The first time I heard the pipers was on a warm, breezy, mid-June afternoon on the Mandeville lakefront. The staunch, melodic sounds of Scottish bagpipes wafted through the air and seemingly drifted across the waves to points unknown, leaving in their wake a mesmerized crowd. Young and old alike stopped their mid-day activities to lend an ear.

I defy any living soul to hear the plaintive strains of “Amazing Grace” played on the bagpipes and be left with dry eyes. Few instruments can evoke such an emotional response. Once you’ve been smitten with the bagpiper’s resounding poetry in music, only heavy and frequent tuneful doses will cure you.
So it was for Covington resident Buddy McKay. In the summer of 1999, McKay and his family visited Disney’s Epcot Center. He became enthralled with researching aspects of his Scottish heritage, purchased some bagpipe music on CD, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Seeking to become a serious piper, McKay became a student of Steve Brownlee, an award-winning piper from Mandeville who had been playing since 1996. Others soon joined him, and Kilts of Many Colours was officially formed in January 2002. Currently comprised of four pipers and five drummers, the group is the only official band of bagpipers on the northshore with both high school and college students among its members - all of whom enjoy a common Scottish heritage. To play proficiently, a novice piper should be ready to devote years of constant practice, but the rewards are great.

Although there are more than thirty different kinds of bagpipes throughout the world, the most familiar are the Scottish Highland bagpipes. A reed instrument of great antiquity, the bagpipe consists of a chanter for playing melodies and several drone pipes. The air is forced through them from a leather bag - made of sheep or elk skin - inflated by the player. The piper uses his arm to press the air-filled bag when he wants to take a breath; this allows pipe music to be free from pauses.

Kilts of Many Colours has played at many local events, including the Chef Soirée fundraising gala and Mardi Gras parades, and at private gatherings such as parties, weddings and memorial services. In addition, the pipers participate in the Highland Games, a gathering of people with Scottish backgrounds who take part in bagpipe competitions and Scottish athletic events held in various parts of the country.

The group’s music can also be enjoyed during their informal practice sessions near the gazebo on the Mandeville lakefront on Sunday afternoons in January, February, June, July and August.

For those interested in pursuing the passion, pipe major Brownlee offers free lessons in the art of the Great Highland Bagpipes and Scottish style drumming. For more information, contact him at (985) 875-9267, or visit the website at kiltsofmanycolours.tripod.com.

Copyright 2003, M&L Publishing, all rights reserved.