Award-Winning Bagpiper - Mark Mullaney

The beginning of my bagpiping career is neither epic or legendary, inspiring or moving- in truth it was quite random.  Near the small village of Gresham Oregon, where I spent my youth, there was a Highland Games held annually. Each year my family and I attended the event and received a small dose of Scottish/Irish heritage. Years passed, and one day a light-bulb lit over my head and I decided I wanted to play the bagpipes. Like I said: quite random.

10 years have passed since that day. I began taking pipe lessons at the age of 13, and since have competed throughout the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, Montreal, Quebec, and Scotland both as a competition soloist, performer, and pipe band member. The first band I played with was the Sir James McDonald Pipe Band, a youth band in Portland for pipers and drummers under the age of 18. With this band I traveled to Scotland on two separate occasions to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships. In 2001 we placed 11th out of 42 bands (in grade 4), and in 2004 we placed 4th out of 8 bands (in juvenile). Once I graduated from this band I played with the Monmouth College Pipe Band (grade 3) in Monmouth, Illinois, and the New Westminster Police Pipe Band (grade 2 and formerly Maple Ridge Pipe Band) in Vancouver, B.C. New Westminster also traveled to Scotland to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships, and in 2006 we placed 20th out of 50 bands.

In addition to playing with pipe bands, I’ve also played with a few celtic-rock bands, and wholeheartedly enjoy playing with other musicians.  In one engagment, we played a set with the Chieftains.

Currently, I live in Portland and continue to compete and perform throughout the Pacific NW as a soloist and member of the renowned Portland Metro Pipe Band, which placed 3rd in the 2009 North American Pipe Band Championships in grade 3.

At your service,