Meet Our Instructors

We are delighted to share with everyone that Hannah Skinner is our official drum instructor for bass, tenor, and snare drummers! We are incredibly lucky and very excited to have her as our drum corps instructor.

We are also very pleased to announce that our Pipe Major, Jim Ryan, continues to give his excellent instruction and mentoring to all our pipers while leading our quest for excellence as we work towards being the best performance band we can be. Jim has improved many bands and developed many people to perform at very competitive levels, and we are thrilled to have him.

If you are interested in exploring a new instrument in 2026, or perfecting your craft and reaching your potential, you will not find a better place to do that than with Williamsburg’s own pipe band, instructed by two World Champions: Jim Ryan and Hannah Skinner.

Jim Ryan

Pipe Major and Bagpipe Instructor

Jim was born in a log hospital in the frontier of America…wait, wrong story!

Jim has been Pipe Major (P/M) of the Williamsburg Pipes and Drums for the last three years, basically since he moved here and asked, “Do you guys want some help?”

While Jim has had a relatively successful amateur piping career in the 46 years he has been playing, his primary focus has been playing with, leading, and teaching pipe bands. Jim has played with bands across all competitive levels including the LA Scots (Grade I) and the City of Washington and MacMillan Pipe Bands (Grade II). He was fortunate enough to win a World Championship with the City of Washington in 1999 under P/M Mike Green. Jim was also P/M of the Grade III Phoenix Pipe Band when he lived out west.

Hannah Skinner

Drum Instructor

Hannah started her pipe band career with the Grandfather Mountain Highlanders in 2009 and has been competing at the professional level in both bass and tenor since 2013. She has written scores of scores (see what I did there?) and provided instruction for bands throughout the southern United States.

Hannah graduated from Methodist University in 2018 with a music degree in Percussion Performance and Music Education. While in school, she was a member of the 2018 Grade 2 World Champion City of Dunedin Pipe Band. The following year, Hannah played with City of Dunedin as they captured the Grade 1 North American Championship in Maxville, Ontario.

Hannah teaches at the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming in North Carolina as well as at the annual Tartan and Taps convention that focuses on service bands and improving their level of play. She is also the Lead Drummer at the annual Virginia International Tattoo.