Neil MacLure

Neil comes from the Highlands and grew up in a family where participation in Scottish culture  was greatly encouraged.  By the age of 5, he was competing in music festivals with Gaelic Singing and Highland Dancing.

Neil discovered his passion for bagpipes when he was just 8 years old. He was taught by Pipe Major Ian Fraser who had himself studied under many of the great piping teachers.  One of these was Donald MacLeod from whom the line of tutorage can be traced back to the legendary McCrimmons of Skye.  This ancient line of pipe tuition, combined with his Gaelic musical heritage, is reflected in Neil’s style of playing today.

In 1979, Neil was one of the co-founders of the City of York Pipe Band and has taught both schoolchildren and adults of all ages. 

Neil has played in some unusual venues. In Penang, he entertained the officers on board HMS Ark Royal.  He has performed as solo piper  for  “The Orkney Wedding” with the York Symphony Orchestra. He has played with the Jive Aces, Britain’s leading swing band.  At the European Arts Festival, he jammed on stage with an opera singer.

In 2007, Neil played the pipes as part of the 2 man house band in the successful stage show "Johnson and Boswell, Late but Live", at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  When the show went on a 5 week  tour of the Highlands in 2008, he became the one man house band, playing both pipes and drums. 

Neil has been  playing  at weddings, funerals, Burns suppers, ceilidhs and charity events for over 40 years and he  is still as passionate about playing the bagpipes as he was when he was 8 years old.  At Burns Suppers he  recites some of the more famous poems of Robert Burns.

 Based in Edinburgh, Neil enjoys giving his clients the best possible service to make sure that their special occasion is truly memorable.