There was a time when unexpected visitors to Brenda Chan’s home may have thought they were arriving to something slightly unusual going on between her and husband Roger. At 36, Brenda had decided to learn the bagpipes. And while she had plenty of puff, the arm strength needed to play took a little longer to build up.
“I remember being out on the deck one day to practice, and I was trying to blow the bag up, keep the drones going and put my hand on the pipe chanter to play,” she recalls with a laugh.
“I shouted out, ‘Rog, I kind of can’t do both!’ “So he stuck his hands through my legs and came up to put them on the pipe, and it made a sound. But just at that time, a visitor came down the driveway. Awkward!”
Nearly 25 years on, Brenda is now the only woman piper currently in the Auckland Police Pipe band, which will join more than 1000 international performers at the 75th Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo event at Eden Park this month.
At 60, she can’t wait to perform stirring anthems in front of her family, which includes daughters Rebecca, 29, an engineer, and Megan, 27, a paediatric registrar. Husband, Roger, 66, is recently retired and also the band’s roadie, occasionally helping to carry gear when they go away on competitions. He uses a beach wagon affectionately known as the “Trolley Roger”.
Breaking barriers in a male-dominated field
Brenda is carving her place in a space where women are still underrepresented. Once almost exclusively male, the world of piping and drumming is now being reshaped by women, leading it into a new era, and proving the skirl of the pipes belongs to anyone with the passion and dedication to play.
Brenda will never forget the emotions and adrenaline while performing in Scotland at the 58th Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to celebrate the Diamond Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in 2007.
Moments of adrenaline and laughter
“The crowd is silent,” she recalls.
“Your heart’s beating. There’s so much anticipation. The drones start and you’re off. When you walk out through Edinburgh Castle while you’re all playing, you have to squeeze through the gate.”
Laughing, she remembers it was so tight, she got momentarily tangled up with another piper.
Humour in the band
“Another time, after a big downpour of rain, some of our players had plastic Tesco bags over our feather bonnets while we were standing around. British actor Hugh Grant made a comment to one of them, ‘That’s a great look!’ He had a chuckle and moved on.”
Outside of the band, which she describes as her second family, Brenda has had a career in the building side of property maintenance and roofing. She now works as the custody infrastructure delivery lead with the Police.
A career beyond the pipes
“Joining the Police in 2018 was a really good move for me,” she says.
“Before then, the band would get called to play at various events, like awards ceremonies, Police funerals and station openings, and I would have to ask for leave. “So I thought, ‘Why don’t I get a job where I don’t have to ask for leave?’ and joined the Police property group.”
And in a full-circle moment, multi-talented Brenda even built the band room at the Harbour Bridge Centre in Northcote Point in 2014.
“With my knowledge of contractors, we built a room within a room. Having that acoustic gap shuts the noise down, so neighbours wouldn’t hear because you can’t turn down a bagpipe!”
Quick fire
What inspired you to learn the bagpipes?
When I learned that I didn’t have to be Scottish to play them! I borrowed a nephew’s pipes for a year and 24 years later…
Have you ever had a pipe dream?
I always wanted to be outside the castle window piping Amazing Grace for Queen Elizabeth for some odd reason. When she died, I thought, “My dream is never going to be fulfilled now.”
What did you learn from your first Edinburgh Military Tattoo?
I heard a rumour that once you get to Scotland, all the pipe bands line up in a big circle to play while the Pipe Major walks around behind you. And if he doesn’t like what you’re playing, he’ll tap you on the shoulder, which means you don’t play for the whole show. I practised like mad to learn all the music and I didn’t get tapped on the shoulder – no one did. I’d never done a tattoo before, so I believed it.
The 75th Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo event takes place on February 19-21. For more info, see edintattooauckland.co.nz
