• History by PM. David Throne - In the winter of 1997 - 1998 Merton Meade, of Leesburg VA, was giving Piping lessons in Frederick, MD.  At the request of the old Frederick Scottish Society, his six students agreed to form a Pipe Band.  Under the guidance of Merton Meade, a competition was held between the six pipers to determine who was going to be Pipe Major, Pipe Sergeant, and Pipe Corporals of the band.  David Throne (Frederick, MD) won and became Pipe Major, Susan Saxton (Purcellville, VA) Pipe Sergeant, Ian Kirby (Frederick, MD) & Leslie Hughes (Sykesville, MD) Pipe Corporals and Stuart Frazier (Frederick, MD) & Rick Ryan (Leesburg, VA) Pipers.  Hearing about the band, a Scottish Society member, Bob Read III, joined as the Drum Sergeant.  Soon after, Susan Saxton's husband, David, agreed to play the base drum.  Keeping their ties to Frederick, the band chose the Scott Tartan for their kilts in honor of Francis Scott Key, author of our National Anthem and a native of Frederick.  In honor of the old Frederick Scottish Society, the band took the name - "Frederick Scottish Pipes and Drums"

  On June 6, 1998, in Culpeper, VA, the band played publicly for the first time.  With their Scott tartan kilts arriving in August, the band marched in their first parade on September 6.  The Pipe Band was awarded first place in their category in Frederick County's 250^th Anniversary Parade.  With this auspicious beginning, the band has been performing many local events and also taking some trips to Western Maryland, Virginia, and New York City.  Some of the events, ceremonies, and parades include:  Middletown Heritage Days, Christmas in New Market, First Footing on New Years Eve, Burns Night Supper, Kirkin o' the Tartan, Frederick Carillon Concerts, Frederick Celtic Festival, Frederick Ethnic Festival, Frederick in the Streets Parade, Frederick Memorial Day Ceremonies, Middletown, VA Christmas Parade 2000, Potomac Celtic Festival - Leesburg, VA 2001 & 2003, Williamsburg Scottish Festival - 2001, New York City tunes of Glory Parade - April 6, 2002, Highland Festival, Garrett County, MD - 2002 & 2003, 4^th of July Parade, Fairfax VA - 2002 (2^nd place), and Brunswick Veterans Day Parade - 2002, 2003, 2004, & 2005 (all 1^st place finishes)

  Over the past few years the band has lost and gained a few members, however the core has stayed the same.  Susan and David Saxton, Rick Ryan, and Ian Kirby have left the band, David Throne is still the Pipe Major, Stuart Frazier is now the Pipe Sergeant, Leslie Hughes is still Pipe Corporal.  They have added Scott Cameron (Frederick, MD) and Rick Calhoun (Frederick, MD) as Pipers.  The drum line has grown in leaps and bounds, from 2 drummers to 5.  This includes Bob Read III (Frederick, MD) Drum Sergeant (Lead Tip), Pete McElwain (Walkersville, MD) Drum Corporal, Base Drum (Thumper), Brian ???? (Frederick, MD) Side drummer, Caitlin Wiggington (Germantown, MD) and Ron Bird (Frederick, MD) Tenor Drummers.  In 2004 the band bought new Pearl Drums for the side drummers and the tenor drummer.

• Pipe section by Stuart Frazier

• Drum section by Bob Read III - The Drum Section or Line as they call it, has a lot to be proud of. Not only have they been serving the community since 1997, but have evolved musically by blending traditional Scottish Drum Works with newer Drum Corps style of settings. The two have proven to work very well together and mirror a trend in this music genre. The result has been a completely original drum score for the band.

  Bob Read III, the original and current Drum Sergeant, is a 1987 Frederick High School graduate where he was the percussion section leader for his Junior and Senior years. In 87 and 88, he played Snare Drum in the Iowa State Universities drum-line. After transferring back to the East Coast and obtaining a BA in Management and a MS in finance, he met the current Bass Drummer (Thumper) Pete McElwain while on a Frederick Mortgage company due diligence and project. Pete, (former Frederick Scottish Society President) suggested going to the downtown (now De-funked) Frederick Celtic Club to attend a society membership meeting. Well, after Bob talked with PM David Throne, the rest is history. The Club is no more, but Pete joined the band in 2001 as our second Bass Drummer, and is affectionately known as Thumper.

  Pete, being as social as he is, struck gold again in 2003 by meeting Brian P. at Frederick’s Oktoberfest Celebration at Shifferstadt. Brian hails from the Chicago area and again has a solid music background and became our second snare drummer. One of the Pipers, (Scott C.) knew someone who was interested in playing in the drum-line of the band. Ron Bird a Retired Police Officer and a fellow Bro. Mason (with Scott C.), had prior drumming and marching experience and joined as our first Tenor Drummer. Caitlin D. Wiggington, just 14, has stepped up to the plate by complementing our drum section as our second Tenor Drummer. The Pipe Band will undoubtedly give her a solid foundation needed to join her high school marching band.

  The band has played in New York, for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, City of Frederick Mayoral Inauguration, and countless parades, ceremonies and community outings in the Tri-State area.