The Morrison's Academy Pipe Band was formed in 1921 when a group of interested enthusiasts in the School's Officer Cadet Unit decided that the time was right for Morrison's to have such an asset.
Now, almost 90 years later, the Band is thriving and, with over 50 members aged between 8 and 18, it is a very popular part of life at Morrison's Academy.
If there is a public face of Morrison's Academy it can be argued that the Pipe Band is very much at the forefront of that image. The range of events in which the band participates is ever-increasing and it continues to flourish and grow with each passing year. It has become a versatile and innovative group of musicians who deliver the traditional music that one would expect from them yet they are also pushing their musical boundaries even further with a broadening repertoire which blends traditional with contemporary and is entirely fitting as the band prepares to play a major role in the School's 150th year celebrations next year.
In the meantime the band continues to meet its many and varied School and community commitments and, to an ever-increasing degree, much further afield. So, whether at formal occasions such as Founder's Day, Speech Day or Remembrance Sunday, or playing at the switching on of the Christmas Lights, or processing down to Dallerie on Sports Day, playing at School Concerts, Burns Suppers, Music Exchange Ceilidhs or Beating the Retreat at Edinburgh Castle, the Morrison's Academy Pipe Band will be there in the vanguard as ambassadors for the school. Who knows, we may even get back to playing at Murrayfield in the future.
The band is in excellent health, now led by the Bursar, Mr Alistair Beaton, and taught to high standards by a dedicated team of tutors. More and more pupils are picking up chanters and drum pads and the band has a good number of younger members coming through. That indeed is the great strength of the band, the bringing together of boys and girls of all ages across the school and the pride that they have in being a part of it.