The joy of meeting interesting neighbours

Maëva Leblanc

Are you in your Buy Nothing group on Facebook? It’s an amazing way to receive items people want to donate, or to give away things you may have lying around collecting dust. It’s also a great way to meet your neighbours and grow amazing friendships! I met Bethany Bisaillion a few years ago through our local BN group. In addition to having a heart of gold, she is a very talented bagpiper and teacher. If you were at the Sandy Hill Winter Carnival this year, you probably heard her play. I thought I would share more about her, so I met her for tea and asked her a few questions.

How long have you been living in Sandy Hill?

I moved to Sandy Hill about 35 years ago, after growing up all the way in Kanata. I first moved to the Glebe, and then the Byward Market, before settling in Sandy Hill.  This is a very cool community because the people that live here are interesting, fun, and very welcoming. It feels safe, it feels metropolitan, and it just feels like home.

What got you into Scottish music?

My father was a self-taught bagpiper and a true Scottish music lover. He shared his passion with us, and my sister and I started as highland dancers. I got my first chanter (the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody) at nine years old and my sister started playing the drum. We started playing in a pipe band with our two brothers and it all started there!

What do you love most about Scottish culture?

I don’t even know where to start, but I would probably just say that feeling of “being home” when being in Scotland. We go every year in the summer for the World Pipe Band Championship. We get to see good friends we have made all these years, but we also get to meet new passionate people along the way. Through the music, we get to learn more about Scotland, its history and people.

What instrument do you play and teach?

I mostly play and teach bagpipes, but I also do a little bit of snare drum.

How did you become a teacher?

I used to go to a summer school in Timmins and when I turned 17, a teacher asked me to teach a beginners class and that was it. I just love sharing my knowledge; being a teacher allows me to do that every day but also being a band member. The band and I love giving back to the community. For example, during the pandemic, we went to play outside of retirement homes; they would just open their windows and hear us play. It is a very important memory for us.

What’s your proudest moment in your career?

There are lots, but I would probably pick the two moments I played for Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland in her summer home Balmoral Castle. The first time was in 2005 and the fifth and last time was in 2022, not long before her passing. She was always so kind and remembered each and every person she had met throughout the years. Imagine the number of people she had met in her life and she could still make people feel so special!

Any fun projects coming up?

I just launched a very cool project to commemorate 100 years of the Royal Canadian Legion. I want 100 bands to play at their local legions (one for each year)… how cool! There are 1350 legions in Canada, and so far, in just a few hours after launching my project, 6 bands registered, only 94 to go! I also play the bagpipes in studios for other bands, and sometimes I get to play with rock and punk bands.

If you want to learn more about Bethany’s projects, her private lessons, her band Sons of Scotland Pipe Band (Canada’s oldest Civilian Pipe Band), or where to go to see a live show of her band, you can visit www.sospb.com/.