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Crime & Safety

A Great Set of Pipes

The L.A. Scottish Pipe Band will now represent the Long Beach Police Department as well.

They are doctors, lawyers, artists and just regular Joe’s, but they all have one thing in common: A great set of pipes.

The Long Beach Police Department has partnered with the Los Angeles Scottish Pipe Band, commonly known as the LA Scots, and will also be known as the Long Beach Police Pipe Band.

From the somber to the joyous, they play at occasions and events that range from community events to police funerals.  The band is ranked 16th in the world as a pipe band and the top-ranked band in the United States. Along with pipe bands in Chicago and Pennsylvania, they are one of three Grade 1 pipe bands in the nation.

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Yes, they’re that good.

The Long Beach Police Pipe Band was introduced at the Opening Ceremonies of the Scottish Festival Saturday. The Festival continues Sunday at the Queen Mary Seawalk at noon. For more information on the festival and all of its events, visit www.queenmary.com.

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The LA Scots are one of the premier pipe bands in the United States, and one of three bands in the United States to achieve "Grade 1" status in a Grade 1 to 5 distinguished classification ranking system for those bands who compete in the pipe band world championships.

“To be ranked in this system at all is an honor in itself, and the fact that the LA Scots have chosen the Long Beach Police Department to represent is a tremendous privilege,” Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a news release.

The Long Beach Chief heard the band practicing in a city park and on the spot, recruited them, said Scott MacDonald, leader of the LA and, now, Long Beach Pipes Band. He runs a real estate brokerage business. the department put it this way:

”It is a longstanding tradition in many Police Departments across the United States and around the world, to team up with bagpipe bands,” the LBPD news release said. “The new LBPPB is a ceremonial pipe band that will perform at community events such as parades and festivals, and may also be used in funeral and memorial services.

“The association between the Police Department and the Long Beach Police Pipe Band will have no financial impact on the Police Department or the City of Long Beach, yet will serve as a positive representation of both and expose the practiced art of piping to our residents and visitors in many different settings.”

As for his more than 40 years with the bagpipe band, Scott MacDonald stated the obvious.

“With a name like MacDonald, I was born to play the pipes, like my father and my grandfather before me.”

“There is a history of police bands competing in Scotland and Ireland, and we’re so pleased to have been chosen by the police chief for this honor,” MacDonald said.

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