I am a professional bagpiper based in Sheffield, Yorkshire. I took up the bagpipes after being encouraged to do by my mother who is from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. Nobody else in the Scottish side of the family played the bagpipes so I was to be the first! I always loved hearing the pipes as a child so I was very keen to learn. I have now been playing for over 25 years and have performed at 1000’s of weddings, funerals, birthday parties, schools, colleges, sergeant’s messes, Remembrance Sunday, Burns Suppers, Hogmanay, etc. I have appeared on ITV programmes ‘The Lakes’ and also ‘The Dales’ playing at weddings featured on the shows. A few years ago I played at the Bollywood Awards at Sheffield Arena which was broadcast worldwide.
For the last 5 years I have been the official Duke of Edinburgh Bagpipe Tutor at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate. This involves teaching a class of beginners every Monday night. I also teach at home privately and recently I’ve started to help teach amateur pipers at The Sheffield Pipe Band for their Tuesday night practice. Two of my private students are now full time members of the band.
My website and Facebook pages are full of testimonials from clients delighted with my services.
I can perform in Full No.1 Dress (feather bonnet, horsehair sporran, doublet, shoulder plaid, etc) or Traditional Formal Dress (Argyll Jacket, Shirt, Tie, Kilt, etc) . I have a choice of tartans including American Universal (No.1 or No.2 Dress), Royal Stuart, Mackenzie, Blakc Watch or my family tartan Brown .
As well as playing the Great Highland Bagpipes, I also have a beautiful set of bellow blown Fred Morrison Smallpipes which are suitable for playing indoors. They are very popular for playing during wedding ceremonies, ie the signing of the register.
I am based in Stocksbridge, Sheffield so I’m well located for surrounding towns and cities including Leeds, Doncaster, York, Rotherham, Wakefield, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Manchester, Stockport, Pontefract, Rotherham, Chesterfield, Nottingham, Mansfield, Derby, Hull, and Lincoln, etc. I’m more than happy to travel, it gives me chance to listen to my music louder than my wife lets me get away with at home!
