Pipes and Drums
Organization
The York Regional Police Pipes & Drums is a volunteer service organization formed in 1989, including both sworn officers and civilians under the command of Chief Eric Jolliffe. We are led by Pipe Major Detective Peter Fleming and Band Manager Hans Uhr and proudly wear the Sir John A. MacDonald tartan in memory of Canada’s first Prime Minister. The band fields both a parade / concert band as well as a Grade 4 competition band under the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario.
Mandate: Longstanding Community & Global Presence
The band’s mandate is deeply rooted in volunteerism and service to York Region’s many diverse communities. We routinely support many cultural events, parades, fund raisers, and official police functions each year. We were proud to play at the 2nd annual York Regional Police Tattoo (2010), which helped raise $60,000 for the Special Olympics, a tradition that was partly established by the band itself. We continue to expand our performance capabilities for both large and intimate crowds, highland games, military tattoos, and large-production shows, both in the region and around the world. We’re also proud of our initial forays into competition this past summer alongside our larger pipe band community at the Georgetown, Embro and Cambridge Highland Games.
Philosophy and Vision
The band balances its community-service focus with our passion for promoting and excelling at Scottish traditional music, song and dance. We pride ourselves in our musicianship and professionalism, and that approach has afforded us the privilege of playing alongside many diverse musical and entertainment acts throughout the world, both military and civilian. In recent years, we incorporated a Highland Dance troupe and other musicians into our performances, and view competition as a key part of how we improve musically. As ambassadors of policing, our country, and our heritage, we’re constantly looking for opportunities (and like-minded individuals) to share and promote our particular brand of musical storytelling.
Milestones & Memories
- As a group, we’ve had the honour of performing at several important memorial services over the years, including:
- the Canadian National Police Memorial at Ottawa, Ontario [annual]
- the Ontario Police Memorial at Toronto, Ontario [annual]
- the National Police Memorial at Washington, DC
- the Greater Cleveland Police Memorial, Cleveland, OH [over 10 years]
- the 9/11 Emergency Services and Police Memorial at New York City, NY
- We were fortunate to have travelled to Beijing, China (1994) as guests of the Chinese Government and in conjunction with a Government of Canada trade mission, touring and playing at a variety of public and diplomatic events. We even had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform on The Great Wall of China at Badaling.
- We’ve marched in New York City’s legendary St. Patrick’s Day Parade; something a Canadian Band had not done before. Our affiliation with New York City Police also afforded us the chance a few years later to play a tribute concert set as part of the 3rd annual 9/11 Memorial Tattoo (2004).
- YRPPD had the distinct honour of performing in Monaco’s National Day Celebration for Prince Albert at the 1st anniversary of his coronation (2006) alongside his personal guard and band, the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince. On that same tour, we had the opportunity to pay tribute at the Lighting of the Eternal Flame Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, under the Arc de Triumph, Paris, France. Special highlights included a concert at the Canadian embassy in Paris and our stop at the Regimental barracks of France’s famed Republican Guard, where concerts (theirs on horseback!) were exchanged between the two groups.
- In 2007, we were part of the cast of the Long’s Peak Celtic/Irish Festival, Estes Park (near Denver, Colorado). This week-long event included daily performances at the festival’s signature show, and allowed us the chance to meet the artist who wrote one of the vocal tunes we were performing at the time. This led to a further collaboration and joint concert together as part of her recent Canadian tour. We’ve also opened for musical acts such as Canadian recording artist Glass Tiger, providing the lead-in to their hit tune “Diamond Sun”.
- Our connections with the International Police Association (IPA) helped us arrange extremely successful performance tours to Switzerland (2005) and twice to Austria (2003, 2009). The latter visit saw us as guests of the Vienna Police and the City of Vienna as a feature act for the 100th anniversary celebration of Polizeimusik Wien. Other notable performances included a radio concert at the famous “ORF” (state radio), and the after party, where we played a special set with our Highland Dancers to 1,800 more-than-enthused fellow-musicians.
2012 Events
| Date |
Event |
Location |
| January 28, 2012 |
Robert Burns Night |
Sutton Legion |
| February 4, 2012 |
Robert Burns Night |
Markham Union Masonic Lodge |
| May 6, 2012 |
Ontario Police Memorial |
Queen's Park, Toronto |
| June 3, 2012 |
D-Day Parade |
Sutton Legion |
| July 28-29, 2012 |
Durham Highland Games |
Elgin Park, Uxbridge |
| September 8, 2012 |
Binder Twine Festival |
Kleinburg, Ontario |
| September 30, 2012 |
National Police Memorial |
Parliament Hill, Ottawa |
| November 11, 2012 |
Remembrance Day Parade |
Sutton Legion |
Contact Information:
Detective Peter Fleming, Pipe Major: 1-866-876-5423 ext. 7645 or 549@yrp.ca
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