home gallery music merchandise hire us friends calendar/results roster contact links members only

About us

The Grandfather Mountain Highlanders Pipe Band is a Grade III competition band headquartered in Linville, North Carolina. The primary objectives of the group are to produce pipe band music of the highest quality and to advance to Grade II. In addition to the major Southern games, the band hopes to continue its tradition of traveling to other competition venues throughout the world. We have also begun building a grade V band, and 2007 has been their first outing.

LEADERSHIP

The band's Pipe Major is Justin Gonzalez. Justin is now serving in his third season as P/M. Former P/M Gordon Warburton still plays with the grade III band and is the instructor for the grade V band. Mike Reuter is in his first season as our drum sergeant. Pipe Sergeants Mark Elliott and Brian McDonnell are responsible for writing harmonies, coordinating practices, providing instruction, and tuning. Sally Warburton is the band's President, business manager, and bass drummer. Co-founder of the band Harvey Ritch is involved in many of the band's operations, also serving as both Pipe and Drum Major emeritus. We are grateful to Harvey for all his many contributions to the band.

We are also thrilled to announce the formation of our grade V band under P/M Kim Elder, a long-time member of the organization. The grade V band has competed alongside the grade III band and, at times, represented the entire organization at other events.

Please see our roster for a full list of the band's members.

HISTORYPhoto courtesy of Chris Hamilton

In 1974, Agnes MacRae Morton and Harvey E. Ritch founded the Grandfather Mountain Highlanders. (Harvey had previously founded the Charlotte Scottish Pipe Band, a prize winning grade ll band with a World Champion drum corps – see below). Within two years, GMHPB earned the title of Southern Champions by winning at the Stone Mountain Highland Games-- a feat the band has replicated many times since.

Here is a list of our pipe majors since the band's inception:
1974-1981: Harvey Ritch
1981-1983: Ken Swinton
1983-1986: Ed Krintz leads GMHPB to grade II and a nearly undefeated 1985 season.
1987-1990: Bill Caudill
1990-1994: Ed Krintz, grade III and IV bands merge in 1994
1994-1996: Scott McLeod leads band back to grade III
1996-2006: Gordon Warburton leads us to multiple victories as far north as Montreal. GMHPB finishes 8th in grade 3A at the Worlds.
2006-present: Justin Gonzalez

Our calendar has a complete list of the band's results in the past several years.

Starting in 2006, P/S Justin Gonzalez took over the band as its new Pipe Major. An accomplished soloist and bandsman, Justin has won the George Sherriff Amateur Invitational competition and played with the grade 1 City of Washington Pipe Band.

The band's Drum Sergeants have included:
1974-1982: David Wonsey
1983-1992: Cecilia Zappa
1992-2000: David Fish
2001-2004: Carl Baggett
2005-2006: Tom Kee
2006-2007: Jason Higgins
2008: Mike Reuter

Sally Warburton is the only founding member currently performing with the band since its inception.

Players in the band still display the dedication seen in the early years. Despite being spread out geographically, the band still manages to practice weekly. Although the band is serious about being a competition band, it has always been a "family" of sorts also. It is through this camaraderie and fellowship that the band overcomes the many challenges a pipe band faces, a camaraderie exemplified in their music.

The band has produced two recordings available on cassette tape or CD, which are available at local Scottish shops and from members of the band. You may call Everything Scottish at (888) 606-KILT for your copy.

COMPETITIONS

Every year from April through October, the band regularly competes at contests throughout the Southeastern United States. The past decade has seen us extend our range as far as Canada on yearly trips throughout eastern North America... we like to remind our Northern friends that we're still here! Last year we secured 2nd place in the EUSPBA Championships at the Capital District Scottish Games in Altamont, NY.

Our biggest accomplishment, however, has probably been our 2005 trip to the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. This was the band's first trip to the Worlds, and we were able to place 8th in a field of 28 in grade 3A. Competing at the Worlds remains a primary mission of the band, and we hope to return to Glasgow Green in the near future.

Feel free to have a look at our Calendar and Results page for details on the last 4 years.

PERFORMANCES

Over the years, the Grandfather Mountain Highlanders have performed at many functions, accompanied by the entertaining commentary of Harvey Ritch. For thirty years, the group has been the host band of one of the largest highland games in the world, the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. The band has been in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Town and Country Magazine, USA Today, several documentary films and on the Turner South Network and Turner Broadcast System(TBS). The band has performed at many Southeastern venues ranging from Virginia to Florida. Additionally, we performed for Rod Stewart's 1990 world tour. Each August, the band performs a special Concert in the Park in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. In 1991, Dewar's Scotch sponsored the band for a trip to Orlando, where they were the host band for the highland games there and in 1999 made a special appearance at the Honda Riders Association's annual Honda Hoot. Please check our Calendar/Results page for upcoming events.

PRACTICES

The band practices nearly every Sunday during the competition season. Currently we alternate between Hickory, NC and Statesville, NC. To relieve the travel burden, we also have occasional "cell" practices for our musicians based in the Mountain, Research Triangle, and Charlotte areas. These practices are led by central figures in the band. Our drum corps practices with lots of dedication... on Saturdays you can sometimes run into them at the supermarket in Hickory, stocking up for an all-weekend practice! Inquiries about hiring the band are addressed here. Anyone wishing to attend band practice may contact us.The band encourages players to raise their level of playing. In addition to individual instruction from players in the band, many band members attend the EUSPBA Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic Workshops and the North American Academy of Piping in Valle Crucis, NC.

FUTURE

home gallery music merchandise hire us friends calendar/results roster contact links members only

©2008 Grandfather Mountain Highlanders, Inc.
This page last updated on 1 January 2008