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Agriculture.
Volume 3 - Issue 3 March 17th, 2017
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Playing the Pipes: Bagpiper Regan Miller’s Music Lynne Bell CARLYLE OBSERVER observer@sasktel.net
Regan Miller has been playing the bagpipes for over 25 years. The Carlyle resident began playing the pipes as an 11-year-old and since then, has played in pipe bands- and as an individual piper- in both Canada and New Zealand. And although he is not a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Miller was asked to join the RCMP Regina Pipes and Drums- where he has played during the RCMP’s iconic Sunset Ceremony and at Regina’s Brandt Centre in the presence of Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor, Vaughn Scho�ield. “I’ve been with them for about four years,” says Miller. “I was asked to play with them. I
knew an RCMP member who also played the pipes and he suggested it to me.” “I try to get in to the RCMP Depot when I can. We practice once a week and we do all kinds of events. For me, one of the neatest ones was piping at the Sunset Ceremony. Our uniform is the red serge and a kilt and the Sunset Ceremony is one of those events you remember.” “But we play all kinds of things. Our next one is an event on St. Patrick’s Day,” adds Miller. Growing up in Harding, Manitoba, Miller’s interest in the bagpipes began early. “There were a couple of pipers in my family,” he says. “My brother and brother-in-law now play the pipes, too.” “I started playing with the Rivers and Dis-
trict Pipe Band in Rivers, Manitoba,” he adds. “They were a very wellestablished pipe band and they’ve been around since the 1950s- probably since right after World War II.” “We played a lot of fairs and parades throughout the years and I soon learned it takes a bit of air to play the bagpipes,” says Miller. “It also takes some coordination, but it’s like anything else- it has a lot to with practice.” “I bought my �irst set of bagpipes when I was 17-years-old, when I graduated from high school,” he says. “When I was 18, I took my pipes to New Zealand- where I went for a nine-month agricultural exchangeand I joined the McKenzie Highland Pipe Band there.” Continued on page 7
Regan Miller has been playing the pipes for over 25 years. The Carlyle resident began playing the bagpipes as an 11-year-old and since then, has played in pipe bands- and as an individual piper- in both Canada and New Zealand. Photo|Submitted