Bay State Pipers was organized as an expansion of BagpiperAdam.com Its main purpose is to promote only the best bagpipers to perform only the best Celtic music New England has to offer. Rest assured, when booking through Bay State Pipers, you will only receive the best there is to offer- why settle for less? Check out our professional-level pipers: |
 |
Adam G. Holdaway Biography
Adam Holdaway began playing bagpipes at the age of eleven under the instruction of renowned piping instructor Archie MacLeod. At an early age, Adam began competing in solo piping competitions and has competed with a number of prestigious bands including the grade 2 (highest grade of competitive band piping in the northeast US) Tulach Ard pipe band based in Lexington, Massachusetts, as well as the Manchester Pipe Band of Manchester, Connecticut.
Adam is one of the most sought after instructors in the Boston area. In addition to over 20 students on a weekly basis, Holdaway is also the instructor for the Boston Police Pipe Band, the Stuart Highlanders, the Boston Fire Brigade Pipe Band and the Clan MacPherson Pipe Band.
Adam has competed throughout the Eastern US and has recently won the prizes for Piper of the Day at The Scottish Arts Indoor games, The Southern New Hampshire Highland Games, The Colonial Highland Gathering at Fair Hill, Maryland, The New Hampshire Highland games at Loon Mountain, and The Rockland County Irish Feis in New York. Adam has won prizes not only in the US, but also in Scotland and Canada, including a second place in the Professional 'A grade' Piobaireachd (classical music for the bagpipes) in Perth, Scotland. Adam has also performed at the prestigious Nicol-Brown Invitational Contest in October 2002.
In addition to his own solo achievements, Holdaway has been the pipe major of the Stuart Highlanders since 2002, and was instrumental in their upgrades from grade 5 to grade 3. With the addition of a new grade 4 and 5 band, the Stuart Highlanders enjoy being Massachusetts’ premiere bagpiping organization.
Besides competitions, Adam has single-handedly produced and conducted piping concerts and recitals throughout Massachusetts. He can be heard on several movie soundtracks, including the box office hit, The Boondock Saints. Holdaway is also featured on St. Andrews Presbyterian College's album, The Knight Life. Adam also holds a graduate certificate in piping from the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association.
Adam has performed at hundreds of weddings, funerals and other special functions and would be honored to perform at yours! If it’s a special event you deserve only the best there is to offer. Make a Sound Choice!
Matthey N. Phelps Biography
Matthew Phelps began piping at the age of eight under the instruction of Pipe Major Thomas Shearer, a graduate of the pipe major's course at Edinburgh Castle taught by the legendary Willie Ross. Matthew later attended the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. There he studied under Ed Neigh, Bob Worrall, Bruce Gandy, John Walsh, Fred Morrison, and R. S. Macdonald among other influential pipers of our time. Matthew also attended Saint Andrews Presbyterian College on scholarship for piping and graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Matthew has competed throughout the Eastern United States as well as in Canada and Scotland. In 1998 he placed first in the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association rankings for grade 1 and was promoted to open or professional competitive status in 1999.
Phelps has played with the Trumbull and District Pipe Band of Connecticut, The Gaelic College Pipe Band of Nova Scotia, the Saint Andrews College Pipe Band of North Carolina, the Tulach Ard Pipe Band of Massachusetts, and the Halifax Regional Police Pipes & Drums of Nova Scotia. He also was a member of the Pipes & Drums of the 78th Highlanders when he worked as a re-enactor at the Citadel National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Phelps has played at hundreds of events including weddings, funerals, birthday parties, trade shows, Burns Suppers, bachelor parties, summer camp festivities, clam bakes, graduations, grand openings, and political campaign marches. He has opened concerts for Niamh Parsons, John Whelan, J. P. Cormier, and the Nowalk Youth Symphony. He has played in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and at Brunnenburg Castle in Italy. He has played for performances of Macbeth and at the Alexander Graham Bell family estate, Benn Breagh.
Phelps has taught students to play the pipes in New England, North Carolina, Alaska, and in Canada. He has taught at the New Hampshire School of Scottish Arts and most recently has teamed up with Adam Holdaway to form the Bay State Pipers and the Massachusetts Institute of Piping.
Matthew is available for performance at any occasion as well as for private and band instruction. Visit the samples page to hear him play.