Richard Kean - Texas Professional Bagpiper
- Houston, TX
- Bagpiper
- 63 Verified Bookings
Joshua D. said “Mr. Jean arrived early, was prepared and performed flawlessly. He made the memorial service extra special for our family.”
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New to the site! St. John’s Pipers are available for hire individually or as a group. With over 25 years of piping experience, COL. Bill Christmas (seen here) is a highly accomplished piper who has played for multiple official events during his long military career. Since retiring, he has performed solo at police funerals, fire and police academy graduations, weddings, festivals, parades and graveside performances. He has a well-polished and professional performance for that special gathering or memorial service. As Pipe Sergeant of the St John’s Pipers of Ocean Springs, he teaches the bagpipes and manages bookings for the SJP members. We will work with you to make your event special!
COL Bill Christmas and his team are the most reliable and prompt component of any ceremony planning process. I have had the pleasure of working with COL Christmas for the past two years to plan the Keesler AFB 9/11 remembrance ceremony, and he has consistently exceeded my expectations. His expertise and professionalism are unmatched, and his dedication to the community is truly inspiring.
COL Christmas's performance at the end of the ceremony is always a highlight. His bagpipe playing is stirring and emotional, and it perfectly captures the solemnity of the occasion. I highly recommend COL Christmas to anyone looking for a bagpiper for their ceremony. He is the right choice for any event, and he comes at my highest recommendation.
Response from St John’s Pipers of Ocean Springs:
Thank you for the kind words. We are humbled and honored to assist, AG1 Logan. We very much appreciate your opinion, and look forward to continuing the support of our service people.
Price Range: $150 - $300 - depends on distance
Gig Length: 30 - 90 minutes
Languages: English
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. The Colonel is skilled and experienced at advising planners on uses of the bagpipe in their ceremonies, and has assisted in funeral and wedding planning through consultation before the event and performing during it. He is flexible and compassionate, and all of his 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, the Colonel 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, the Colonel may opt 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.
For the last ten years, a small group of bagpipers has been meeting, practicing and playing at the St John’s Episcopal Church in Ocean Springs. All of us are accomplished musicians. Several of us are veterans of police, fire and military services of Canada, New Zealand and the USA, so the bagpipe calls to all of us. It is this core of bagpipers that has begun to accept general piping performance bookings.
The current Pipe Sergeant of the St. John’s Pipers, COL. (Dr.) Bill “Doc” Christmas a.k.a. “The Colonel”, our full-time piper, is a retired U.S. Army veteran. Originally born in New Zealand, he was a member of the NZ Army and learned to play the bagpipe with the NZ Scottish Regiment. He began teaching the bagpipe in 1998 while on active duty in the US military, and has played for numerous US military ceremonies and leaders all over the world as an on-call member of the US Air Force Pipe Band. He assumed the role of Pipe Major of the Mineral Area Police Pipes and Drums as instructor and director in 2000 after he left active duty.
He was appointed Pipe Sergeant for the Grade 3 John Ford Pipe Band in St. Louis and competed with the Grade 1 Invera’an Pipe Band as a piper under P/M COL. (Dr.) Martin Docherty. The Colonel was both a student and an instructor at the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming for several years, where he was instructed by P/M Sandy Jones, P/M Gordon Warburton, P/M Ed Neigh, P/M Bill Caudill and P/M Greg Abbott. Both P/M Jones and P/M Abbott have taught at schools and workshops directed, taught and organized by the Colonel.
Before retirement, the Colonel competed for several years at national competitions in grades 5, 4, 3 and 2. He is currently rated by the EUSPBA at Senior Grade 3. His favorite phrase is “well, it could be worse …” The Colonel teaches selected individual students privately in the Scottish style of Canntaireachd. He also accepts bookings for private performances.
The Colonel is the booking manager for each and all of the St. John’s Pipers. He will assess and assign pipers for your special event and ensure you receive the best service for your money.
It is very helpful if you can provide the following for your bagpiper -
Somewhere private and secure to dress (if the piper doesn’t arrive in full dress)
Somewhere for the piper to tune the bagpipes - yes, they can be tuned!
Bottles of water - may be offered as needed
A preview of the ceremony with written guidelines on when and where to perform. This may also be discussed in advance if there is a rehearsal or walkthrough planned. Please let us know if this is your preference so we can be there on time to receive instruction.
November 10, 2023–November 12, 2023 • All-day event | Highlands and Islands Celtic Festival |
October 21, 2023 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm | Fall Festival |
September 23, 2023 • 12:00pm - 1:30pm | St. Lazarus US Luncheon |
September 11, 2023 • 8:00am - 9:00am | 9/11 Memorial Ceremony, Keesler AFB MS |
September 10, 2023 • 9:00am - 11:30am | Blessing of the Musicians |
September 09, 2023 • 4:00pm - 5:00pm | Margaritaville Casino (/11 Run |
August 31, 2023 • 12:00pm - 4:00pm | VA Music Competitions |
* Loch Rannoch
* Skye Boat - Mhaire’s Wedding - Scots Wha’ Hae
* Corriechollie - Terribus
* Scotland the Brave - Rowan Tree - Murdo’s Wedding (- Scotland the Brave) (STB short set)
* Minstrel Boy - Robin Adair - Suo Gân - Hector the Hero (Slow set)
* Green Hills of Tyrol - When the Battle Is O’er (always played as a mass band march off set)
* Farewell to Camraw - Cullen Bay
* Corriechollie- Orange and Blue - High Road to Linton (MSR set)
An open area for the piper to march uncluttered by tables and chairs
No special equipment needed
Joshua D. said “Mr. Jean arrived early, was prepared and performed flawlessly. He made the memorial service extra special for our family.”
Bruce F. said “Paul Watson is fabulous. Personable, talented, authentic kilt outfit.”
Victoria P. said “Santa Claus was awesome! His costume was perfection and he was very patient with the children. I would recommend, The Party Artist. Looking forward, to…”
Trish A. said “We hired Wayne for community party- he was sweet, professional and talented. It was such a pleasure to work and chat with Wayne! 5 ⭐️‘ s for sure!”