Local drummer captures pipe band championship

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

Kelsey Drummond is elated after finally winning a championship, during the North American Pipe Band Championships in Maxville, Ont., after two previous attempts.
The 27-year-old tenor drummer plays with the Rocky Mountain Pipe Band, and during the championships in Ontario, they won in the Grade 2 division.
“It’s a lot of work to get to where it was,” said Drummond. “I’ve played for 16 years now and to do this well at this point of the game is freaking awesome.”
The Glengarry Highland Games are home to the North American Pipe Band Championships. The Games also featured dance and strength competitions.
Drummond and the Rocky Mountain Pipe Band edged out Worcestor Kiltie and the 400 Tactical Helicopter Squadron for the top spot in Grade 2 and was also awarded the best drum corps.
The bands are divided into five divisions called grades with the first grade being the top-ranked pipe bands. The pipe bands range from nine to 20 band members and they are judged by four different people.
Drummond originally started playing because of her brother Cam, when she was 11 years old.
“Cam joined a pipe band and mom was like, ‘you’re going to have to do something,’ so I started drumming,” said Drummond, who recently moved to Calgary from the Strathmore area. Drummond has also lived in Toronto and Hamilton, Ont., where she enhanced her drumming skills and attended school.
The first Glengarry Highland Games were held in 1948 with eight pipe bands competing. This year, more than 50 bands showed up for a chance to be crowned champions.
Rocky Mountain Pipe Band is currently raising money to compete in Scotland next year for the world championships. They are employing multiple fundraising techniques, including shows and a GoFundMe page, with hopes of reaching $25,000.
“It’s going to be a big fundraising year so I’m going to be doing lots of performances around Calgary,” said Drummond.