Family fun in pipe bands
Conor Hendry is marching to her own drum . . . well sort of.
She’s outnumbered, five to one, by drummers in her family. She’s the only piper in her family.
However, all six will play for the City of Tauranga Pipe Band at the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships in Invercargill today and tomorrow.
Pipe band competitions double as reunions for the Hendry family.
Conor’s parents, Doug and Angela, and siblings Ronan, Duncan and Angus, live in four North Island cities. Interestingly, Angus and Conor are also highland dancers, with Angus being NZ’s senior champion.
The Hendries have the same musical tastes but their occupations vary. Doug and Angela, of Tauranga, provide crosswords/puzzles to 200 newspapers world wide, including all New Zealand dailies.
Conor is an Auckland speech language pathologist, Angus is a lawyer in Palmerston North and Ronan and Duncan study music at Victoria University in Wellington.
‘‘We’ve come to Invercargill for a family get-together,’’ Doug said.
‘‘There’s no downside [to pipe bands] for us. We spend a lot of money to do it but it’s absolutely worthwhile.’’
He and Angela drove to Invercargill towing a tailer load of drums this week. Their children flew south from different directions to join them for the band’s practise on Thursday afternoon. ‘‘You go to these events every year hoping to win . . . most years it doesn’t work out that way,’’ Doug said.
Conor, who turned 27 on
Wednesday, was the first member of the family to learn a pipe band instrument 18 years ago.
The family was in Scotland for Conor and Angus to compete in a Highland Games and during their stay, Conor noticed a child playing the bagpipes. ‘‘I thought that was cool,’’ she said.
A week or two after arriving home bagpipe lessons were advertised, which Conor responded to. Others in the family followed her into playing pipe band music at different times, with Doug being the last eight years ago.
Seventeen of the 25 City of Tauranga Pipe Band members are performing in Invercargill.