Last Wednesday’s Connaught Street School holiday concert—entitled CSS Cares, Shares, and is Fair—saw students sharing their joy of the season through musical performances for family, faculty, and friends.
But before the show began, one member of faculty was honoured for having made a positive difference in his community as a teacher and musician.
Teacher and band director Andrew Rogers was presented the federal King Charles III Coronation Medal for having made a significant contribution to his community, province, and country as a master bagpiper and educator. The award was presented by none other than his sister, Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers.
“In the piping world, he’s extremely well known, but the bagpipes are a more obscure instrument, and I feel a lot of people don’t recognize his name because of that,” said Mayor Rogers. “So, to be able to bring [the award] to his school, so that the parents here really recognize his excellence and what their students are able to learn from him, make me super proud.”
Accolades
According to the Secretary to the Governor General, The King Charles III Coronation Medal was created in 2023 to “recognize 30,000 outstanding individuals of all ages and from all walks of life who have made a difference in their communities.”
Andrew Rogers was recommended for the award by Sen. Nancy J. Hartling of New Brunswick, based on a nominating letter from Rogers’ friend and RCMP Staff Sgt. John Llambias. Roger has been playing the bagpipes for more than 40 years, having competed successfully domestically and internationally. Among those competition wins are his Canadian 2011 Piobaireachd Society gold medal and a silver medal in Scotland’s Argyllshire gathering in 2001.
He has demonstrated his commitment to community by his work as a teacher in ASD-W, as a performer with the Pipes and Drums of Second Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment, the Combat Training Centre Gagetown Pipe Band and the J Division RCMP Pipes & Drums Band, and as a performer at memorial services, including those for fallen law-enforcement officers Const. Sara Burns, Const. Robb Costello, and Const. Heidi Stevenson.
“We have a concert band, and that’s Andy’s baby, so to speak. He runs our music program,” said Connaught Street School Principal Barb Corbett. “We just had a remembrance assembly, and he championed all the music for that as well. He’s also championing a choir program in our school… he’s a jewel in our crown.”
Rogers, who has been teaching in ASD-W for 15 years, was humbled by the honour.
“This was a complete surprise,” he said. “I do the piping thing as passion. It’s a lot of fun and when I’m asked to do these things, it’s not a big deal to me because it’s just giving back to the community.”
Upon receiving the award from her, Rogers embraced his sister. He then struck up the school concert band, his “baby,” to kick off the holiday concert.
“I’ve been fortunate to travel all around the world with different organizations and when I’m there, I help out. I help the band, I help with the music, help with the tuning, I help with all of that,” he said.
