Dave McKenzie

 

resume

Dave is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts degree  in Russian and RTVMP( Radio, Television and Motion pictures)

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Grandfather Mountain Highlanders Pipe Band

1984-89, 1990-92, 1996-Present

Dave plays in the point position between the drum corps and the pipe corps in the competition circle and has graduated to the front rank in the band’s marching formation. He was also involved in the recording of the band’s self-titled first album, and is called upon to play as a soloist to feature more unusual and difficult music and to demonstrate the various styles of piping at concerts and other public performances. As a soloist, Dave competes in Grade I (the top amateur level) at Highland Games in North America and Scotland, consistently winning or placing in the prize list. He is a member in good standing with the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association, The Southern United States Pipe Band Association, and the Pipers’ and Pipe Band Society of Ontario, Canada.

 

1992-Present 

Dave is a founding member of this band, who’s philosophy has always been to use traditional instruments, tunes, and styles as a foundation to cross over and blend contemporary instruments and styles from rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, blues, Caribbean and bluegrass to create our own kind of world music or “new folk”, effectively blurring the dividing lines between the various genres and cultural traditions. In addition to warpipes, he also plays shuttle pipes, a smaller, quieter bagpipe recently developed in Canada. Dave has also added electric bagpipes, tin whistle, the Australian Aboriginal Didgeridoo (the world’s oldest wind instrument), and the Japanese Shakuhachi, an end-blown bamboo flute, to his arsenal of instruments. He sings backup in Gaelic songs and in English, and arranges traditional pipe music for the band’s repertoire, having composed many original tunes for their new material.

 

Charlotte Caledonian Pipe Band

1981-1984

The pipe band where Dave had his first competition experiences and formative lessons from his mentor and 1st Pipe Major, Burt Mitchell.

 

Performances

 General

 

Schools/Educational Performances

   

Memorial Services/Funerals