The Vero Beach Pipes and Drums announces the conception of the Vero Beach Youth Pipe Band. The band will consist of students starting in grades 4 and 5, studying both bagpipes and Scottish drumming. Rehearsals will begin in August at Beachland Elementary.
The overall mission of the Vero Beach Pipes and Drums is to support, nurture, and influence the core values of Scottish culture in the local community. These values are best exhibited through the regimental nature of a Scottish Pipe Band. Jacob Craig, pipe major of the group, believes that it is most important to start a musician young in order for them to be successful. While the adult sector of the Vero Beach Pipes and Drums is not a competition group, Jacob’s goal is to have a group from Vero Beach attend and compete in the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland by 2025. The 5th grade students who start with this year’s inaugural group and continue their study will have an opportunity to do just that when they are seniors in high school.
Being in a pipe band offers students the chance to experience the enjoyment and passion of playing music, learning and working in teams, developing strong leadership skills, and building life-long friendships. Rehearsals will take place at Beachland Elementary beginning in August as an after-school club. If you have a child who does not attend Beachland Elementary and is still interested in learning bagpipes or Scottish drumming, they may attend rehearsals on Tuesday nights at 6pm at First Presbyterian Church, 520 Royal Palm Boulevard, in Vero Beach. All students, including those from Beachland, will be required to attend the Tuesday night rehearsals.
As a fledgling group, the Vero Beach Youth Pipe Band is currently seeking donations. Fundraising efforts are under way to purchase uniforms, instruments, supplementing student tuition. A set of quality bagpipes can run over $1,000, and a kilt can start at $400. Combined with the many other pieces of the uniform as well as additional required equipment, the cost to be in a Pipe Band can exceed $2,000. You can help in several ways. Attend one of the upcoming fundraiser concerts by the Vero Beach Pipes and Drums, hire the group for your wedding, party, or corporate event, or make a donation by sending a check to the Vero Beach Pipes and Drums, c/o Jacob Craig, 2335 55th Square Vero Beach, FL 32966. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax exempt. The tax ID is 82-081040.
The Vero Beach Pipes and Drums is a community-based regimental Scottish Pipe Band consisting of bagpipers and drummers from throughout the Treasure Coast. Their goal is to perform, entertain, educate, and bring Scottish culture and values to the community. Through education, practice, performance, and competition, the Vero Beach Pipes and Drums aim to enhance their community through standards of excellence at all levels. Under the direction of Pipe Major Jacob Craig, Drum Major John Thompson, and Pipe Sergeant Jack Anderson, they are a fully accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization embracing Scottish culture as well as traditional dress and values.
To find out more about the Youth Pipe Band or to receive information on how you can have the adult group perform at your upcoming event, contact Jacob Craig, Pipe Major, at (772) 696-2546, vbpipesdrums@gmail.com, or visit http://www.verobeachpipesanddrums.org.
