Starting in childhood, Pipe Major Greeley is committed to learning the art of the Great Highland Bagpipes. Having studied under Aggie Wallace and Piper to the Sovereign,Pipe Major Alec MacDonald, she continues to study under world class pipers, including Gold Medalist Jori Chisholm. As the creator of the Annual Aggie Wallace Memorial Piping and Drumming Competition and founding member of Celtic Kula Pipe Band, she never passes up an opportunity to work with other pipers to improve their skills. Her musical direction provides challenging music and events for Celtic Kula Pipe Band.
Piping since 2002, Melanie Brown started with the Stroller White Pipes and Drums in Juneau, Alaska under Pipe Major Laurie Gardner and world class instructor Ken Eller. She played with SWPD for many years and was at times Pipe Sargent and Band President. Moving to Hawai'i in 2014, she joined the Celtic Pipes and Drums of Hawaii in 2015 and was Band Vice President. She is now a founding member of Celtic Kula Pipe Band of Hawai'i, established in October 2018. She is the secretary/treasurer and Pipe Sergeant of CKPBH. In addition, she is a member of the competition bands Detroit Highlanders Pipe Band and the Hawai'i Caledonian Pipe Band. With retirement from a 32-year career with the Federal government, she can spend time piping and attending piping workshops with more world class instructors, including Jori Chisholm and Jack Lee. She looks forward to playing great music and keeping the piping traditions growing through performances, competition, and teaching.
US Coast Guard Lt. Commander Jessica McCollum began her piping journey in November, 2023 with the Celtic Kula Pipe Band of Hawaii. Fellow Coastie and band member Lt. Commander Jax Bethel introduced her to the group, and Jess began taking lessons and joining in practices right away. By April 2023 she was on full pipes playing some beginner tunes, and recently celebrated her first year of piping by playing with the band for the annual Veteran’s Day ceremony at the War Memorial in Waikiki. She is excited to continue improving, practicing, and playing with CKPB!
AJ is a retired US Navy Chaplain who was stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. He is originally from New York (City), and has lived all over the US. After many, many years studying classical music and playing the viola in College and Community orchestras, he switched to GHBs in 2016. He’s attended a few years of the Balmoral School of Piping and Drumming summer sessions in East Stroudsburg, PA, and loves making music with friends. He even enjoys composing pieces for GHB from time to time! He now resides in Florida.
Some part of me always wanted to play the pipes, but I didn’t get started until much later in life. My late grandmother had gifted me a chanter when I was younger, and at some point I got up the nerve to look up the nearest band to where I lived, reach out, and even show up with that chanter in tow. I was quite fortunate that the closest band was Ulster Scottish (in the Philadelphia region), who were quite rigorous in their piping standards. I joined the lower-level band, traveled to many competitions, but moved after a few years and lack of nearby bands and the busy-ness of life intervened. I was happy (and a little surprised) to find pipe bands in Hawai‘i, and am now working to get both my pipes and my piping back in shape.
