City of Adelaide Pipe Band Inc.

The Year of 1998
1998 was a very significant year for the City of Adelaide Pipe Band. Having had much success in Grade 2 in the years prior, the band decided that it would play up in Grade 1 in 1998. Following a string of Grade 1 successes, including wins at the South Australian (Mount Barker) and Victorian (Geelong) championships, the band was officially regraded to Grade 1 and went on to win the Australian Pipe Band Championships in Newcastle that year. It was the first time in history that a South Australian band had ever won a state or national championship in the top grade.

2006 & Beyond
2006 saw the band perform at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany, France where it performed to a crowd of approximately 700,000 people over the 10 day event. It was the bands first international foray in a number of years.

In late 2006 due to a significant loss of personnel interstate, the City of Adelaide Pipe Band requested to be regraded, and was regraded to Grade 2 after may years in the premier grade. A regrading is always disappointing, but it always inevitably casues the group to work harder to achieve its goals. Since it's regrading, the band has focussed on rebuilding, and has continued to go from strength to strength having now established a highly successful learners program. In 2008 the City of Adelaide Pipe Band returned to the Australian Pipe Band Championships to take home the Silverware, hopefully a sign of things to come. The band will be defending its 2008 Australian Championships title in Caloundra 2010.

To this day, the band has a reputation for its refined, harmonic sound and traditional style of playing.

Band Leadership
Since being formed in 1991 under the leadership of Pipe Major Brett Tidswell and Drum Sergeant Greg Bassani, the band has seen a relatively low turnover of leadership.

Contest History & Notable Performances
In its relatively short history, the band has enjoyed much success on the contest field. Highlights include having won 17 South Australian championships, 4 Victorian championships, and 2 Australian championships over the years, with the bands most recent win being the Grade 2 2008 Australian Championships in Sydney. In what was a "clean sweep of the boards" the band achieved 1st places in every element, from every judge, allowing the band to also walk away with the "best band on the day" award as well.

In addition to it's success on the contest field, as the State's premier pipe band, the City of Adelaide Pipe Band has also had the opportunity to play a number of noteable events, including:

• Concerts with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
• Festival Interceltique de Lorient, Brittany, France
• Live in Concert with John Farnham
• Royal Adelaide Show
• Adelaide F1 Grand Prix