ABOUT
Matthew Taylor, Piper | Mata Dubh mac Ailean mhic Coinneach, Pìobair
With over 20 years experience as a bagpiper and performer, I have developed a large repetoire of tunes for any mood and any occasion. I am available to pipe for casual and formal events, and can appear in modern or historical (18th or 19th century) regalia.
I am a former Pipe Major and a current officer in the West Virginia Highlanders of Davis & Elkins College. I have bagpiped for weddings, funerals, monument dedications (including the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C.),
festival opening and closing ceremonies, parades, business grand openings, church services, anniversary parties, birthday celebrations, retirement parties, soldiers returning home, ceilidhs, Burns dinners, holiday parties, historical reenactment events, and many more.
If you want to celebrate or memorialize with bagpipes, I can work with you to develop a set list that will work for your event. Generally available throughout West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, but willing to travel for high-profile events or with payment to cover expenses.
I am proud of my Scottish, Celtic, Pictish, and Norse ancestry, and have conducted extensive research into myths, history, way of life, and music of these cultures.
In addition to bagpiping, I am available for lectures and living history presentations on Norse myth and literature, Celtic myth, the history of Scotland up to the Highland Clearances in the 19th Century,
Scottish folklore and ghost stories, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, the history and use of tartan and the kilt, the history of bagpipes, and Scottish dance and music.
Furthermore, I am a registered wedding officiant in West Virginia and can perform traditional Scottish weddings, handfastings (Scottish, Celtic, or Wiccan), and Norse pagan (Vanatru/Asatru) weddings in the state of West Virginia.
Finally, I am connected to the West Virginia Highland Dancers and the West Virginia Highlanders (bagpipe band) of Davis & Elkins College, so if you are looking for a dance performance or a full band performance, please reach out to me and I can pass your message along.
Typical cost for piping: $100/hr + $1/mi (driving) beyond 20 miles from Elkins, WV 26241
