A band with a past...
The original Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band dates back to the 1940's when Pipe Major James Caffrey began teaching. The band started up again in 1976 as Meeting of the Waters, honoring the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Later the gaelic name was adopted, and Invera'an Pipe Band began. In 2007, the band decided to go back to Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band to honor the original band.
SLCPB IN 4TH IN ST. LOUIS SCOTTISH GAMES, 1ST IN ENSEMBLE.
10/1/2012 Great day at the St. Louis Games on September 29 in Forest Park. Competition results:
Grade 4 QMM: (8)
1. Minnesota Police 2. Alma College 3. St. Andrews Society of Central IL 4. St. Louis Caledonia 5. Kansas City St. Andrews 6. Dundee Scottish
BDC, BBS: Chicago Highlanders
SLCPB COMES IN 3RD AT THE CHICAGO HIGHLAND GAMES
6/16/2012 Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band won 3rd place in the Grade 4 competition in Chicago. The tenors and bass drummer brought home the honor of Best Bass Section!
SLCPB COMPETES IN SPRINGFIELD HIGHLAND GAMES
5/19/2012 Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band competed in the Springfield Area Highland Games in Grade 4. The drum corps took 2nd place. Overall the band placed 7th.
SLCPB WINS BEST BAND
5/2/2012 Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band wins best band in the Dogtown St. Patrick's Day Parade 2012. The Ancient Order of Hibernians has sponsored the parade in the Dogtown neighborhood since 1984. Even with the rain this year, it was great fun!
10/1/2012 Great day at the St. Louis Games on September 29 in Forest Park. Competition results:
Grade 4 QMM: (8)
1. Minnesota Police 2. Alma College 3. St. Andrews Society of Central IL 4. St. Louis Caledonia 5. Kansas City St. Andrews 6. Dundee Scottish
BDC, BBS: Chicago Highlanders
SLCPB COMES IN 3RD AT THE CHICAGO HIGHLAND GAMES
6/16/2012 Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band won 3rd place in the Grade 4 competition in Chicago. The tenors and bass drummer brought home the honor of Best Bass Section!
SLCPB COMPETES IN SPRINGFIELD HIGHLAND GAMES
5/19/2012 Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band competed in the Springfield Area Highland Games in Grade 4. The drum corps took 2nd place. Overall the band placed 7th.
SLCPB WINS BEST BAND
5/2/2012 Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band wins best band in the Dogtown St. Patrick's Day Parade 2012. The Ancient Order of Hibernians has sponsored the parade in the Dogtown neighborhood since 1984. Even with the rain this year, it was great fun!
A huge thank you to all those who gave us photographs, especially the Palmer-Caffrey family.
Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band: A Musical Reunion
Reprinted from Thistle Times April 2008
By Linda Williams
SLCPB Secretary
“Hello everyone, just wanted to say thank you so much for a wonderful musical experience at the Burns Night Dinner last week. It
was truly very memorable and moving to hear you all play.” –quote from email to Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band 2/11/08
Either you love bagpipes or you don’t. There is no middle ground. On Saturday, February 2, 2008, there were only bagpipe lovers
around as Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band took center stage at the annual Burns Dinner. And what a great night it was! SLCPB would
like to thank the St. Andrew’s Society for being such a great audience and Bill Nicoll, who volunteered to be our announcer.
The Ancient MacFarlane orange kilts were a familiar sight—but it was a brand new band that entertained hundreds that night. The
drummers came in first: eight snares, four tenors and a bass marching to the jazzy rhythm of a “street beat”. The sheer volume of sound
caught some of the audience by surprise, and that was only the beginning. Once the drummers were in place, the pipers struck in with
“Scotland the Brave”. Two by two, they marched through the doors until there were sixteen pipers in the circle forming the biggest band
before the Burn’s Dinner in recent memory. The program was: “Scotland the Brave”, “The Green Hills of Tyroll/When the Battle’s O’er/
Balmoral”, “Bonnie Dundee/Cock of the North”, “Paylor Brothers’ Junkyard”, “Atholl Highlanders”, “Amazing Grace”, “Grandstand”,
“Drum Salute to Alex Duthart/Itchy Fingers”, and “Scotland the Brave”.
A former band member, John Mackie, whose parents Alex and Margaret Mackie were in the audience, composed “Grandstand”.
“Grandstand” made its debut at the Burns Dinner twenty years ago; so, SLCPB wanted to revive the piece in its repertoire. During the last
few measures of “Grandstand”, the pipers did something they’ve never done before: they turned to face the audience and tipped their hats
when they finished the tune.
Another of the highlights of the night was the Drum Salute. It’s a favorite of the St. Andrew’s Society from the feedback the band
has gotten through the years, and 2008 was rocking as sound exploded through the ballroom! And it just kept getting better. As the applause
faded, the drummers jumped into the reel “Itchy Fingers”, playing the first part solo before the pipers joined them in the catchy tune.
Some have asked how Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band came about. Well, this “new band” has some deep roots. Last summer,
piper Laurie Hartung sent out an invitation for what could be called a musical reunion. Many of the pipers and drummers who came had
played together for years but hadn’t played together in years. There were some new faces as well. From that first night at Stacey Park in
Olivette, they sounded pretty good! They missed making music and missed each other; so they decided to start a new band.
