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The Lander Volunteer Fire Department (LVFD) Pipe & Drum Band recently competed against 1650 competitors from 23 countries in the 2020 Spring World Online Piping & Drumming Championships, shared the band’s Pipe Major Melissa Bautz.
Results were announced late this week and they placed in 8 of the 19 events they entered. Below is the breakdown of band member placings:
Lauren Baures: 1st in Grade 4 2/4 March & 3rd in Grade 4 Jig
Eric Willcox: 2nd in Grade 5 Slow Air & 3rd in Grade 5 2/4 March
Henry Bautz: 4th in Beginner Practice Chanter Slow Air, 2nd in Grade 5 6/8 March & 3rd in Grade 5 4/4 March
Melissa Bautz: 5th in Grade 1 6/8 March
The band currently consists of 13 members and 5 of them competed in the World Online Piping & Drumming Championship. This included one youth, Henry Bautz. They only had five weeks to prepare and it was quite the process, Melissa shared. Along with practicing, filming, and submitting your final piece to the event, trying to decide which grade level you are at is difficult because they are different across the world. The standard US grading is Grade 4 (beginner) through Grade 1 (best) and then there is the Professional level.
Typically, the LVFD Pipe & Drum Band travels to various competitions this time of year. “We’d planned on doing that again this year, but everything was canceled,” Melissa said. “This competition was the bagpiping response to the Highland Game cancellations across the world due to COVID-19. For a lot of bagpipers and drummers, this is their one outlet.”
A 2020 summer online championship was just announced and you can expect updates from the band on that front, Melissa noted.
You can find the comprehensive championship results by clicking here. The LVFD Pipe & Drum Band submissions for the championship can all be heard here. You can also find updates and videos from the band on their Facebook page.