Bagpiper

Matthew McRae

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(5.0)Read all 25 reviews
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About Matthew

With 27 years' of experience as a professional bagpiper, Matthew is the perfect addition to make your day special and distinct to any other!
Bagpiper
London
Public liability insurance of £10 million
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Services offered:- Weddings, Corporate, Media, Birthdays, Funerals, Burns' Suppers and Other Events of your choosing. Matthew has been playing The Great Highland Bagpipe for over 27 Years. Taught by his Father George at an early age, Matthew soon became a highly regarded and established Highland Piper within the piping community. Crowds of all sizes have been mesmerised by the majestic moments that Matthew has created for their special occasions. His delightful sound has been heard in some of the most prestigious and well known venues across the UK. Audiences in the Royal Albert Hall, Hampton Court Palace, Kew Gardens, Soho House, Mosimann’s and even the Great British Pullman steam train have been enchanted by his historic Scotia sounds. Testament to his professionalism and quality that each performance exudes, Matthew has been in demand by famous brands such as Walkers Crisps, Sony, Panasonic, Burberry and William Grant & Sons whisky distillery. Matthew has also appeared on a range of well-known TV and Radio programmes: Chris Evan's Breakfast Show (BBC Radio 2); Absolute Radio; Made in Chelsea and The Last Leg. He has also been enrolled as a session musician with the pop band Right Said Fred. Most notably Matthew has performed live with the world renown Irish folk band The Chieftains and along side the international multi-platinum selling classical crossover group Il Divo. Matthew is an accomplished skilled professional, highly versatile and flexible in his approach. He always works with his clients to ensure that every performance delivers the right impact for the intended audience. Don’t let your event be spoiled by bad sounding bagpipes. Book Matthew with confidence now. Media:- Matthew has appeared on a range of well-known TV, Film and Radio programmes: Chris Evan’s Breakfast Show (BBC Radio 2); Absolute Radio; Made in Chelsea, The Last Leg and most recently, The King’s Man, directed by Matthew Vaughn. He has also been enrolled as a session musician with the pop band Right Said Fred. Most notably Matthew has performed live with the world renown Irish folk band The Chieftains and along side the international multi-platinum selling classical crossover group Il Divo. Corporate:- Matthew has been in demand by famous brands such as Walkers Crisps, Sony, Panasonic, Burberry, Dewar's, Belmond, and William Grant & Sons whisky distillery. Band Involvement:- Matthew has always been closely affiliated with the pipe band fraternity playing with a total of four bands to-date. The first was in 1995 called the Southend Scottish Pipe Band, then after disbanding in 2002 Matthew joined the Sutherland Pipes & Drums based in Corringham, where he has played in many festivals, fetes, military tattoos, remembrance parades and Christmas celebrations. Deciding to progress his piping onto the next level, in 2012 Matthew joined Essex Caledonian Pipe Band. Being a grade 4 competition band, Matthew competed up and down the country, and internationally, including the quartets, mini bands and Jim McGuinn memorial contest in the South-east of England, the local Scotland in Colchester Competition, the Cowal Highland Gathering in Dunoon and the Scottish Weekend Competition in Belgium. Results across all competitions were very positive, picking up 1st, 2nd or 3rd place honours. Matthew is now playing, and soon to be competing with the City of London Pipe Band who play at a grade 2 level.

Encore badges
25 gigs
Pro: 25 bookings through Encore
Saved the day!
Booked for an Encore gig with less than 24 hours’ notice
7th Anniversary
This act has been working with Encore for over 7 years
Musicianship
Genres:
Classical, Ceillidh, Folk, Irish rock, Traditional Scottish folk, Traditional Irish folk, Folk rock, Medieval music, Film / TV music, Fanfare, World music, Scottish music, Alternative rock, Christmas, Military, Traditional church music
See all genres
Instruments:
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Event types:
Wedding, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Church service, Hotel / Restaurant event, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Recording session, Theatre / Show, Burns night, Birthday party, Christmas party, New Year's Eve
See all event types
Other skills:
Composer, Arranger, Instrumental teaching
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Matthew's Song list

