Established in 1997, the University of Mary Washington’s Eagle Pipe Band is a musical ensemble composed of college students, faculty, alumni, and community members. Our band includes bagpipers, drummers, and highland dancers. We perform at official university events, including Commencement and Eagle Gathering, in addition to various events in the Fredericksburg community and competing in the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association. We are one of a few dozen institutions of higher learning in the United States with an in-house bagpipe band and Scottish Highland dance troop, making the Eagle Pipe Band a unique Mary Washington tradition. Starting in the Fall of 2019, we began offering MUPR275B: Eagle Pipe Band for class credit.
The Eagle Pipe Band is primarily funded through donations. Contributions are used for two purposes: to fund our Celtic Arts Scholarship, which supports UMW students who participate in the band; and, to purchase equipment and uniforms for the band. We wear the official Mary Washington tartan, designed to reflect our school colors and we are the only ones who wear this tartan. We provide UMW students all their uniforms and instruments (bagpipes and drums) free of charge.
Donations allow us to provide scholarships to UMW students during the school year and to attend summer workshops and band camps. These donations also help us with basic maintenance and replacement of our instruments and uniforms. For example, this past year we needed to purchase a new kilt for a student; each kilt is custom made by a professional kilt-maker using our unique Mary Washington tartan. Each bagpipe has four reeds and these specialized reeds need to be replaced periodically. Drum heads wear out, including on our custom UMW bass drum. Donations allow us to look and sound sharp so that we can continue to represent the Eagle Nation proudly.
| Rank | State | Gifts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NONE | 0 |
| 1 | AA | 0 |
| 1 | AE | 0 |
