On July 29, 2019, the Museum of Fife & Drum hosted a private tour for the family of legendary drummer, instructor, and arranger Eric Perrilloux. Tricia McCall and Susan Dolce, daughters of Mr. Perrilloux, and their families were met by board members Kyle Forsthoff and Scott Mitchell.
The family took the opportunity during a visit to the northeast to schedule some time to see the museum that their father had often spoken of so fondly. They were barely in the door before they spotted a picture of Mr. Perrilloux on our wall of legends.
Susan Dolce and Tricia McCall under a picture of their father, Eric Perrilloux at the Museum of Fife and Drum, July 29, 2019
After a brief tour, the family had the opportunity to review the Archives file on Mr. Perrilloux (which includes letters and musings in his handwriting), the file on the Chas. T. Kirk corps with whom Mr. Perrilloux played for a number of years, and a number of Kirk-related artifacts. Of particular interest were the large-format rehearsal cards used by the Kirk Corps to teach tunes to the fifers, several of which bore Mr. Perrilloux’s name.
Ms. McCall and Ms. Dolce shared stories about their father and his time spent playing, teaching, composing, and adjudicating in both the Fife & Drum and Drum & Bugle Corps circuits.
The Perrilloux family and Mark Holub have been working with the Archives committee for several years to preserve the legacy of Mr. Perrilloux, including the donation of artifacts, music, and recordings to fill out the current collection. During their visit, the family reviewed the biography that is being prepared for use with an upcoming article that will contain both sound and music files. We are excited to share these items with you very soon.
- Submitted by Scott Mitchell and Kyle Forsthoff