Making Your Mark in the Piping World

This week I had the phone call that, at some level, I had expected. A good friend called to tell me that Darleen [Miharija] Milloy had died, after many years of living with MS. In the 1980s, when I first met Darleen ["Dar-Mi-Har"] she was about 20, a piper with the SFU Pipe Band, and an up-and-coming pro piper on the solo scene in BC and in Scotland. Darleen would go on to win both the BC Pipers' MacCrimmon Cairn and the Silver Medal at the Northern Meeting. Great prizes for any piper, and Darleen was over the moon with them, as was her instructor, Jim McMillan. "She has a touch for the piobaireachd" he used to say, with obvious pride.

Darleen also played in the SFU Pipe Band, and although she never fully liked the change to brogues for the ladies (!), she was a proud member of the band, and did a lot locally to support the band's many projects.

I was lucky to know Darleen pretty well at a very happy time in her life. She was a member of one of the best pipe bands in the world, she was a successful solo competitor with major prizes on her shelf, and she had a wide range of friends in the piping world...well before the days of email, web sites, and Facebook. At that time, Darleen also made a special connection with a young piper who had come from Minnesota to play with SFU: Derek Milloy. Derek and Darleen would eventually marry, and together they have been part of the piping scene all these years, Derek as a stalwart, long-serving member of the band, and Darleen as a supporter of Derek and the band.

Darleen made a point of connecting with people: asking their names, what tunes did you play, who taught you, where are you going next week, did you hear so-and-so's tune......and so on. Without a doubt, Darleen was strategic and competitive, and she was also engaging, inclusive and fun. I have many happy memories from those years of Darleen at solo contests, with the band in Scotland, and generally enjoying the fun and social atmosphere of the band.

Darleen and Derek have done a lot of living since those days. Both have made their mark in the piping world, and while there are many great results, recordings and records to show—the mark they have made is reflected in the comments of the many friends world-wide who have been affected by the inspiring example of their lives together.

Brandon Highland Festival

This weekend the CRPB launched it's 2011 contest season with a trip to Brandon, MB and the Brandon Highland Festival. The Brandon contest is always on the edge of spring—sometimes fully indoors, and sometimes solos indoors in the morning, and bands outside in the afternoon. This year, the heavy rain started Friday, the temperatures dropped, and 15cm of snow blew in through Saturday and into Sunday, preventing some people from getting to the games, and almost keeping us in Brandon an extra night.

Regardless, the games went on, and the CRPB put in two solid performances, with one drumming win and one piping win against a very well rehearsed competitor. Given that this was the first time out with the new drum corps [about half the snare line, as it turned out], and three new sets, there was a lot to be happy about. One of the really cool moments for me personally was getting to the line, turning to start the band, and seeing two very old friends standing ready in the drum line. The last time that I played in a band with these guys was in 1991, in another lifetime! In the months since Blair "Buz" Brown and Roland Reid have joined the band, they have both worked tirelessly and with humour to bring their significant skills and experience to bear on the band, and we're all better for it.

Sunday morning was a 9:30 start for a great band practice in Brandon [after fighting through several inches of snow in the school parking lot], and we worked on some bits and pieces, played through the material, and made note of things to work on individually.

In short, a great start to the new year, with a very refreshed band, and a successful first run with the new team.