The Piper
Owen Reid — Vancouver Bagpiper
"I just want to play my pipes until I can't."
You're eight years old and your mother tells you that you're going to learn how to play bagpipes. I nodded my head and went back to watching cartoons.
My solo playing moved me from Novice → Juvenile → Junior → Senior Amateur and ultimately Professional. No prizes. But that was never the point.
For three years at the end of August I attended the Glentrium School of Piping in Nelson BC with Donald MacLeod as Head Instructor. After dinner we would play pipes for hours — dead easy, like driving a Ferrari, but better.
I was also fortunate to have a week's instruction with Bob Hardie. Some musicians have teachers. I had legends.
55+
Years Experience
1969
When I Started
500+
Events Performed
7
Countries Performed
The Triumph Street Years
Play Hard and Party Harder
The bands came one after another. The Seaforth Cadet Pipe Band — we left when they wanted us to get haircuts. It was the early '70s. The Richmond Pipe Band took me to Scotland for the World's and Cowal in 1977.
But it was Triumph Street that placed me on the front seat of an incredible roller coaster ride. The first year concluded with the '79 World's where we placed fifth — the highest placing a band outside of Scotland had ever achieved. We played the big sound and were backed up by a drum corps that won first.
That sound we had for those years is something I'll never experience again. It was magic.
2017 — The Return
I Woke Up Early with a Thought: "I Want to Join a Pipe Band."
The fog lifted in 1986. I was married. Starting a career. My pipes would sit in the box for months until someone needed a piper — I'd play for a month, then nothing for several more. This continued for thirty-one years.
Then one morning I woke up with a thought. I took my D finger and poked my spouse in the shoulder and announced my intention. She emitted a low growl and rolled over.
But I was back. The Vancouver Police Pipe Band was the best fit. Since joining I've been to China, India, France, Switzerland (twice), and Belgium. I'm now Staff Pipe Sergeant.
International
Scotland. India. China. France. Switzerland. Belgium. The Taj Mahal.
I first went to Scotland in 1977 with the Richmond Pipe Band — the World's Championship and Cowal. Years later I performed at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, one of the most prestigious pipe band events on the planet.
Since joining the Vancouver Police Pipe Band I've added China, India, France, Switzerland, and Belgium. The pipes have taken me further than I ever expected when I nodded my head at eight years old.
Most of my work is right here in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. That's where you'll find me when you need me.
The Pipes Go Everywhere
Ceremonies and celebrations. Beaches and ski slopes. Formal dress and gorilla suits. I bring the pipes wherever I'm needed.