Band Staff
We have been very fortunate in securing the services of a stellar Administration and Instructional Staff for the 45th season of the Fraser Youth Program.BAND OFFICER (BandO): Captain Rod A. McLeod, is a 60 year veteran of the Alberta Pipe Band scene. He was the first Band Officer of the Calgary Garrison Youth Squad in 1978 and developed the vision and training program that has been in place for the past 44 years. Rod began his career as a tenor and bass drummer with the 20th Field Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery PIpe Band in Edmonton in 1963. This was an army band where dress, drill and deportment left a lasting impression!
After moving to Calgary in 1971, he worked with the drum corps of the fledgling Ogden Legion Pipe Band (today known as the Foothoills Caledonian Pipes and Drums) for a few years before joining Clan McBain PB, a Grade 1 competition pipe band.
In 1978, McLeod was offered the position of Band Officer with the Old 78th Fraser Highlanders with a mandate to create a youth band from scratch! In the seven ensuing years, he created and implimented a Summer Youth Employment Program at Heritage Park and watched a procession of 150 young men progress through the Frasers.
In 2023, following a 40 year hiatus and the devistation caused by Covid-19, Rod was asked to come back to the Frasers to recreate what had been done in the 1970's. Since the unfortunate passing of Major Kyle Scott, McLeod, as the Garrison 2 i/c, has been doing double duty as both the Band Officer and the Acting Officer Commanding of the Calgary Garrisoin.
BAND CEREMONIAL ADVISOR: V/Sgt Jason McInnis - began as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in Summerside PEI befor joining the Prince Edward Island Regiment, a Primary Reserve Armourded Regiment. With a keen interest and university degree in history, McInnis spent his summers as a National Parks Guide and Historical Interpreter before moving west to Calgary.
Jason is no stranger to youth training programs and pipe bands. He was a founder and administrator of the CPS Cadet Program and developed thier pipe band. An imposing man in uniform, Jason was the Drum Major of the Dublin Tattoo in 2018 and more recently toured with the 1st Battalion Black Watch (Royal Highlanders of Canada) Pipes and Drums for the Liberation of the Netherlands.
Jason is responsible for the logistics, planning and administration of the Youth Squad with a view to setting up the first Old 78th Fraser Highlanders Outpost in Summerside, PEI. He also currently serves as the President of the Mess Committee.
CHIEF INSTRUCTOR (CI): Lieutenant Thomas Farquharson, is a remarkable young man having spent the past 14 of his 24 years as a Fraser Highlander. An experienced member and passionate piper, Tom has earned a deserving position as the Chief Instructor while attending the UofC for a Post graduate degree in Education.
A high school teacher by choice, Lt. Farquharon is well versed in the history of the Fraser organization, understands the culture implicitly and relates well to the pipers in his charge. During the first post-Covid training year, he has taken the band from 4 candidates to 19, trained in Ceremonial Drill, Highland Dancing, Musketry and piping & drumming - a remarkable feat!
ARMOURER: Captain Gordon Nairn, the father of a Fraser who graduated several years ago and has traded his Fraser red serge for the and RCMP uniform, Captain Nairn is the man responsible for the health and safety of not only the members of the Youth Squad - but as well, our 17 Brown Bess muskets we use for our famous Fraser Black Powder Show! Each musket has a name and a personality. They are managed, maintained and locked-up in a very secure storage facility.
Instructional Staff
PIPING INSTRUCTOR: P/M Mary Ann Houston, began her piping career at the age of 12, with the Fraser Pipe Band in Regina, Saskatchewan, ultimately rising to the position of Pipe Major of the band.During the summer months, Mary Ann studied with P/M Donald MacLeod at the Saskatchewan School of the Arts and International Music Camp, where she attained her Pipe Major’s and Advanced Instructor’s Certificates. She also taught piping at the Saskatchewan School of the Arts after obtaining her certification.
Mary Ann began playing for competitive highland dancers in her mid-teens. She enjoys playing for dancers because this both enhances the stability in her playing and challenges her endurance.
Over the years, Mary Ann has played with, and led, a number of pipe bands in Canada’s prairie provinces, including Moose Jaw’s White Hackle Pipe Band, where she taught and served as Pipe Major for several years, Regina’s 10th Field Regiment Pipe Band, Victoria Park Pipe Band, and, after moving to Calgary, the Calgary Police Service and Rocky Mountain Pipe Bands.
Over the past several years Mary Ann’s piping focus has been on piping for dancers, teaching and playing at special events in and around Calgary, Alberta.
PIPING INSTRUCTOR & BAND ADMINISTRATOR: P/M Donna McInnes, well known as a highly competitive piper in her formative years, her prowess as a piper saw her as the Pipe Major of the Glengarry Highlanders in the 1970's. In 1977, Donna was the first female piper 'invited' to play with Clan McBain, a predominantly male Grade One competition pipe band. Donna retired from the band scene to raise a family - but we coerced her out of retirement to work with the Frasers. Donna is truly an inspirational teacher and doubles as a very welcome and capible 'Band Den Mother'.
PIPING INSTRUCTOR: Mr. Steve Moore, (Under Construction)
DRILLMASTER: Lt. Quinn Gardner, another man with 14 years of Fraser experience and a fine competitive piper as well. A third generation Fraser, Quinn reins from a family that has long been assocaited with the Frasers.
DRUMMING INSTRUCTOR: Lloyd Martens, a solid fixture in the Calgary pipe band community for many years. He began his career in the Calgary Highlander Cadet PIpe Band and has played in World Competition with the Rocky Mountain Pipe Band. Prior to this, Lloyd competed very successfully with the Clan McBain PB.
Lloyd is unique in that he can play all the instruments found in a modern day drum corps; side, tenor, alto tenor and bass. He is also known as an excellent Drum Major and and has served as a judge in both the Calgary and Canmore Highland Games.