Old News

March 2021: Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Our first time back together in what feels like forever, and we had glorious weather for the occasion. We played as “Roaming Bagpipers” in downtown St. Charles, IL, as part of an event that was held in lieu of a St. Paddy’s Day parade. We ended the day at the patio of Pollyanna Brewery.

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2020: The Alliance Pipe Band had great momentum leading into this year. The piping season was about to begin, and Wes and Lillian had the honor of playing for a St Baldrick’s event in Huntley, IL. Very soon thereafter, the Covid-19 pandemic clobbered parades, pipe band gatherings, and events.

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2019: The Alliance Pipe Band picked up momentum, placing 4th in Milwaukee, 6th in Chicago, and 3rd in Waukesha. A 3rd place finish overall! Bring on 2020 season!

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2018: This year, the band competed in Chicago and took 4th. Then we formed the Alliance Pipe Band with the Chicago Highlanders Pipe Band. Why? Well, In order to compete, DSPB needed drummers, and CHPB needed pipers. A friendship between the bands kindled and we named the band the Alliance. After just a couple of months of practice together, the Alliance Pipe Band, with Wes Williams as Pipe Major, competed at Waukesha and took 3rd place!! As soloists, Beth Douglass took 2nd place overall in Grade 4 Junior Piping, and Lillian Prince had her solo debut in Waukesha, placing 4th in Senior Novice. We cannot wait to see what 2019 brings!

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2017: The band competed this season as Grade 4 and took Champions Supreme!! That’s back to back wins!! We placed 2nd in Milwaukee, 4th in Chicago, and 1st in Waukesha. Stellar job, everyone!

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2016: The band competed and took Champions Supreme in Grade 5!! Moving up to Grade 4 for 2017!! Several of our soloists also had a fantastic season. In Senior Novice, Mark Kilgore took Champion Supreme! In Grade 4 Light Piping, Tammy Micelli took 2nd place and Egan Dickerson took 3rd overall. Tammy also placed 4th in Grade 4 Piobaireachd. Both Tammy and Egan are moving up to Grade 3 soloists! Beth Douglass had her solo debut and placed 3rd in Junior Novice Piping. Grace Jirsa placed 1st in Bass Novice and 2nd in Tenor Novice. Upward and onward!

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2015: The band competed and placed 5th overall in Grade 5. Several of our soloists had a great season. In Senior Novice, Alix Cunningham took Champion Supreme, and Clair Douglass took 3rd overall. In Grade 4 Light Piping, Egan Dickerson took 3rd overall. Josh Cunningham took 3rd place in Grade 3 Light Piping. Grace Jirsa placed 1st in Bass Novice and 2nd in Tenor Novice. We are so proud of them all!

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September 2014: The band competed at the St. Louis Highland games and placed 3rd in Grade 5!  Wes took one first place in individual competition. Great job! Wes also took Champion Supreme in Grade 2.  Congratulations Wes!

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August 2014: The band competed at the Waukesha Highland games.  Wes took three firsts in individual competitions.

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February 2014: Wes and Josh had the honor of playing at the NWPBA competition.  Wes took first in ‘March’ and Josh took first in ‘Strathspey/Reel’.  Congrats guys!  Keep it up for the 2014 season!

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May 2013 in the Midwest. That means Highland Games season has finally begun! The “big one”…Alma (the US Championships) was hugely attended, and P/S Josh Cunningham was among the G4 pipers “going for the gold”. True to form, Josh did a FANTASTIC job!! He took 1st place in his 2/4 march, and also 2nd place in 6/8. If that isn’t awesome enough, he was named G4 Piper Of The Day! A HUGE accompolishment! Once again, we send our congrats to Josh!

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April came and we found P/S Josh Cunningham competing in the MWPBA Solo Championship Finals. All the winners from the numerous Regional Qualifiers headed to Chicago for this first time competition. And of course, Josh did not disappoint!! He took 3rd place in G4. So proud of you Josh!

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In the cold snowy midwest February, P/S Josh Cunningham made the trip up to Milwaukee, WI for the Regional Qualifier for the new MWPBA Solo Championships. Competing for the first time in G4 (after his Champion Supreme last year in Sr. Novice), Josh took 3rd place, and won a spot in the Finals in Chicago in April. Way to go Josh! Looks like its gonna be a great year!

