Emma Spence

1. How long have you been playing pipes and who taught you?
I started playing when I was 12 and Finlay Macdonald taught me in the Saturday morning class in Williamwood High School.

2. Favourite tune(s) that the band plays?
My favourite tunes that the band plays is the set of 2/4 marches called Freddie Mason’s March and Barbados Bells. I also love the 6/8 march set Jean Mauchline and Angus MacKinnon. Lastly, I love the hornpipe Sandy’s New Chanter that we play.

3. Favourite tune(s) that the band does not play?
My favourite tune that the band doesn’t play would be Just for Seamus by Gordon Duncan. He was a great inspiration when I was learning. Another couple of tunes that I love are the Cameron Quickstep and John McMillan of Barra.

4. Favourite trip or gig you’ve played with the band?
My favourite trip that I’ve been on with the band would be the 6 years in a row that I managed to go to Hakuba, Japan. Close behind that trip in the pecking order would be when the band went to Norway and also our trip to Florence.

5. Most memorable pipe band moment?
My most memorable moment with the band would probably be playing with the Spanish piping legend Carlos Nuñez as part of the Celtic Connections festival that is held in Glasgow every year.

6. What is the funniest moment while being in the band?
The funniest moment I’ve had in the band would probably be Strakonice, Czech in 2014. On our day off we took a day trip to Český Krumlov for a wander about the town and to grab some food and a few drinks. Myself and a few others walked down to the riverside and saw some canoes that we thought we could hire to go down the river. We talked to someone standing on the riverside but due to the language barrier we thought that they were free to take so four of us jumped in. We had a great time laughing as we were going down the river until we seen someone running along the side of the river motioning for us to come to shore. We climbed out and the person was really irate. In broken English we worked out that they were saying that the canoe was someone else’s and that in fact we had taken it for a joyride down the river with the other people’s possessions still in the boat! We were obviously really apologetic but once we were outwith earshot we all burst out laughing. I swear it was the funniest thing ever!

7. What is your favourite thing about being in the band?
The best thing about being in the band is probably sharing my passion of playing pipes with a load of family and friends.