Traditional:-
Highland Cathedral
Maries Wedding
Highland Wedding
Angus Mackinnon
Highland Laddie
Scotland the brave
Cock of the North (Aunty Mary had a Canary)
Laras Theme
Skye Boat Song (Waltz)
Major May
Major Bobby
Liberton Polka
Craigs of Tumbledown Mountain
Bonny Galloway
Badge of Scotland
The Wedding March
I am Sailing
Man’s a Man For a’ That
Loch Lomond
Stop Your Tickling Jock
Tipperary
Mason’s Apron
Flower of the Scotland
Amazing Grace
Flowers of the Forest
Wild Mountain Thyme
Abide With Me
Danny Boy
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Hector the Hero
Dark Isle
Going Home
Mist Covered Mountains
Bells of Dunblane
Mull of Kyntyre
Auld Lang Syng
Morag of Dunvegan
Highland Cradle Song
Loch Ranoch
Can Can
Gold Ring
The Clumsy Lover
Easy Club
ItchyFingers
The Pumpkin’s Fancy
The Banjo Breakdown
Paddys Leather breaches
The Man From Skye
The Carnival Reel
Calypso Piper
The Big Burl
Cabar Feidh
Black Bear
Glasgow City Police Pipers
Contemporary:-
Thin Lizzy – Whisky in the Jar
George Harrison – Here Comes the Sun
AC/DC – It’s a Long Way to the Top if you Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll
Oasis – She’s Electric
Blur – Tender
The Proclaimers – Walk 500 Miles
Pulp – Disco 2000
Rod Stewart – I Am Sailing
Happy Mondays – Step On
Faithless – Insomnia
Avicii – Wake Me Up
A Guy Called Gerald – Voodoo Ray
Jurassic Park
Harry Potter
Star Wars
Happy Birthday
Customer questions

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

My flexible approach allows for any changes to your booking. Contact me if this arises and I shall see what he can do for you.

How much time do you need to set up?

15 Minutes tops. Ideally a separate room required for tuning purposes.

Can I pick the pieces you play from the set list?

Yes, of course.

Can you learn specific pieces before the event?

Yes, most definitely. Just ask what piece of music you would like and I shall endeavour to learn it for you.
Matthew
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5 out of 5
22 verified reviews
Satisfaction
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5.0
Professionalism
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5.0
Communication
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5.0
Punctuality
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5.0

Matthew's Reviews

From Encore customers:

HP
Holly P
3 months ago
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5 out of 5

Fantastic piper for our wedding - excellent communication, fantastic music and couldn’t recommend more! Thank you so much!

Reply from Matthew
3 months ago

Good evening Holly. Thank you so much for your kind words. It was a lovely evening and one I was overwhelmed to be a part of. Thank you again for having me. All the best, Matthew

NF
Natasha F
4 months ago
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5 out of 5

Great addition to our wedding would highly recommend.

Reply from Matthew
4 months ago

Thank you. What a wedding :-). The attention to detail was second to none. Thank you for having me. All the best, Matthew

SM
Sam M
6 months ago
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5 out of 5

Perfect Performance Matthew. Thank you very much, it made our day that little bit more special having you play the bagpipes there, especially Flower Of Scotland.

Reply from Matthew
6 months ago

Thank you so much for your kind words Sam. It was my pleasure to play for you and all your family. Kind regards, Matthew

LM
Lindsey M
9 months ago
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5 out of 5

Matthew played beautifully

Reply from Matthew
9 months ago

Thank you. It was a pleasure to play for you all. Kind regards, Matthew

Read all 22 reviews

From other customers:

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London W
7 years ago

We were absolutely thrilled that we chose Matthew as our bagpiper for our wedding in London in November. We wanted to add a Scottish touch to the day, and couldn't have asked for more! His playing was excellent, and he was extremely friendly and professional and happy to accommodate our requests for where and when to play. Lots of the wedding guests said their highlight of the day was being piped along Cheapside - it created a brilliant atmosphere, and we would highly recommend him!

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London E
8 years ago

Matthew, thank you for your intrepid playing - again much enjoyed and commented on positively by many of the VIP guests you welcomed so joyfully, and so early in the morning

Read all 3 reviews