dancer herself) and will always treasure the handwritten music book Mr. Will gave to her. She returned to the Henderson’s for a year in 1983 and then began teaching with the Transcona & District Pipe Band from 1984 - 1988. Jane was also a member of the Sterling Centennial Pipe Band from 1985 to 1986 following which the Winnipeg Legion Pipe Band was created and she played with that band for it’s entire existence until 1998. She has great memories of competing at all the local highland games, in Montreal/Maxville multiple times, Santa Rosa and then Pleasanton, Chicago and of course Scotland. 

Other memorable moments were playing for the Queen when she visited Winnipeg in 1984 and at the opening of Canada’s Wonderland. Jane enjoyed playing solos and retired after advancing to Grade 1. She left the pipe band world for a number of years to raise a family but returned to join the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg Pipe Band where she played from 2007 to 2012. In 2014 Jane joined the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band, both as a member of the “big band” and also a competing member of the grade two band where she played until the onset of Covid. Jane remains a member of the Winnipeg Police band and has recently started teaching chanter students with the Lord Selkirk RFM Pipe Band.

Dean Ross began taking chanter lessons at the age of ten from John Pollock, one of the founding members of the City of Transcona Pipe Band. Dean played with the City of Transcona Pipe Band going through the ranks of the Junior B, Junior and then the Senior band until it disbanded in 1983. That same year Dean, along with Jane who was now his wife and whom he had met at a pipe band social years prior, played in the Henderson Highlanders Pipe Band for a season and then began teaching with the Transcona & District Pipe Band from 1984 - 1988. Dean was a member of the Sterling Centennial Pipe Band from 1985 to 1986. Soon after, the Winnipeg Legion Pipe Band was formed and he played with that band until it dissolved in 1998. Dean has great memories of playing in competitions in Scotland, Santa Rosa, Pleasanton, Chicago, Maxville and Montreal, playing for the Queen when she was in Winnipeg in 1984 and playing at the opening of Canada’s Wonderland. Dean enjoyed playing solos and retired in 1984 after playing in Grade 1 for many years. After some time away from piping, Dean returned to join the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg Pipe Band where he played from 2007 to 2012. In 2013, Dean joined the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band and also played in the grade two competition band until the end of the 2019 season. Dean enjoys playing with the Winnipeg Police band and has travelled with them to participate in many local events, parades and also numerous tattoos around the world. Dean has returned to teaching, which he has always enjoyed, and is now a chanter instructor with the Lord Selkirk RFM Pipe Band.

I began learning the pipes in the Lord Selkirk Boy Scout Pipe Band in 2005 and graduated from the Lord Selkirk RFM Pipe Band in 2015 as its pipe sergeant.

The band has certainly changed over the years, but has always remained a tight knit, fun group that plays great music! I have countless memories from this band that I will always cherish, from lessons with Mr. Fraser, to hiking up a mountain in Scotland with the band.

After graduating, I joined the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band where I play both performances and competitions with some fellow instructors, past band mates, and new friends.

I became an instructor with the youth band a little over a year after I graduated, after some not-so- subtle hinting from David Bowman that I should come help out. I started out with the intermediate students and eventually moved on to help out with the full band. It’s been a wonderful experience to go from playing with some of these members, to teaching them, and others, and watching them all progress both in playing, and in life.

Reid Kyrzyk started playing with the Lord Selkirk RFM Pipe Band in 2012. He enjoyed two amazing trips to Scotland and spent the 2020-21 season as Pipe Major. He is currently a science student at the U of M.

Heather is a well-known figure on the Manitoba and Ontario piping scene. She

began piping lessons at the age of 8 under P/M George Lawrence in the 402

Squadron Air Cadets. At the age of 12, Heather was introduced to the Winnipeg

Heather-Belle Ladies’ Pipe Band and spent 20 amazing years with them, nine of

them as Pipe Major. She began as a piper with the Manitoba Highland Dancers

Association in 1980 and remained with the organization until 1995. She resumed

dance piping duties at Scotdance Canada Championships in Winnipeg in 2016

and continues to this day.

