May 16, 2024
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Joliet police pipe and drum band plays on

Band formed in 2008 has grown from five to 21 members

By Bob Okon
The Joliet Pipes and Drums arrive at the annual memorial service for fallen police officers. May 18, 2023.

The Joliet Pipes and Drums arrive at the annual memorial service for fallen police officers. May 18, 2023. (Gary E Duncan Sr)

Both the Joliet Police Department and Joliet Fire Department have pipe and drum bands, something more unique to the city than most people may realize.

Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English, an original member of the Joliet Police Pipe and Drums, talked about just how special it is for a city to have such bands.

“It is fairly unique,” English said. “Because of that we get a lot of requests to perform out of town. We do our best to accommodate.”

Out-of-town events where the Joliet Police Pipe and Drums have performed include the Illinois Law Enforcement Memorial in Springfield, the Illinois Crisis Negotiations Conference in Moline, and the Iowa State Police Association Conference in Iowa City.

“We try to use our platform to make a further connection with Joliet and to represent our police department.”

—  Sgt. Dwayne English, member of the Joliet Police Pipe and Drums.

The police band was formed in 2008 at the urging of now-retired Sgt. Robert Hall, a police officer with Scottish ancestry.

“He had been playing bagpipes for many years prior to that,” English said. “It had been a dream of his to create the band.”

English joined in 2008 as a drummer and has stayed with the band since.

Many Joliet residents may recognize the police and fire department bands from their appearances in the Light-Up the Holidays Parade held in downtown Joliet.

The Joliet Police Department Pipe and Drum Band poses for a photo outside the old Will County Courthouse.

The Joliet Police Department Pipe and Drum Band poses for a photo outside the old Will County Courthouse. (Photo provided by Joliet Police Department)

The primary mission of the bands, however, is to honor police and firefighters, particularly those who die in the course of duty.

“We do honor retired employees who have passed away as well,” English said. “We perform at their services.”

The Joliet Police Pipe and Drums play at about 40 performances a year.

A new event was added this year when the Shamrock Stroll was held in downtown Joliet ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.

“We try to use our platform to make a further connection with Joliet and to represent our police department,” English said.

The band now has 21 members, much larger than the five that played when it started in 2008. They practice every Monday at accommodations provided by the University of St. Francis.

The band has a repertoire of more than 15 songs. But “Amazing Grace” tops the list as a standard, especially for memorial services.

English said he believes the effort is appreciated.

“As one of the original members,” he said, “at the first few performances we had, it was just amazing to see the people’s faces light up.”