West Point

The journey to West Point provided an interesting contrast to the urban chaos of New York. It was bright and sunny, although still very cold: New Yorkers had told us that in fact it had been the coldest spring season in fifty years.

Passing industrial sprawl after once again crossing the Hudson through west New Jersey State, the countryside opened up as we progressed our journey. The harsh realities of North American winters were obvious from the very grey colourless land, which had not yet begun to regenerate as warmer spring weather approached.

Soon we reached our destination, where we were given an excellent tour of the vast West Point complex. Our visit to the Academy Chapel was highlighted by our guide showing us the workings of what is the world’s largest pipe organ, comprising some twenty-seven thousand pipes. Mr Tully, who had travelled over before the main group, had joined us, and as an accomplished organist he was very anxious to try it out. Unfortunately, the Director of Music was away on the day on which we visited, so he had to be content with the viewing along with the rest of us.

The history was absolutely fascinating, and the tales of wars enacted on the Hudson River deep below the Academy were taken in with great interest by the group. A hearty lunch was consumed at a country restaurant across from the complex, and the excursion finished off with a visit to the Academy Museum, and of course, the gift shop.

The Arsenal Performance

We arrived back during late afternoon, whereupon Pipe Major MacLellan and Mr Jørgensen went to book movie tickets at a theatre close to Central Park while the boys and girls dispersed in supervised groups in order to have dinner. After the movie most of the group retired to rest for the night, although the older Sixth- and Seventh- Year boys and girls were permitted to have some time by themselves as a group until 11.30 p.m.

It was Thursday when we awoke, this time a little later, and in the morning the Band visited the American Museum of Natural History. Our system of appointing small organised groups comprising young and old worked excellently, and some three hours were spent exploring the vast museum, which is the biggest natural history museum in the world.

We were on a time schedule as usual, for the Scottish American Club of New York had invited us to perform at the Arsenal in Central Park as part of an art exhibition given by the famous Scottish photographer, Kenneth Paterson. We performed for a large and enthusiastic audience, and were greeted and given gifts by the Commissioner of the New York City Parks Department, Adrian Benepe.

In the evening we walked down to Chinatown, assembled as a large group and enjoyed an ethnic meal quite unlike what we are used to at home. The week was beginning to fl y by, with the activities and performances taking up almost every hour.

Ground Zero

The next day, Friday already, was spent on a somewhat sombre visit to the former site of the World Trade Center, and we were able to experience performances by a school gospel choir who hailed from Atlanta, Georgia at St Paul’s Chapel, just across from Ground Zero. The chapel contained several exhibitions and memorials to those who were victims of the events of September 2001, and the visit provided an experience both educational and emotional for all within our group.

We then travelled on foot once more (as the location was not well served by subway) to the Port Authority Pier and boarded our tour boat, which provided fascinating views and history of Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan Island, Governor’s Island, and the West River.

The weather was sunny and crystal-clear, and so we were able to take some very spectacular photographs. Soon the two-hour tour was over, and it was off on foot again as the group was given some free shopping time before heading back to the hotel.

Shea Stadium

There was a great sense of anticipation, because that evening we had booked tickets and were to travel to Long Island, New York, in order to take in a Major League Baseball fixture which featured the famous New York Mets and their opponents the Washington Nationals. Once again travel was by foot mode as we set off south for Grand Central Station. This proved to be a somewhat unbelievable experience as Mr Tully, Mr Jørgensen, Mr Cowie, Mrs Lutton and Pipe Major MacLellan attempted to guide the thirty-plus group through the quite daunting throng that is Grand Central at five o’clock. We certainly had not previously attempted anything like this, and the group made small frantic hops from one location to another, a rather anxious head-count being conducted at each progression. Fortunately all kept their heads and sensibilities, and we safely made our train and headed towards Shea Stadium. On the way we were able to see the National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadow, New York, famous as the venue for the US Open tennis championships. The baseball game unfortunately was perhaps somewhat uneventful, although Elspeth McDowell was most helpful in being able to inform the group of the rules of the game. (Elspeth has spent some years in the United States and has a particular interest in baseball!) We did cheer vociferously for the home team, who won by three runs to two, which kept the enthusiasm up despite the bitter coldness of the night.

Tartan Day

Saturday came bright and early and we were able to focus on the main event of the tour, the Tartan Week Parade. In the morning we made a visit to the Museum of Modern Art, which most agreed was a highlight, and more shopping followed, with Mr Tully and Mr Jørgensen leading the older and perhaps more fashion-conscious boys and girls to the Abercrombie and Fitch store on Fifth Avenue, while Mr Cowie, Mrs Lutton and Pipe Major MacLellan made a cursory exploration of the parade route. Once more we returned to the hotel and had lunch, after which full dress uniforms were unpacked and carefully prepared.

The starting point for the parade was not far from West 54th Street where we were located, and we were able to walk to the event as a group. The Tartan Week Parade is massive, and the route down Fifth Avenue is some two miles long. As a Scottish school pipe band, we were something of a unique curiosity, in two ways: there were not many bands from Scotland, and none from a school. We took our place proudly close to the head of the parade, and were joined in the playing ranks by John Murphy of Edinburgh, proprietor of the Hebrides and Scotsman lounges in the Waverley area of Edinburgh. It was an exhilarating experience for the Band: as a school band we perhaps do not get to perform in mainstream events as often as we would like, and the Band members excitedly described their excitement in participating, in particular noting how massive the experience felt as they marched in between some of the largest, most famous, and tallest buildings in the world. We all felt a tremendous pride as we watched the Academy Pipes and Drums make their mark in this tremendously international event. In particular, our Pipe Major Graham Inglis marshalled the Band most professionally and it was hard to believe that at fourteen years of age this was the youngest ever Pipe Major of the Academy Band. At the culmination of the events we headed for the west end of Central Park and gave an hour-long performance to large and enthusiastic audiences.

Accies reunion

After such exertions one may have been forgiven for thinking that the rest of this final day in New York would be given over to rest and relaxation but no! — we were already looking forward to the Accies reunion which had been organised jointly by Mr Cowie and Lorna Duncan, the Academy Foundation secretary. This event took place at Cellini Restaurant on West 54th Street, close to Madison Avenue.

The Band quickly changed into our less formal white-shirt-and-tie dress and gave a performance outside the restaurant as United States Accies assembled, some coming from great distances especially for the gathering. The older Sixth- and Seventh-Year boys and girls were invited to stay for the meal while the younger majority of the group enjoyed a tremendous pizza party which was supervised by Mrs Lutton, Pipe Major MacLellan, and Mr and Mrs Grey, who were part of a small group of parents who participated on some of the events of the tour. Afterwards, the groups were assembled at the hotel for a much needed and very well-earned night’s rest.

The next day signalled the end of a memorable week. Last-minute shopping was the order, although New York was deluged by rainstorms of which most of us had never seen the like. Rain simply poured down incessantly for the entire day, and great uncertainty existed over whether we would be able to take our fl ight home: some four hundred flights had been cancelled from Newark during the day. We optimistically boarded our coach, and indeed were fortunate in that our scheduled flight was able to depart. There was some final drama involving Graham Inglis not being issued with a flight ticket, which at one point threatened the entire group with another night’s stay in New York. We arrived safely in Edinburgh early the next morning.

It had been a memorable and happy tour: the boys and girls of the Academy Pipes and Drums could not have conducted themselves with more pride and their deportment and representation as ambassadors of Scotland and of the School deserve congratulation.