Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Crum Scholtens.
Hi Mary Crum, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
There are many personal pathways into playing in a pipe band. Some people have no previous experience playing a musical instrument and others may have taken piano lessons and/or played in their school bands or even studied music education and music performance in college or in the military. The Charleston Pipe Band maintains a very active teaching program. Three times a year, anyone who wants to learn to play the pipes or the drums can contact the pipe band through our website and begin your journey to eventually be able to proudly play in a parade and experience the esprit de corps that is unique to pipe band membership!
I started piano lessons in 2nd grade and then began to study clarinet in 5th grade. I played clarinet through high school and then attended the University of Michigan School of Music where I earned a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in woodwind instrument performance. I was always curious about the pipes, but never had the opportunity to catch up to a piper on the march to ask them how the thing worked. Finally, I got the chance to not only find out how the pipes work, but how to play them from my teacher Julia Harlow. After a couple of years of study, I was ready to play in The Charleston Pipe Band, the most welcoming pipe band in the Southeast!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I was naive when I started the pipes in my late 40s. I assumed that since I had experience playing all the woodwind instruments, that it wouldn’t be all that difficult for me to learn how to play the pipes. I could not have been more wrong! The first obstacle was learning to play the pipe chanter with a completely different hand position than is used on any other woodwind instrument. Instead of covering the tone with the pads of your fingers, you cover the pipe chanter tone holes closer to the second knuckle on each finger. This allows for the fastest finger movements necessary to play all the embellishments necessary to play tunes on the bagpipe.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am so fortunate to have made my avocation also my profession. I taught general music and choir for 6 years at Christ Our King-Stella Maris school and I have taught general music at Mamie P. Whitesides Elementary in Mt. Pleasant for 25 years. I have the best day job around! I have also always devoted a significant amount of my leisure time practicing to be the best clarinet player or bagpipe player I can be. It is very important to me to contribute musically to the best of my ability to whatever ensemble in which I am a member. I was a member of The Charleston Community Band for 25 years and I have been a member of The Charleston Pipe Band for a dozen years. My teaching job inspires me to foster the development of young musicians and my membership in musical ensembles keeps the spark of learning alive in my soul and I am most proud that I strive every day to communicate that enthusiasm to my students.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
The luck that I have had in my life has manifested itself in that my path has crossed many, many times with the most amazing music teachers and mentors throughout my life and to this day. I am so very grateful to them all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://charlestonpipeband.com
- Facebook: Charleston Pipe Band
