About Me
The basics: I am a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas with a degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University.
I was born in Mineral Wells, TX (more appropriately, Fort Wolters), but being an Army brat, I have lived in many places throughout the country, to include upstate NY (Fort Drum), Williamsburg, VA and Alexandria, VA. I've been living in Austin since 1998 and have been playing the bagpipes, both solo and with Silver Thistle, since 2003. I have had instruction from some of the world's best pipers, as well as top level local pipers such as Ken Liechti.
Ok...the first thing people always ask..."are you Scottish?" Well, not really. Only if you account for two great grandmothers, one on each side of my family. I have just loved the sound of the pipes since I first heard them as a kid. I just never gave it much thought as I was usually involved in some other aspect of music; whether it was chorus as a kid, a fife and drum band in VA in Jr. High School, playing trumpet in the high school band, or singing in the church choir or in a town musical as an adult. I enjoyed all of those experiences and groups, but when I first got the opportunity to give the pipes a try and actually found a local band, I was hooked! I'll always be grateful to the instructors and players at Silver Thistle for giving me my start and keeping my love for the pipes fresh and fun!