Last year, Ambulance Victoria’s (AV) pipes and drums made soundwaves in Scotland as the ensemble competed at the World Pipe Band Championship.
The global event sees pipes and drums groups from various countries gather each August to showcase their skills.
The competition is broken into categories and held after a week of piping and traditional music events in Glasgow.
AV pipes and drums band president and co-founder Graham Mummery organised the band to compete for the first time.
“I have played at the Championships previously with a troupe from Canada and said I hoped the AV band could make the trip,” Graham said.
“When I asked the band, they were very excited.
“We beat six bands in total in our category and the atmosphere was electric.”
While the main goal of the trip was to have fun, it also involved a lot of hard work and hours of rehearsal.
The week prior to the competition, the band played at the royal family residence in the Palace of Holyrood, City Chambers in Edinburgh and a brewery in Glasgow.
But all that practice paid off for their final performance.
“When we played at the competition, we were told it was the best we sounded all week,” Graham said.
“We were confident with the music and didn’t even notice the judges were there during our performance.
“It was the first time the AV band had competed anywhere and to be able to represent AV on such a global stage was outstanding.”
It was an extra special experience for Graham who got to perform alongside his youngest son.
He said it was something he’ll never forget.
“It was surreal to look around at the championships and think we’ve actually done it, we’re here,” he said.
“Lots of blood, sweat and tears got us to that point and to play as well as we did was amazing.
“It’s been my aim to take AV to the worlds for a long time, so it’s a big tick off the bucket list.”
While this was the first time the AV pipes and drums band had competed, they have previously travelled overseas to perform in Florida and Dublin.
Graham established the band in 2009 with Don Ormiston to provide Highland Pipe Band performances to the community while serving as goodwill ambassadors for Ambulance Victoria.
