Vienna Pipes back from lockdown!

Vienna Pipes

We are are very pleased to announced that Vienna Pipes and Drums are back in action! We stayed busy during the lockdown(s) with weekly Zoom practises, and were very happy to resume regular band practices at the end of May.

Practices are run according to the 3-G–Regel (“geimpft, getestet, genesen”) and we are unfortunately not yet able to allow any visitors at our practices – we hope this can change soon.

The band has also resumed performances and we have played several private gigs in the last months. If you would like to hire the band for an event, you can find more information here.

Learn the Bagpipes or Scottish Drums!

Interested in learning to play the Great Highland Bagpipe or Scottish drumming? We have also resumed our free teaching programme. Our learner group meets on Wednesdays from 17:00-18:00 at the Pfarrsaal der Pfarre St. Florian, Wiedner Hauptstraße 97, 1050, Vienna. You don’t need to buy or bring anything at the start. We will provide practice chanters, drums sticks, drum pads, and learning materials. You also don’t need bagpipes or a drum — that comes later, after you have learned some tunes.

Teaching is free for young learners! If you decide you like it, you pay a yearly fee of €80 for membership of the band. Adult beginners are also welcome, though depending on your musical experience and progress you may also need to take private lessons. Several band members are experienced tutors and can offer paid tuition on the bagpipes and Scottish drumming.

More experienced pipers and drummers are always very welcome to join the band. The band is preparing for a return to competitions, with a return trip to the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow planned in August 2022. Join now to be a part of it!

More information here.

2019 Competition Results

Vienna Pipes

Vienna Pipes and Drums are safely back home after our 2019 competition trip to Scotland. The band had a great time and put on two strong competition performances.

We started well with a 4th place trophy at North Berwick Highland Games on the 10th August. The main event was the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow on the 17th August, where we competed in a tightly contested Grade 4B Qualifier 2. We were up against 19 other bands from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, USA, Switzerland, and Malaysia, including some very experienced competition bands. We came 8th overall, unfortunately not quite good enough to reach the final with the 6 top bands.

We were disappointed not to qualify for the final but the band is very proud of their Worlds performance. Feedback from the audience was positive and we were happy to be scored with two 6th places by the piping judges. We know where we need to improve for our next attempt.

This was our 5th season competing in Scotland and our 3rd trip to the World Pipe Championships. We plan to compete in Switzerland or Germany in 2020 and then return to Scotland in 2021 for another run at the Worlds. Practise starts now! Experienced pipers and drummers who are interested in competing with us should contact the band through our website or the band Facebook page.

Countdown to Scotland 2019

Vienna Pipes

The band has been quiet lately as we have been preparing for our August competition trip to Scotland. Twelve pipers and seven drummers will be flying to sunny Edinburgh next week to try our luck competing against pipe bands from all across the world. This year the Vienna band will be joined by 3 very experienced musicians, our good friends Irmi Foglar and Maggie Jeschofnig from Austria and Mai Ki from Germany.

The main event will be the Grade 4B competition at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow on the 17th August 2019. We will also play in North Berwick and Perth on the 10th and 11th August, where we will play in Grades 4B and 4A.

This will be our 5th season competing in Scotland and our 3rd trip to the Worlds. In our last competition season in 2017 we had our best results yet: 6th place at North Berwick, 4th place at Bridge of Allan, and qualification for the Grade 4B finals at the Worlds, where we were up against 60 other bands. We came 2nd out of of 19 bands in our qualifying heat, and then managed a respectable 11th place out of 18 finalists. This year we hope to improve on this result.

It takes a lot of hard work and harder cash to get the whole band to Scotland, and we would like to thank our many loyal supporters who come along to our Burns Nights, Whisky Tastings and other events and help us raise the funds that make it possible.

We’ll try and do Vienna proud, in the competition circle and the beer tent!

2019 Pipe Band World Championships: experienced Pipers and Drummers wanted!

Craig Parker

Vienna Pipes and Drums plan to compete again in Scotland in 2019. Any experienced Pipers and Drummers in Austria or elsewhere who are interested in joining us are invited to contact the band. We are looking for pipers, snare and tenor drummers.

The main event will be the Grade 4B competition at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow on the 17th August 2019. We will also play in North Berwick and Bridge of Allan on the 10th and 11th August, where we will play in Grades 4B and 4A.

This will be our 5th season competing in Scotland and our 3rd trip to the Worlds. In our last competition season in 2017 we had our best results yet: 6th place at North Berwick, 4th place at Bridge of Allan, and qualification for the Grade 4B finals at the Worlds, where we were up against 60 other bands. We came 2nd out of of 19 bands in our qualifying heat, and then managed a respectable 11th place out of 18 finalists. Next year we hope to improve on this result!

Musicians interested in joining us need to be strong, experienced players who can commit to learning the tunes, traveling to Scotland, and playing all 3 competitions. We will be playing four MAP 2/4 marches in Grade 4B and an MSR in Grade 4A.

Frequent attendance at band practices and workshops in Vienna is expected. Skype sessions can be arranged for those further afield.

European Art 47 Concert, Steiermark

Craig Parker

On 13th July the band traveled to sunny Steiermark to perform in the European Art 47 Festival 2018 concert in Hatzendorf. The goal of the festival is to bring together artists from all European countries in a series of concerts and performances. We were proud to represent both Scotland and Vienna at this year’s Begenungskonzert , performing alongside the very talented musicians and dancers of the Dudaryk choir (Ukraine), the Halicz dance group (Poland) and the Steirischen Jägerchors. The following day we played a short concert at the famous Zotter Chocolate Factory in Riegersburg.

 

 

Vienna Pipes support Andre Rieu in Concert

Craig Parker

On 3rd June, Vienna Pipes and Drums together with our friends the Caledonian Pipes and Drums Burgenland performed in the Stadthalle Wien in support of the world-famous Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. It was an incredible experience for the band, playing to a crowd of almost 10,000 in a sold-out Stadthalle. We accompanied the Orchestra and their own highly accomplished piper Manoe Konings in performances of the well-known tunes Amazing Grace and Highland Cathedral. We had a great time and hopefully we made a few new fans in the audience. Dank u wel Maestro!