A big thanks to David Nordstrand, the talented journalist at The Californian, and his very savvy editor, Katharine Ball, for the recent story about the award-winning Monterey Bay Pipe Band. "Music That Touches the Soul" captures the band's purpose and energy in creating a forceful sound every time they compete and perform. It also describes the band's interest in attracting new serious musicians - young and old - to join the band! Read on...
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903200353
Music that 'touches the soul'
Monterey Bay Pipe Band welcomes musicians, audiences to rehearsals
BY DAVE NORDSTRAND • dnordstrand@thecalifornian • March 20, 2009
Hauntingly, the refrain of bagpipes, supported by the beat of steady drums, echoes across the ages.
"The musicality of it all is so very appealing to me," Art Capperauld said. "Maybe it's the familiarity of it, but it almost touches my soul."
A snare drummer of Scottish descent, Capperauld is a Salinas-area musician who plays with the Monterey Bay Pipe Band.
When performing, he wears ornately knit, high, white stockings, a black coat with silver-colored buttons, and 10 fine yards of green Mackenzie tartan wrapped about his waist to form a kilt.
The "sporran," a leather, purselike pouch, attaches at the waist.
"A place to put the beer opener," Capperauld said.
Smartly tailored in its traditional Scottish garb, the band steps out. It appears in many venues, including the Monterey Scottish Games & Celtic Festival, to be held this year Aug. 1 and 2 at
Toro
Regional
Park
.
Members practice most Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Student Center-Music Room at
York
School
,
9501 York Road
,
Monterey
, with free piping and drumming demonstrations 9-10 a.m.
Sessions are open to the public and to anyone interested in taking lessons or in joining the band. Just call 633-4444 in advance.
The Monterey Bay Pipe Band, at its heart a competitive band, is an award-winner and a member of the Western United States Pipe Band Association.
It was founded in 1962. Since 1997, Pipe Major Michel d'Avenas, a classically trained
musician, has been its leader.
Though d'Avenas did not start playing bagpipes until age 20, he had learned other instruments before - piano, cornet and classical guitar among them.
"More than ever, I enjoy playing the bagpipes," he said. "Sometimes five hours a day. I'm pretty obsessive. People get by on a lot less practice than me."
D'Avenas plays a classic set of Great Highland bagpipes. Made by William Sinclair & Sons of
Edinburgh
, they are mounted in ivory with engraved silver and African black wood drones.
Often, he plays them at the Inn at
Spanish
Bay
in
Pebble
Beach
, marching across the golf links at sunset.
(2 of 2)
Capperauld, 44, a chiropractor with a specialty in clinical nutrition and chronic disease, has played in pipe bands since age 5.
"I never told my classmates that I wore a kilt because they would have teased me," he said.
His grandfather was a Scottish coal miner who migrated to
Southern California
when Capperauld's father was 13. The family made the ocean voyage on the Queen Mary.
Playing in a pipe band was a family activity with Capperauld, with his father, his brother and his sister all in the same band. Now Capperauld's son, Quinn, 6, is interested in carrying on the tradition by learning to play the bagpipes.
Capperauld joined the band two years ago. He practices 30 to 60 minutes a day. He'll drive to a nearby vacant soccer field and play.
He's now the band's drum sergeant in charge of the drum corps, which has six snare drummers, two bass drummers and two tenor drummers.
"I write the snare scores," Capperauld said. "It's sort of like a manager."
In 1986, Capperauld visited
Scotland
for two weeks. It's been his only trip to the homeland.
"We went to [pipe band] contests, and I was awed by the high caliber of bands and the large number of talented musicians in the bands," he said.
D'Avenas, too, has visited
Scotland
.
He's made about seven trips to play the bagpipes and to study the instrument.
Scotland
is awash in misty beauty, serene and dark.
"But you pay for all the beauty with the weather," he said.
"It's so green because it rains all the time. The weather is depressing."
Yet, d'Avenas plays better in
Scotland
, he said.
"Not sure why that is," he said. "It's like with their Scottish whiskey that we get over here. It's identical to what they drink, but it tastes better in
Scotland
."
Capperauld, 44, a chiropractor with a specialty in clinical nutrition and chronic disease, has played in pipe bands since age 5.
"I never told my classmates that I wore a kilt because they would have teased me," he said.
His grandfather was a Scottish coal miner who migrated to
Southern California
when Capperauld's father was 13. The family made the ocean voyage on the Queen Mary.
Playing in a pipe band was a family activity with Capperauld, with his father, his brother and his sister all in the same band. Now Capperauld's son, Quinn, 6, is interested in carrying on the tradition by learning to play the bagpipes.
Capperauld joined the band two years ago. He practices 30 to 60 minutes a day. He'll drive to a nearby vacant soccer field and play.
He's now the band's drum sergeant in charge of the drum corps, which has six snare drummers, two bass drummers and two tenor drummers.
"I write the snare scores," Capperauld said. "It's sort of like a manager."
In 1986, Capperauld visited
Scotland
for two weeks. It's been his only trip to the homeland.
"We went to [pipe band] contests, and I was awed by the high caliber of bands and the large number of talented musicians in the bands," he said.
D'Avenas, too, has visited
Scotland
.
He's made about seven trips to play the bagpipes and to study the instrument.
Scotland
is awash in misty beauty, serene and dark.
"But you pay for all the beauty with the weather," he said.
"It's so green because it rains all the time. The weather is depressing."
Yet, d'Avenas plays better in
Scotland
, he said.
"Not sure why that is," he said. "It's like with their Scottish whiskey that we get over here. It's identical to what they drink, but it tastes better in
Scotland
."
