THE ATLANTA PIPE BAND
ABOUT US
The Atlanta Pipe Band
Now in its 53rd year, the Atlanta Pipe Band continues to further the great tradition of Scottish music and culture through performance and education.
The APB story 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 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. At the conclusion of the 2023 season, both APB bands finished atop the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association (EUSPBA) standings, with APB's Grade 4 winning in back-to-back years.
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.
