By Elizabeth Lande, Reporter & Designer
As I stood on the wide swath of yard, casting my gaze towards the nearby trees and, slightly farther away, a herd of Jacobin sheep, freshman Ella Yarkin picked up her bagpipes. A few moments later after brief hesitation, she began to play.
Following this short exhibition of her talent, she put down her worn instrument, laughing slightly at herself.
The age on the instrument clearly shows the long timeline of Yarkin’s hobby, a journey that started five years ago after she picked it up from her older sister. The two of them, along with their younger sister, now play in the Northwest Junior Pipe Band (NWJPB).
NWJPB is comprised solely of kids in high school or below, who play either the bagpipes or one of three varieties of drums: tenor, scottish snare and base. The higher level musicians perform against other bands at competitions primarily in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
Several years ago, NWJPB traveled to Scotland for the World Pipe Band Championships. While Yarkin wasn’t at competition level at that time, the event still had a profound effect on her — in part due to the sheer volume of the event, as there were 256 bands in attendance from all over the world.
“We saw a band from … Malaysia, and they had turbans and tiger skins,” Yarkin said. “It definitely encouraged me to keep going.”
The band will return to Glasgow, Scotland in 2020, for which Yarkin will be able to compete.
Her determination to improve her piping does consume significant amounts of time in her schedule. As NWJPB practices are held on Tuesdays and on alternating Sundays in Shoreline, Yarkin can spend up to 10 hours per week just driving to and from band.
Still, Yarkin dedicates herself equally to school. Even though she is just a freshman, she is currently taking both chemistry and biology, as well as Algebra II. Next year, she plans to pursue her love of science and math into the AP chemistry course.
“Ideally, I would like a science career that also helps environmental issues, because I think that climate change is a big problem,” Yarkin said. “Definitely sciences like engineering, because that involves a lot of math, too.”
Yarkin also discussed her early childhood, which many would consider to be alternative, or at least unique. Her parents own Sun Island Farm, a working farm on Maury Island. The farm produces fruits and vegetables primarily, though they have raised pigs, goats, poultry, and currently, sheep. In the summer, Yarkin helps out on the farm and at the Sun Island booth at the local farmers’ market.
World travel is also a unique aspect of Yarkin’s life, and she has journeyed to several parts of Southeast Asia and Africa in addition to Scotland. The experiences have had varying degrees of influence on her life, ranging from eating a wider variety of foods to simply being grateful for what she has.
“Traveling at a young age, it was really interesting to see the different cultures, and it definitely made me a lot less of a picky eater,” Yarkin said with a laugh, recalling a trip to Vietnam where she ate, among other things, rat, frog legs and alligator in one meal.
Her tone turned more serious when telling of the trip her family took to visit her grandmother, who was stationed in Ghana as a part of the Peace Corps.
“It’s such a different level of development there that I think it was [valuable] to see that I have lot of stuff that people all over the world just don’t have,” Yarkin said.
For this reason and the pure enjoyment of her hobbies, Yarkin approaches all aspects of her life with a high level of commitment.
“They’re all things I enjoy, so it’s pretty easy to be motivated,” Yarkin said. “I don’t really have a reason to do all of it; it’s just [that] I want to.”
Looking forward, Yarkin hopes to push herself further by entering individual piping competitions. From these events, pipers receive critique on their playing from internationally-renowned musicians. Their ranking from these solo competitions also allow pipers to move up “grades” of piping within the local British Columbia Pipers’ Association.
On March 29, NWJPB traveled to Surrey, British Columbia, to compete in the first major competition of the season, in which the band placed first out of five bands in their grade.
“I’m really proud of how it went,” Yarkin said. “The pipers played really strongly as a corps, and my sister, Adri, was playing harmonies that she had only received the music to a week before.”
For those interested in hearing Yarkin perform, NWJPB is holding a concert on May 12 in Edmonds. Tickets are available at edmondscenterforthearts.org, and more information can be found on the band’s website, nwjpb.org.