Jim Kilpatrick MBE
Jim Kilpatrick MBE started playing drums at the age of 9. His progress was so rapid that within two years he was competing at the highest level in Grade 1 competition.
Jim has received many awards and honors throughout his prestigious and successful career as a drummer/percussionist. These include MBE for his services to Music & Drumming, awarded by Her Majesty The Queen. Percussion Arts Society, Life Time Achievement award. Scottish Music, Hall of Fame.
At the age of 15, Jim joined Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia pipe band, where in 1973 he won his first World Drum Corps and World Pipe Band Championships - the first of Jim's record nineteen World Drum Corps Championships. Fifteen of these titles have been won as a leading drummer. This also includes winning the World Drum Corps Championship for a record breaking eleven years in a row between 1988 and 1998.
Jim has also led his Drum Corps in winning the Champion of Champions Drum Corps nineteen times. Jim’s move into the solo drumming arena proved to be equally successful. He has smashed every record in the books by winning the World Solo Drumming Championships no less than sixteen times. He has also won the Champion of Champions solo drumming title three times.
Another record Jim holds is that of being the only leading drummer ever to win the 'Grand Slam', which consists of winning all five major drum corps championships in one season in 1991. This run coincided with him actually winning 10 major drumming championships in a row over three seasons between 1990 and 1992.
The highlight of Jim’s pipe band drumming career was when he helped to reform the Spirit of Scotland pipe band in 2016. It was the dream band and in Jim’s words, he had his “Dream Team” Drum Corps at his side. A Drum Corps full of multiple band and solo world champions. Jim and his corps again made history by winning the UK drumming championships in the new bands first year in competition.
It is on record that Jim is the most successful Pipe band percussionist in history.
Education -
Jim is continuously invited to teach and perform in schools and colleges all over the world, as well as making countless master class appearances at drum clinics and percussion festivals around the world including the Royal School of Music, London and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Jim has also conducted drum clinics for Percussive Arts Society conventions in the USA.
Jim is responsible for creating and spearheading the SQA Pipe Band Snare Drumming examinations and integrating these examinations into the Scottish Educational system where young pipe band snare drummers can take pipe band snare drumming as part of their national music exams. Having written a book of example drum scores for the exams, he is also an appointed examiner to the SQA Scottish Qualifications Authority, which involves the assessment of Standard to Advanced Higher Grade Music students from all over Scotland.
These achievements rank JIM KILPATRICK as one of the top percussionists in the world today, and he is regarded as the world’s greatest exponent of the snare drum.
Endorsements -
Jim is proud to be a top endorsee for the British Drum Company, Remo Drumheads, Hardcase Drum Cases and Jim Kilpatrick percussion products.
