The Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band is a grade 2 competitive

pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of Bagpipes, pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland b ...

based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. As well as participating in competitions, the band performs at civic events, parades and charitable fund-raisers.

History

The Ottawa Police Service Pipe Band was founded in 1969, to promote good public relations and to play at the funerals of police officers. In 2012 the band played for the return of Olympic athletes at the Ottawa International Airport. The band won the Pipers' and Pipe Band Society of Ontario grade 2 Champion Supreme Award in 2012, 2013, and 2014. On 7 July 2013, members of the band performed ''Mull of Kintyre'' on stage with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

as part of his ''Out There'' concert tour. The band performed to a sold out hometown crowd at the

Canadian Tire Centre Canadian Tire Centre (french: links=no, Centre Canadian Tire) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located in the western suburb of Stittsville. It opened in January 1996 as the Palladium and was also known as Corel Cen ...

. The band won the North American Pipe Band Championship in grade 2 at the

Glengarry Highland Games The Glengarry Highland Games consist of a series of traditional Scottish competitions held annually in Maxville, Ontario, Canada, usually held the first weekend in August. The games span three days and with an attendance of over 20,000, are th ...

in 2013 and 2014. In October 2014, the band was promoted to grade 1 by the Pipers' and Pipe Band Society of Ontario after a merger with neighboring Glengarry Pipe Band, also in grade 2. In 2007 and 2018 the band opened for

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

at the British rock singer and songwriter's Ottawa concerts. The band requested a downgrade to grade 2 for the 2019 season after a two-year hiatus, citing a drop in numbers after the departure of lead-drummer Brendan Kelly and pipe major Andrew Hayes.

External links

{{Reflist Grade 2 pipe bands Canadian police bands