PIPES & DRUMS BAND
ABOUT
The “Twin Ports Highlanders Pipes & Drums”, as the band is now known, was formed in 1990 originally as the “Duluth Scottish Heritage Association Pipes & Drums” by Judge David Sinclair Bouschor. The band chose to dawn the Clan Sinclair hunting tartan when founded and it is still in use when performing today. It is a green tartan with hints of blue, orange and dark green.
Over the past 30-plus years, the band’s reach has grown immensely. From small beginnings in Duluth, we now typically play across the Minnesota Iron Range, Duluth-Superior, northern and central Wisconsin geographies. We can be seen performing year-round at parades, performances, weddings, funerals, formal dinners, etc. Keep an eye on our facebook page for upcoming events and parade announcements!
Please contact Pipe Major Chuck Bergquist at cbbergquist@gmail.com for any inquiries such as…
- Lessons for Bagpipes and Drums (free of charge minus equipment)
- Booking the band or individual pipers for a wedding, funeral, etc.
- Joining the band or attending practice
Folks may also send inquiries via direct messages to our Twin Ports HP&D facebook page. We try to respond when able.
The band practices weekly on Wednesdays, 6:30pm, at Trinity Masonic Lodge. Listen for the pipes in Lincoln Park on those nice summer days!
-
Trinity Masonic Lodge
2118 W 1st St
Duluth, MN 55806
HISTORY
Latest Updates: Band name change
In 2025, 35-years after the founding of the band, it was decided that the name of the band would be changed to “Twin Ports Highlanders Pipes & Drums”. We felt it was time for a change, as our band has grown leaps and bounds over the years with many pipers and drummers in the band residing in the greater twin ports region – from Duluth/Superior to Solon Springs and Hayward! Our participation in parades and events that we play in each year has also expanded. We are playing more consistently outside of Duluth, from the Iron Range down to Hayward!
We also included “Highlanders” because we are a Scottish pipes and drums band, and it is a nod to the rich Scottish history of the Twin Ports.
Other History of Pipes & Drums in Duluth-Superior.
1920s – 1950s: Clan Stewart Pipes & Drums “The Kiltie Band”
CLAN STEWART OSC (ORDER OF SCOTTISH CLANS) NO. 50 WAS FORMED IN 1888 IN DULUTH. IT WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST AND MOST ESTABLISHED OSCs NOT ONLY IN MINNESOTA, BUT THE COUNTRY. CLAN STEWART OFFICIALLY ESTABLISHED A PIPES AND DRUMS BAND SOMETIME IN THE 1900s. THE BAND PLAYED AROUND TOWN, MOST NOTABLY AT 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATIONS AND THE ANNUAL CLAN STEWART PICNIC IN FOND DU LAC. MANY OF THE STANDARD TUNES FROM SCOTLAND WERE PLAYED AS PART OF THE REPERTOIRE. ONCE THE BAND MEMBERS BEGAN TO PASS AWAY, THERE WERE VERY FEW REMAINING IN THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR WHO KNEW HOW TO PLAY THE GREAT HIGHLAND BAGPIPE. JOHN C. MCLOUGHLIN LEARNED HOW TO PLAY THE BAGPIPES FROM THE LADS IN THE CLAN STEWART PIPES & DRUMS AND WAS ONE OF VERY FEW WHO PASSED ON HIS KNOWLEDGE TO TEACH FUTURE GENERATIONS OF PIPERS AND DRUMMERS IN THE REGION.
1965 – 1990: AAD Shrine Pipes & Drums beginnings.
(Originally written by John C. Mcloughlin).
IN THE FALL OF 1965, A GROUP OF SHRINERS IN SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN, WHO CALLED THEMSELVES “THE SUPERIOR SHRINE CLUB”, DECIDED TO TRY AND ORGANIZE A PLAYING, MARCHING, BAGPIPE BAND TO AUGMENT THE OTHER PERFORMING UNITS FOR WHICH THE SHRINE IS NOTED. A DULUTHIAN, ROD McKENZIE, SUGGESTED THAT THE ONLY BAGPIPER IN THE AREA AT THAT TIME, JOHN C. McLAUGHLIN, DULUTH, MIGHT BE PREVAILED UPON TO TEACH THE NEW GROUP. McLAUGHLIN, WHO HAD LEARNED PIPING FROM THE CLAN STEWART PIPE BAND, DULUTH, A GROUP OF SCOTS EMIGRES WHO HELD TO THEIR NATIVE MUSICAL TRADITIONS AGREED TO TEACH THE “INSTRUMENT OF THE GODS”, AND LESSONS WERE SET UP. FUNDS FOR INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT WERE MADE AVAILABLE THRU THE BACKING OF A NUMBER OF SUPERIOR BUSINESSMEN, ONE OF THE FOREMOST BEING BOB FRASER, THE OWNER OF FRASER SHIPYARDS IN SUPERIOR. BECAUSE OF FRASERS ACTIVITY ON BEHALF OF THE NEW GROUP THE FRASER TARTAN WAS ADOPTED FOR THE BAND KILT AND THE FRASER CLAN CREST WAS ALSO ADOPTED AS THE BAND INSIGNIA.