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January 2013 brought the annual Winter Storm Competition to Kansas City, and once again our D/S Kylie Mervyn competed, moving up to Intermediate Bass after winning Novice in 2012. In almost unbelievable fashion, in her first try at mid-grade, Kylie wowed the judges and audience alike, and won again!!! Add another beautiful Andante Bass drum (as well as some great neck gold) to the collection! Way to go Kylie….now on to Pro Grade for 2014?!?!

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We at Dundee Scottish Pipe Band would love to congradulate one of our pipers, Josh Cunningham, on his fantastic solo season! This was Josh’s first year as a solo competitor, and he earned the title Champion Supreme for Sr. Novice! Great job Josh, and the best of luck next year as a Grade 4 solo competitor!

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Our season ended in St. Louis the last weekend in September. The field was huge, and the competition fierce! The band took Second place in Grade 5, and also Best Bass/Midsection! On top of competing in Grade 5, the band also took the field and competed in the Grade 4 competition. We didn’t win, however, we got some great feedback, and the outlook for moving to Grade 4 next season looks very promising! We ended the year in second place in the Champion Supreme points (congrats the the Highlanders for beating us by ONE point!!), however, for a second year band, with only one full season under our belts, WE DID GREAT!!!  Now, its on to 2013 and GREAT THINGS HAPPENING!!  Thank you to everyone for your support this season!

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Kentucky in September…what a great games! The band made the long trek down to Eminence, KY for the newly designated MWPBA games. A great venue and some great people made this an awesome trip! To put the frosting on the cake, as it were, the band sweeped the competition winning First Place, Best Drum Corp and Best Bass/Midsection in Grade 5! We all hope this games grows and next year even more bands compete, its definately worth the trip!

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Labor Day weekend was a first, as the Wisconsin Highland Games in Waukesha, WI held a 2 day pipe and drum competition. It was a nice weekend, and the band did great as always! Saturday, in the best performace thus far, ran away with the wins, taking First Place in Grade 5, and also Best Bass/Midsection AND Best Drum Corp!!  On day two, obviously, the other bands knew we were the group to beat, and they did their best to best us! While we didn’t win Sunday overall, we DID take 2nd place (pretty darn good!) and Best Bass/Midsection! Only two more competitions left this season, and we are looking to make it a strong finish to the season!

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In our last competition until September, Dundee Scottish attended the Chicago Highland Games, Itasca, IL, on Saturday, June 16. It was a hot day, and there was plenty of competition….Congrats go to the Drum Section again, winning Best Drum Corp Grade 5, and also the Bass/Midsection took 1st place, earning them the Mayor’s Cup!

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Saturday, June 2 took us to Milwaukee, WI for the Milwaukee Highland Games. Again, we had a fantastic day! Dundee Scottish had a clean sweep…1st Place Band, Grade 5….Best Drum Corp, Grade 5, and Best Bass/Midsection Grade 5!

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Memorial Day Weekend took the band all the way to Alma, MI. We competed not once, but twice, both on Saturday and Sunday! While Saturday didn’t fare well in the standings, we took 5th Place…the band rallied together, and brought home not only a 3rd Place on Sunday, but also the Bass/Midsection took home the George McCracken Memorial Trophy, United States Champion Best Bass Section!!!

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May 19, 2012 took us to Springfield, IL for the Springfield Celtic Festival. Again we are happy to announce that the band took FIRST PLACE in Grade 5, and also Best Bass/Midsection Grade 5 and Best Drum Corp Grade 5! It was a great day for everyone, way to go Dundee Scottish!

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Our first competition took place on April 28, 2012, at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, IL. We are pleased to announce that we took FIRST PLACE in Grade 5 at the Chicago Mini Bands competition! Congrats to the entire band!

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Congratulations to bass drummer Kylie Mervyn for her FIRST PLACE in Novice Gold Medal Solo Bass Drumming at Winter Storm 2012!!  Not only did Kylie win the medal, she won her choice of Bass Drum! She is proud of her new Andante drum!

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With 2012 comes many new experiences and opportunities! The first big contest of the season will take place in Kansas City on January 13, 14 & 15. Winter Storm is a weekend of solo competitions and workshops for all levels of piper, drummer and drum major. In 2012, our Bass Drummer, Kylie, will be competing in Novice Gold Medal Solo Bass Drumming. Good Luck Kylie!