James started playing the bagpipes at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh over 15 years ago where he received tuition from some of the best pipers in Scotland. When James went to university he entertained his fellow classmates with his musicianship, then played with Edinburgh’s Stockbridge Pipe Band during the holidays.

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After university, he moved to London, where he played as a front rank player with the top pipe band in London and received tuition from a number of top players based in Canada. Now based in Cardiff where he is studying for a PhD, his competitive bagpiping career is on hold for the time being, but he finds time to play at a wide variety of events all over the UK and further afield, and maintain a high standard of playing.