St. John’s Pipers of Ocean Springs, MS Bagpipes for weddings, funerals, festivals and more - solo or group performances

The St John’s Pipers perform for audiences ranging from Elementary School music classes to ultra formal private cocktail events. They have performed at local festivals in both individual and ensemble forums. We are skilled and experienced at advising planners on uses of the bagpipe in their ceremonies, and have assisted in funeral and wedding planning through consultation before the event and performing during it. We are flexible and compassionate, and all of our pipers will dress well for the occasion.

Most good bagpipers can play for 45 minutes with breaks. Playing the bagpipes requires lots of energy, stamina, and air. If a client wants a piper to play for an extended period of time, usually we will play straight for ten to fifteen minutes, take a three to five minute break to catch our breath, rest the bagpipes and drink some water, and continue this cycle until we have played for the requested amount of time.

Part of hiring a bagpiper is having the opportunity to see a typical Scottish outfit. Unless you request something different, your piper(s) will dress in a traditional kilt outfit including a kilt, belt, sporran, knee high socks, flashes, ghillie brogues, sgian dubh, and some combination of formal vest and jacket.

The bagpipes are very loud because they were designed to be heard over the heat of battle. However, a bagpiper can perform indoors when the space is large enough for the sound to spread out. Many churches have high ceilings and spacious rooms that are perfect for a bagpiper. Conversely, when the room is small and there are lots of people packed inside, we may suggest to play outside of the room instead. Usually we open the doors when we are playing outside so that the sound of the bagpipes may reach all guests without causing undue distress.