In November, Invera’an Pipe Band decided to officially join the new group. It’s the third name change for Invera’an which formed
in 1972 as Meeting of the Waters Pipe Band. After the merge, band members voted on a new name. The winner by a landslide: Saint Louis
Caledonian Pipe Band. It honors the first Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band, which played in the 1930’s and 40’s. One of that band’s Pipe
Majors, James Caffrey, is the grandfather of one of the drummers in the present band, Bobby Palmer. John Haack is the Pipe Major of the
new SLCPB. He “grew” up in Invera’an, starting piping lessons when he was just ten years old. Teaching others is an important mission of
the new band. Bobby’s grandfather taught a generation of pipers, who in turn taught another generation of pipers, who played at the Burn’s
Dinner. Continuing in that tradition, Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band offers free piping and drumming lessons. The drummers are lead by
Charlie Cablish. He joined Invera’an 35 years ago (even if he says he isn’t that old!), and is a founding member of Saint Louis Caledonian
Pipe Band.
There are 35 active playing band members. But a band doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There are dozens more: students, parents, understanding
spouses, and friends of the band. As Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band moves forward in building a strong foundation, it asks
for your support and looks forward to playing for you soon.
At the end of the Burn’s Dinner program, the SLCPB delivered this message to the audience:
“This is just the beginning! You’ll see us at St. Patrick’s Day Parades. You’ll see us at Tartan Days in St. Charles. You’ll see us
at the Scottish Highland Games in Springfield… as we get bigger and better!”
For information, call us at 314-239-5422, email us at
SLCPB Secretary
“Hello everyone, just wanted to say thank you so much for a wonderful musical experience at the Burns Night Dinner last week. It
was truly very memorable and moving to hear you all play.” –quote from email to Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band 2/11/08
Either you love bagpipes or you don’t. There is no middle ground. On Saturday, February 2, 2008, there were only bagpipe lovers
around as Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band took center stage at the annual Burns Dinner. And what a great night it was! SLCPB would
like to thank the St. Andrew’s Society for being such a great audience and Bill Nicoll, who volunteered to be our announcer.
The Ancient MacFarlane orange kilts were a familiar sight—but it was a brand new band that entertained hundreds that night. The
drummers came in first: eight snares, four tenors and a bass marching to the jazzy rhythm of a “street beat”. The sheer volume of sound
caught some of the audience by surprise, and that was only the beginning. Once the drummers were in place, the pipers struck in with
“Scotland the Brave”. Two by two, they marched through the doors until there were sixteen pipers in the circle forming the biggest band
before the Burn’s Dinner in recent memory. The program was: “Scotland the Brave”, “The Green Hills of Tyroll/When the Battle’s O’er/
Balmoral”, “Bonnie Dundee/Cock of the North”, “Paylor Brothers’ Junkyard”, “Atholl Highlanders”, “Amazing Grace”, “Grandstand”,
“Drum Salute to Alex Duthart/Itchy Fingers”, and “Scotland the Brave”.
A former band member, John Mackie, whose parents Alex and Margaret Mackie were in the audience, composed “Grandstand”.
“Grandstand” made its debut at the Burns Dinner twenty years ago; so, SLCPB wanted to revive the piece in its repertoire. During the last
few measures of “Grandstand”, the pipers did something they’ve never done before: they turned to face the audience and tipped their hats
when they finished the tune.
Another of the highlights of the night was the Drum Salute. It’s a favorite of the St. Andrew’s Society from the feedback the band
has gotten through the years, and 2008 was rocking as sound exploded through the ballroom! And it just kept getting better. As the applause
faded, the drummers jumped into the reel “Itchy Fingers”, playing the first part solo before the pipers joined them in the catchy tune.
Some have asked how Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band came about. Well, this “new band” has some deep roots. Last summer,
piper Laurie Hartung sent out an invitation for what could be called a musical reunion. Many of the pipers and drummers who came had
played together for years but hadn’t played together in years. There were some new faces as well. From that first night at Stacey Park in
Olivette, they sounded pretty good! They missed making music and missed each other; so they decided to start a new band.
In November, Invera’an Pipe Band decided to officially join the new group. It’s the third name change for Invera’an which formed
in 1972 as Meeting of the Waters Pipe Band. After the merge, band members voted on a new name. The winner by a landslide: Saint Louis
Caledonian Pipe Band. It honors the first Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band, which played in the 1930’s and 40’s. One of that band’s Pipe
Majors, James Caffrey, is the grandfather of one of the drummers in the present band, Bobby Palmer. John Haack is the Pipe Major of the
new SLCPB. He “grew” up in Invera’an, starting piping lessons when he was just ten years old. Teaching others is an important mission of
the new band. Bobby’s grandfather taught a generation of pipers, who in turn taught another generation of pipers, who played at the Burn’s
Dinner. Continuing in that tradition, Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band offers free piping and drumming lessons. The drummers are lead by
Charlie Cablish. He joined Invera’an 35 years ago (even if he says he isn’t that old!), and is a founding member of Saint Louis Caledonian
Pipe Band.
There are 35 active playing band members. But a band doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There are dozens more: students, parents, understanding
spouses, and friends of the band. As Saint Louis Caledonian Pipe Band moves forward in building a strong foundation, it asks
for your support and looks forward to playing for you soon.
At the end of the Burn’s Dinner program, the SLCPB delivered this message to the audience:
“This is just the beginning! You’ll see us at St. Patrick’s Day Parades. You’ll see us at Tartan Days in St. Charles. You’ll see us
at the Scottish Highland Games in Springfield… as we get bigger and better!”
For information, call us at 314-239-5422, email us at