THE ATLANTA PIPE BAND
ABOUT US
The Atlanta Pipe Band
Having recently entered its 52nd year, the Atlanta Pipe Band continues to further the great tradition of Scottish music and culture through performance and education.
The APB story actually begins in 1967, a few years before the band’s official founding in 1970. Henry Franz, a young Emory University student and bagpiper, was photographed playing his instrument by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. A couple of other pipers saw the article and reached out. Word began to spread in Atlanta’s Scottish community that there was a new band forming. Others joined in, and before long, APB was established! In the early days, the group performed in parades, civic events, church services, and was a part of the very first Stone Mountain Highland Games in 1972. We are proud to say that Henry remains an active member of the band to this day!
Today, APB is under the leadership of Pipe Major Rob Rogers and Drum Sergeant Patrick Osborne, fielding two competition units in Grades 3 and 4. In recent years, APB finished first in the Grade 3 Eastern U.S. Pipe Band Association standings in 2013 and 2016, straddling two third-place finishes in the intervening years. Based on these results, APB ascended to Grade 2 for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Atlanta’s Grade 4 unit is one of the Southeast’s most successful bands and is the reigning 2022 EUSPA Champion. Atlanta Pipe Band’s long history includes such titles as US Open Pipe Band Champion (Grade 3), Eastern US Pipe Band Champion (Grade 3 and 4), Southeast Pipe Band Champion (Grade 3 and 4), Southern Pipe Band Champion (Grade 3) and Midwest Pipe Band Champion (Grade 3).
APB boasts two IMDb credits -- for the soundtrack in the motion picture Into the Wild, and for the documentary Celtic Women: Believe, recorded at Atlanta’s Fox Theater.
Both competition units draw members from the metro Atlanta region and across the Southeast. Individual members of the band have competed at the highest levels in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and many are prize-winning soloists. All, however, take special pride in the ensemble performance, producing a technically challenging and musically satisfying experience for the listener.
