Who We Are

The City of Wellington Pipe Band membership is made up of people from many different walks of life and a wide range of ages that come together to play pipe band music and enjoy the environment. The band members enjoy performing and contributing to a wide range of community events. Members of the public are welcome to attend an evening rehearsal. During the summer, we can be often heard preparing in the Wellington Botanic Gardens, if we are not at the band hall.

The Band plays a wide selection of traditional and modern highland bagpipe music. We perform at many local community events, graduations and Wellington City parades. The band competes in grade 4A at the many local and national competitions

The band's core is made up of experienced, intermediate and beginner musicians. Some of our members have competed at many levels of competition from grades one to four and have performed in many international events and tattoos, such as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Nova Scotia Tattoo. Our newer members advance from learners to playing at parades and then on to competitions. The band has a strong parade culture, with a great inclusive and supportive atmosphere amongst the members.

We welcome anyone wanting to join us at any level of experience, so please contact us or come along on a Tuesday night.

2022 / 2023 Officers

President - Lynette Thomson
Vice-President - Murray Wilkins
Treasurer - Nigel Goring Johnston
Secretary - Lawrence Stephenson
Hall Manager - Ian Telfer
Band Manager - Olivia Simcox

Pipe Major - Marcus Boshier
Pipe Sergeant - Chris Poppe
Pipe Corporals - John Patterson
Drum Major - vacant
Drum Sergeant - Alex Hay
Drum Corporal - Terry Munro

When Do We Meet?

Band rehearsals are currently held every Tuesday from 7.00pm - 9:00pm for all members. Learners are from 6:30pm - 7:00pm during term time. Visitors are welcome to attend.

Always Wanted To Learn?

Whether you want to learn to play the bagpipes or drums, are a beginner or someone looking to improve your knowledge and ability, we believe the right tuition is very important to producing good results. We can assist with training programs for both music theory and performance exams and competitions. The City of Wellington Pipe Band believes education and musical tuition is the most fundamental part of our organisation. Without it, there is no band.

If you would like to learn with us, please fill in the details on our contact page.

Competition - G4A

The band competes in grade 4A playing at numerous local and national competitions. We usually compete at the Square Day competition in December, Turakina competition in late January, the regional competition in late February and the RNZPBA Nationals in March.

Our Tartan

The band parades and competes in the Ancient McKinnon Tartan since 2018, as a salute to the well known and respected McKinnon family, with father Lou and son Frank both being much respected Pipe Majors of the City of Wellington Pipe Band.