IN HONOR OF HIS MEMORY RON PLACKEMEIER

This year Senior Share honored one of its greatest supporters.
He was honored at the beginning of the festivities
with the playing of the pipes by one Jimmy Mitchell. It was
a touching tribute from Texas’ own Bagpiper.
My piping journey began in 1981 when I enrolled in 4th
Grade at St. Thomas’ Episcopal School in Houston, Texas.
I can remember my mother mentioning to me before
the first day of class that the school had a bagpipe band
but I had no idea what that was. About the third week of
school one of the seniors walked into my classroom and
asked who was interested in joining the band and learning
the bagpipe. A couple of my friends raised their hand
so I did as well (I guess it was peer pressure at work).
While the senior was putting my name on the band list I
remember asking him, “By the way, what is a bagpipe?”
That is how my journey to playing the bagpipes began – it
had nothing to do with the Irish and Scottish heritage in
my family.
My first instructor was Campbell Naismith, whose wife
was a highland dancing instructor at the school. In the
beginning I wasn’t a very serious student, habitually arriving
to lessons without my chanter, and in fact, just about
didn’t make it through that first year. However, the tide
turned when, after coming to class three days in a row
without my chanter, Mr. Naismith told me if I didn’t bring it
the next day I would be kicked out of the band. Needless
to say, after this wake-up call I began to take things more
seriously and truly dedicated myself to the instrument.
In the summer of 1985, just after I had finished 8th
Grade, Mr. Cusack took the band over to Scotland to
compete in the World Pipe Band Championships. The
band placed 1st in the Juvenile Division and this marked
the first time an American band had ever won a World
Pipe Band Championship. For the whole month of August
the band toured Scotland and competed at various Highland
Games. It was during that month I was in Scotland
that I was able to see where the bagpipes came from and
to learn about the Scottish culture. This trip to Scotland
made me want to work even harder at becoming the best
player I could be.
After graduating from St. Thomas in 1989 I started college
at the University of Houston and joined the Hamilton
Pipe Band in the fall of that year. At that time the Hamilton
Pipe Band was led by Lars Sloan, although he would
leave the band at the end of 1989. During this period the
band played at the Texas Renaissance Festival, my first
time to play at this type of event, and would be a foreshadowing
of what was to come a few years later..
In 1995 I graduated from college and also joined a
Celtic group called The Rogues. It was at this time that I
knew piping was what I wanted to do for a living. For the
next four years I would divide my time competing with the
Hamilton Pipe Band and playing with The Rogues. In the
fall of 1995 The Rogues recorded their first album and
performed at the Texas Renaissance Festival. At the end
of 1995 I left The Rogues, but was back again at the end
of 1996..
During my time with The Rogues we made five albums,
toured throughout the United States, and performed in
Canada and Scotland. At this time I also started teaching
the bagpipes and several of my students have won
trophies and awards in competition. This is also when I
started composing tunes, several of which are on The
Rogues’ albums. My first composition, “The Rock,” was
even played by a pipe band at the World Pipe Band
Championships.
At the end of 2004, after nine years, I left The Rogues
to begin my solo career and in 2005 my fiancée and I
moved to Forney, Texas. Today, I find myself very busy
with weddings, funerals, church services, golf tournaments,
cultural events, anniversary and retirement parties,
just to name a few. As always, I continue to look
forward to what the future holds in my piping journey!