Profiles

Pipe Major Stewart McKenzie

Stewart has been Pipe Major of Manawatu Scottish since 1999 and a member of the organisation since the age of 10, having come through the ranks of the No2 band.

He led the band to its first New Zealand Championship victory in 2001 at the age of 25, and since then Manawatu Scottish has had an unprecedented run of success winning seven New Zealand Championships, two Australasian Championships, and qualifying for the final of the World Championships on four occasions and achieving three top-10 finishes. The band has also produced two highly acclaimed albums under Stewart’s direction and performed at several prestigious international festivals and events.

Although Stewart restricts solo performances these days to flashy tuning phrases and slow airs, he is a highly accomplished solo piper and prolific prize winner with prizes including the New Zealand Championship Strathspey and Reel title (won on his 16th birthday), the New Zealand Gold Medal for piobaireachd and the Clasp to the New Zealand Silver Chanter on two occasions.Stewart regards the band more as an extended family and enjoys the team work and camaraderie as much as the competitive aspect.

He is currently based in Wellington, New Zealand, and works as a town planning consultant, and enjoys travelling, attending gigs and playing social rugby.

Drum Sergeant Graeme Parker

Graeme Parker resides in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Graeme has recently been appointed Drum Sergeant of Manawatu Scottish and has played with the band for the past two years. Previously he was a member of Field Marshal Montgomery and Ballinderry Bridge, the latter of which he was “drum-corporal” when the corps won World, Cowal and Champion of Champions titles in Grade 2.

Parker will lead the drum section from his home in Northern Ireland, and travel to select competitions in New Zealand during their summer contest season during the UK winter.When asked about the challenges of long-distance management, he said, “Global membership is fairly commonplace for Grade 1 bands these days, although I guess we’ve taken it a step further with piping in the past, and now drumming leadership remote from the band’s base in New Zealand. In saying this, Stuart Easton has done an excellent job running the pipe corps back home, likewise Fraser the drum corps. It is a real team effort.”

Pipe Sergeant Stuart Easton

Stuart is a local to Palmerston North, New Zealand, and was just 16 when he joined the Manawatu Pipe Band following the 1996 National Contest held in Palmerston North. His brother Robert also joined as a side drummer. Both have made a significant contribution to the on-going success of the band.

Throughout his piping career Stu has won virtually every major prize in New Zealand & Australia including the Silver Chanter & Former Winners Clasp, the Commun Na Piobaireachd (NZ) & McLean (AU) Gold Medals, the New Zealand Solo Piping Championships, overall winner of the RU Brown in Adelaide and the Australasian Invitational Piping final multiple times.He is a regular competitor in Scotland competing in the Silver Medals at Oban and Inverness. Stu has represented New Zealand in Lorient on five occasions and having won the Piobaireachd in 2010. As a recipient of the William Boyle Scholarship, Stuart achieved the Institute of Piping Senior Certificate at the Piping Centre in Glasgow.

Stu & his wife Shelley launched the Easton Bagpipes & Highland Supplies business in early 2011. They are actively teaching, performing recitals and running workshops throughout the Southern Hemisphere.

Drum Corporal Elliot Gardner

Born in Palmerston North and currently residing in Wellington. Elliot has been a member of Manawatu Scottish since 1994. He started drumming at the age of 9 under the tuition of Jock and Fraser McKenzie. He then had a brief stint in Auckland where he was tutored by Wayne Hobbs and joined the Manawatu no.1 band shortly after.

Since being in Manawatu he has won 7 national titles and NZ drum corps champions in 1999, 2003 and 2006 and many top solo placings. Elliot spends a lot of his time on the development of players within New Zealand and oversees the Manawatu drum corps operations in New Zealand.

Elliot’s other interests are video games, having competed at a top level in New Zealand and also running competitions for World Cyber Games NZ. He spent 6 years working in the games industry and has recently made the move to movies working in the Weta Digital IT department.

Pipe Corporal Revel McIntyre

Revel McIntyre resides in Wanganui, New Zealand, and is a long standing member of the band, first joining in 1988, and has been a member ever since. When Revel joined he received tuition from Dennis Pearce and later Greg Wilson where he quickly progressed to an A grade solo competitor and was also moved to the Manawatu Scottish No1 band in 1989.After the bands first trip to the world pipe band championships in 1997, Revel spent two years living in Scotland where he played under Pipe Major Ian Duncan in the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band. On return he took up the position of Pipe Sergeant of Manawatu Scottish for nine years and regularly stood in as Pipe Major when required over the years. He now holds the role of Pipe Corporal.

Revel has enjoyed the competitive success of the band, both domestically and internationally, and looks forward to improving its strong competitive record in the future.

Drum Corporal Daniel Stevenson

Daniel resides in Wellington, New Zealand, is the Drum Corporal in Manawatu Scottish, and leads the Bass Section. He began drumming at the age of 6, taking up the Side Drum with Marton & Districts Pipe Band. At the age of 15, Daniel switched to playing Tenor Drum which captured his interest.In 2006, he relocated to Wellington where he joined his first Grade One Pipe Band, The City of Wellington, and it’s prize winning Bass Section. In late 2008 Daniel began playing for Hamilton Caledonian Pipe Band in the largest Bass Section New Zealand had seen, with 7 Tenors and a Bass.Shortly after the 2009 New Zealand season had finished, Daniel was approached to play with Manawatu Scottish at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow later that year. After accepting the invitation, and getting to know the band, he never looked back!

In the short time Daniel has been with Manawatu, the improvement in the Bass Section has been rapid. At this stage, the main goal for the Bass Section is continued improvement for each competition played, with a long term goal of being a modern, dynamic and competitive Bass Section and one of the main contenders both in New Zealand & Internationally.