The MacMillan bands had a wonderful time at the Celtic Society of Southern Maryland’s Festival on April 25 in St. Leonard. Even though the weather could have been better, hitting only 45 degrees for a high and raining a bit towards the end of the day we all enjoyed the first contest of the year.

MacMillan-Dunn fielded a lot of new players for their first competitive experience. Lots of positive comments about the performance and potential of the band, with some informative points to improve as the season continues.

MacMillan-Birtles also brought on a good deal of new members and although were missing some of the band’s veteran players, earned 2nd place in the Grade 4 event.

MacMillan won the contest with some great comments and straight first places from all four judges. Welcome as well to the new members of MacMillan who joined the band in competition for the first time.

On the solo front we had:

Sean Kelly- 6th Place Grade 4 Sr 2/4 March

Gordon Fraser- 4th Place Grade 4 Sr 2/4 March

Chris Imlay- 2nd Place Grade 3 Piobaireachd, 5th Place Grade 3 2/4 March

Jeff Walden- 4th Place Grade 3 Piobaireachd

Andrew Donlon- 1st Place Open MSR, 2nd Place Open Hornpipe & Jig, 2nd Place 6/8 Marches, 5th Place Open Piobaireachd, Open Piper of the Day.

All in all Southern Maryland was a strong start for the MacMillan bands and soloists. The next few weeks are very busy with the Rockville High School Pipe Band festival on Saturday May 2, the Frederick Celtic Festival on May 9 and the Colonial Highland Gathering on May 16.

Enjoy the end of April and make sure to practice!