May we introduce our band business manager, Karen Woodall.   She will be your primary contact when interacting with the band.   Karen can be reached by phone at (360) 576-4969 or by e-mail .

The Initial Conversation

To help drive your initial conversation, here are some topics to consider:

• When are you planning to hold your event?

• Where is the event? more than 20 miles out of town?

• How long would you like the band to play?

• What is the setting? outside, home, auditorium, ..?

• How large of a band would you like?

• Which uniform should we wear, military or formal?

How much will this cost?

The Fort Vancouver Pipe Band is a non-profit organization, and so there is no fixed price to obtain the services of the band.  We are motivated by our desire to serve the community with the best possible pipe band experience.  We would not be able to accomplish this without the gracious donations of our patrons.

Some guidelines:

• If there is significant travel, you should expect to cover that cost.

• Don't expect a discount because you only need a few minutes of playing.  In general the main 'expense' to us is the effort of assembling ourselves in uniforms and getting tuned up.  After that, whether we play for 5 minutes or 1/2 hour, the cost is the same.

• Only our most senior pipers perform as solo artists, and they deserve a premium compensation.  We recommend $125.

• A four or five member ensemble can fill a medium to small auditorium.  These small band performances can be assembled for ~$300.

• When you want the ground to shake, the full marching band is what you need.  This is typically a dozen or more musicians that can be heard for a mile away.   You should be thinking in the vicinity of $500.

• If you are representing a veterans group, emergency services, police, or fire departments, be sure and mention that to our band manager.  In most cases we waive any expectation of compensation.