By Mollee Francisco
In many respects, Audrey Stumpf, 15, is a normal teenager. She goes to Chaska’s Pioneer Ridge Freshman Center, wears makeup, talks a mile a minute, and earns a few bucks as a lifeguard at the community center.
But then there are those moments when the Chaska resident dons a wool kilt, grabs her bass drum and steps into the center of the pipe band to play tunes like the “Clan McRae Society,” “Caber Feidh” and “Mrs. Macpherson of Inverand.”
While most teenagers have never heard of those songs, Stumpf has a deep affection for them.
“I feel it,” she said. “There’s a connection. It sounds cheesy, but the music flows through you.
“It’s awesome.”
Stumpf is a bass drummer in Minnesota Police Pipe Band. To say the band and its music is her passion would be an understatement.
“I’ll still be doing this at 98,” she says confidently. “If I’m in a wheelchair, just push me out there.”
Stumpf recently competed in the Winter Storm Highland piping and drumming competition in Kansas City, Mo. where, much to her surprise, she took home first place in the intermediate bass drum competition.
“I thought if I take third, I will be happy,” she said.
It was a culminating moment for Stumpf who “grew up” in the pipe band.
“I’ve always had a thing for bagpipes,” she confessed. But she isn’t the only one. Nearly Stumpf’s entire family plays in the pipe band including her mom, her step-dad and her brother and sister, Ryan and Erin.
Life in the band
Despite being at an age when most teenagers couldn’t fathom hanging out with their parents, Stumpf is the exception.
“I love hanging out with them,” she said.
As her mom Laurie Johnstone explains it, in the pipe band, Stumpf “isn’t a kid, she’s a drummer. She’s treated like an adult.”
“The people in the band, they are my family,” said Stumpf. “They’re the best.”
Stumpf is the youngest competitive member of the pipe band. The entire 60-plus member band ranges in age from 11-year-olds to those of retired age. They have two competitive units – one grade three unit and one grade five unit.
“Grade one is what we dream of,” said step-dad Galen Lerwick. While Lerwick points out how difficult it is to achieve that status, Stumpf stops him.
“Speak for yourselves,” she said. “I’m going places.”
Stumpf has a confidence about her that many teenagers lack. That confidence allows her to perform and compete in pipe band events all over the country. In the summer, pipe band performances, from parades to competitions to funerals, keep her family busy nearly every weekend.
The pipe band is unique in that it is the only competing musical group to play in a circle. The bagpipers form a half circle, the snare drums fill out the remainder and the bass (in this case, Stumpf) steps into the middle of the group.
It’s one of Stumpf’s favorite moments.
“Stepping onto the line before you step into the circle is so exhilarating,” she said.
The entire experience is hard work, but worth it, said Stumpf.
“I have never been in better shape,” she said.
As Stumpf looks ahead, she has a hard time deciding on whether or not it would be worth it to give up her spot in the Minnesota Police Pipe Band to go away to a school with a high caliber pipe band. Her step-dad is there to reassure her, though.
“If you play in a pipe band, you can go anywhere in the world and find a circle of friends,” said Lerwick.
For more information on the Minnesota Police Pipe Band, visit www.mppb.org [2].