The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Talented Perthshire pair’s new life with New Zealand Police Pipe Band
Invitation to Adam Michie and Marshall Allan after impressive guest performances
A pair of Perthshire’s most talented young pipers have set out on the adventure of a lifetime as they start new lives in New Zealand.
Adam Michie and Marshall Allan have been invited to join the New Zealand Police Pipe Band – one of the world’s finest.
The offer came after the best friends – who leave the Scottish Power Pipe Band – guested in Wellington in March. Their performances were so impressive a phone call came from the other side of the world offering them an opportunity.
Adam had one final Scottish date before leaving – piping at Almondbank’s Remembrance event on Sunday.
The duo, who will be staying with host families and have to find work in their adopted home, will spend the next two years abroad playing with the band.
Hours ahead of flights to Dubai and then New Zealand, Adam said: “Marshall and I were invited to guest with the band in New Zealand in March and jumped at that opportunity. We’d met members of the band at the World Championships and knew what a great bunch they were.
“Not long after our return we got calls from the pipe major asking if we would fly back out and join them for a few years.
“I didn’t know what to think. We’ve travelled far and wide with the band over the years but neither of us has ever lived in a foreign country before.”
In the end it took Adam, from Almondbank, about half-an-hour to decide to uproot his life and try something different in New Zealand.
“It’s not every day you get invited to go on such a big adventure,” he said. “It’s such an exciting opportunity.”
Adam – who will stay with New Zealand Police Pipe Band members Andre and Kerrynn Peipei during his time in Wellington – began playing the pipes at age five. The passion for music that started has never faded – he says he “just can’t get enough of it” – and has come to love the pipe band scene.
After an excellent grounding as a scholarship student at Strathallan School under the tutoring of Jennifer Hutcheon, he joined Vale of Atholl Pipe Band before moving on to the Scottish Power Pipe Band, both Grade 1 bands.
Now he and 19-year-old Marshall, who hails from Crieff, will continue their Grade 1 journey with the New Zealand Police Pipe Band.
One thing the 27-year-old knows he will have to watch out for, however, is the fine New Zealand weather.
“The last time I was in Wellington I spent half my time there in hospital after getting sunstroke,” he said.
“Thankfully I must have done enough in the time I was fit to play to impress the band. I loved New Zealand from the moment I arrived. The way of life is so different and it’s so relaxed. “The people are so friendly too. “Marshall is already out there and I can’t wait to join him and get started.”