78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band

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The 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipe Band is a Grade 1 pipe band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, formed in 1983. It is linked to the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, which spent nearly three years at Citadel Hill in 1869–1871. The band traces its roots to Halifax’s fife and drum tradition and cadet bands, and in 1983 it joined the Halifax Police Association. Under Pipe Major Wayne Moug, the band started in Grade 3 and grew to become the top band in Atlantic Canada, earning promotion to Grade 1 in 1991. In 2001, budget issues led the band to leave the Halifax Police Department and join a re-enactor troop, adopting the name 78th Highlanders (Halifax Citadel) Pipes and Drums. The group has competed internationally, with World Championship placements of 8th in 2004, 13th in 2005, and 12th in 2015, and North American titles in 2003 and 2014; it finished 3rd in 2019. Today there are about 60 pipers and drummers, compared with the 21 drummers and 6 pipers when the regiment was stationed here long ago. The current Pipe Major is Alex Gandy and the drum sergeant is Tom Cuming; the tartan is Mackenzie. The band even performed Mull of Kintyre with Paul McCartney in Halifax in 2009. For more information, visit 78thhalifaxpipeband.org.