In the late 1990s, Heather began her composing career and in 1998 was

selected as a finalist in the Pipe Tune for the Peoples’ Princess, a tune-writing

competition in honour of Princess Diana. She went on to win 2 nd prize amongst a

field of internationally renowned composers. She continues to compose and most

recently placed third in the Pipers and Pipe Band Society of Ontario (PPBSO)

75 th Anniversary 4/4 composition contest in November 2021.

Heather had the opportunity to play with both the 78 th Fraser Highlanders, the

Peel Regional Police Pipe Band and the Hamilton Police Pipe Band in the early

2000s. The knowledge gained in playing with these world-class performers gave

Heather increasing experience which she continues to share with other younger

pipers.

Since 2000, Heather has been an active solo and pipe band judge, and a

member of both the Prairie Pipe Band Association of Manitoba (PPBAM) and the

Piper’s and Pipe Band Society of Ontario (PPBSO). She is currently a member of

both the Grade 3 St. Andrew’s Pipe Band and the RCMP ‘D’ Division Pipes &

Drums.

Today, Heather teaches out of her home and also assists teaching with the Lord

Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band organization in Winnipeg (as of

October 2023.

Heather currently works as a nurse at CancerCare Manitoba and has one

daughter, Caitlin. Heather gained the new title of “Grandma” in July 2023.

I recently graduated from the band as the drum sergeant. I really enjoy passing my knowledge on to the younger people in the band, so I am now a snare instructor. To give some back story as to who I am, I am part of a military family, so I have been all over Canada. I am currently enrolled at the University of Manitoba studying engineering with the hopes to work on designing energy efficient homes. And of course, I have a passion for music. I started with learning the piano, and I couldn’t get enough of it. When I moved to Winnipeg, I decided to join a pipe band to meet some new people, and that has taken me to where I am today. My goal is to share my interest.

A big thank you has to go to our mom and dad in 1964-65 for taking my brother John and myself to The Lord Selkirk Boy Scout Pipe Band for lessons. John and I started on chanter, John stuck with it and I moved to Snare under the instruction of Bob Cooper and his father Harold Cooper. Both of them were very accomplished and dedicated drummers. From there I transitioned to tenor and eventually at the age of 13 moved onto the bass drum until I aged out. Note: in the 1960’s and early 1970’s the tenor drummers were only for show. You did not dare hit your drum, which is quite a difference from today’s mid section.

In 1973 PM Robert Fraser formed the St Andrews Society Pipe Band with the idea that students aging out of Lord Selkirk would have a place to continue playing in the piping community. At the age of 16 I started playing Bass drum for St Andrews and I continued playing there for more than 25 years. 

In 2009, I joined and continue to play the Bass drum with the Winnipeg Police Service Pipe Band. I very much enjoy watching the mid section students develop and progress on a weekly basis which couldn’t be possible without the dedicated instruction of past members, Sara Lantz, Caelen Plischke and Rob Babineau.

Kyle Kyrzyk started with the Lord Selkirk RFM Pipe Band as a snare drummer at the age of seven. He thinks fondly upon the countless band trips across the province of Manitoba and an amazing trip to Scotland in 2019. From 2021 to 2023, Kyle served as the Drum Sergeant, leading the drum corps through two competition seasons. After graduating from the band in 2023, Kyle is pleased to be continuing with the band as an instructor. You can often see him at practice wearing his white “Quabity Assuance” hat.

I played with the band as a tenor drummer for five years before becoming an instructor for the band. I am university student and I am honoured to help teach new students the music that I love. 

Caelen Plischke is a mid section instructor with the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band. Being a member of the band for 10 years from 2012-2022, Caelen is knowledgeable in the instruments, music and skills of both tenor and bass. Alongside playing with the LSRFMPB, he plays competitively in a Grade 2 band. Caelen is studying English and French literature alongside Education at the University of Manitoba.

Peter began drumming at the age of 9, in the Invereilean Pipe Band in Montreal, a community pipe band that his father started in 1964. Highlights were playing in the Massed Bands at Expo 67, and the 1969 Grey Cup Parade in Montreal.

Peter is a member of the Winnipeg Police Pipe Band and has travelled to France, Ireland, Switzerland and many other cities in the United States. Peter also has many interests in the Scottish community, and is currently the President of The St. Andrew's Society of Winnipeg, Est. 1871. 

Peter loves introducing drumming to the newest  LSRFMPB students each year.