International Bagpipe Day is not until March, but the local, unofficial version will occur the first week in September, which will feature four appearances by the Monmouth College Pipe Band.
Directed by 2019 Monmouth graduate Aaron Kimzey, the band, whose history dates back more than 75 years, will give its first performance of the fall semester at 4 p.m. Aug. 17, when it plays the processional and recessional at the college’s annual matriculation ceremony on Wallace Hall Plaza.
Two days later on Aug. 19, a piper and drummer will lead the way from campus to the Public Square as part of the annual New Student Walkout. Once downtown, the duo will play for an additional 10 minutes.
The pipe band will have about two weeks off before returning for the busiest part of its schedule – two parades, the Fighting Scots’ season-opening football game and a road trip to Iowa.
At 3 p.m. on Sept. 1, the band will play for the first time at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The group will set up at the Family Tent, directly across from the Wright Family Church Tent.
The following day, Sept. 2, will see the band leave town again, heading just a few miles to the Galesburg Labor Day Parade. Spectators wanting to see the Monmouth group in action should get there early, as the pipe band is at the front of the five-block parade, which will begin at 10 a.m., going from Chambers Street to Cherry Street.
“The band is comprised of 13 talented musicians this year,” said Kimzey, noting that five of the members are current students. “It is a great honor to be sharing the identity of Monmouth College in so many places this year.”
The pipe band will be back on home turf at 5 p.m. Sept. 4 for the Warren County Prime Beef Festival, which will take them down Broadway and right in front of campus.
Then the group will literally be on home turf Sept. 7 for the football opener under the lights against Wartburg. The pipe band will lead the team to newly renovated April Zorn Memorial Stadium at 6:50 p.m., then split the halftime performance slot with the Fighting Scots Marching Band.
By that point, the pipe band’s performance schedule will be roughly halfway complete, with four more home football games to go on Sept. 21, Oct. 5, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2. The Oct. 5 performance will be preceded by the 10 a.m. Homecoming parade, and members of the group will also play at the Spirit Shout the night before.
***Courtesy of Barry McNamara, Monmouth College***
