SVPB Newsletter: June 10, 2022 1. Upcoming Events and Competitions July 4: Parade, Piedmont, CA 11-12:30 am July 16 & 17: Monterey Highland Games, Monterey, CA, https://www. montereycelticfest.com/ September 3 & 4: Pleasanton Highland Games: Pleasanton, CA, https://thescottishgames.com/ ________________________ 2. June Featured Band Members: Steve Coontz and Ignacio Solis Steve Coontz: Current role(s) in band: Piper for Grade 4 Original hometown: Arvada, CO Current hometown: San Ramon, CA Occupation and/or other hobbies: Retired Police Officer Past pipe bands: None Number of years playing: 14 Favorite tune: The Sixth of June - 1944 A fond memory from my piping career thus far: Playing with the Piano Guys in San Jose. Ignacio Solis: Current role(s) in band: Grade 3 Piper, Board Member Original hometown: Santiago, Chile Occupation and/or other hobbies: Customer Solutions Engineer, tennis fan Other musical talents: Played violin, harp and flute through high school and college. Past pipe bands: Andes Highlanders, Santiago Metropolitan Pipe Band, International Celtic Pipes and Drums Number of years playing: 13 years Favorite tune: The Sleeping Tune A fond memory from my piping career thus far: In 2019 I joined the International Celtic Pipes and Drums to play at the Military Tattoo in Moscow. During that event I had the opportunity of meeting bands from all over the world and playing in front of +10,000 people every night for 2 weeks. My fondest memories involve bonding with friends over drinks in between performances. ________________________ 3. All We Do is Win! Congratulations to the Grade 3 on winning 1st place in the MSR and 2nd place in the Medley at Costa Mesa! Below are the full Medley results, courtesy of Pipes | Drums magazine <https://www.pipesdrums.com/>. Grade 3 MSR 1st Silicon Valley (4,4,1,1) Grade 3 Medley 1st Kevin R. Blandford Memorial (1,1,1,2) 2nd Silicon Valley (4,2,2,1) 3rd Pasadena Scots (2,3,4,4) 4th Phoenix (3,4,3,5) 5th Cameron Highlanders of San Diego (5,5,5,3) Judges: Bruce Hitchings, Hugh Armstrong (piping); Ed Best (ensemble); Liza McAdam (drumming) ________________________ 4. WWRBD? (What Would Rob Boyd Do?) He would recommend subscribing to DroneChorus. From Robbie: “I'd encourage everyone to subscribe to DroneChorus <https://www.youtube.com/c/dronechorus> in YouTube for the very latest pipe band videos from the contests overseas. After two long, lonely years, the first pipe band competition was held at Gourock <https://www.pipesdrums.com/article/police-scotland-fife-welcome-back-with-a-win-at-gourock/> (in May) and here is the DroneChorus recording of Police Scotland Fife <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLgOMQVR-jI>, the winning band.” Thanks, Robbie. Keep the great link suggestions coming! ________________________ 5. How To Dress Like a Rockstar This Summer A Swag Update from Brandon: We now have embroidered jackets and shirts available as part of our summer collection. [image: :coat:][image: :shirt:] And as part of our Pride collection, shirts with the rainbow thistle design are also posted.[image: :pride:] https://www.zazzle.com/svpb_embroidered_shirt_womans-231686561771134801 https://www.zazzle.com/svpb_pride_t_shirt-235316007116123336 ________________________ 6. Band Photos Abound This Month It has been a productive month for the band. Here are glorious photos from all of the gigs and competitions we played recently. May 21: Sentinels of Freedom, Blackhawk Museum May 28 and 29: Costa Mesa May 30:Memorial Day Performance at Skylawn Memorial Park ________________________ 7. June Birthdays The sun shines down strongly on these band members born in June. Aiden Boothby - June 10 John Boyden - June 21 ________________________ 8. Musician Humor