Julia Read
Bagpiper & Harpist, Marlow, UK
Julia Read, Bagpiper
I have been playing the bagpipes since 1984, having learnt whilst a student of Electronic Engineering at Auckland University, New Zealand. I am an experienced band piper as well as solo.
My family have a long heritage of playing the bagpipes. My grandfather piped for London Scottish and set up the Chingford Pipe Band in the 1950s. My mum was the pipe major of the band and my aunt was a piper in the famous Dagenham Girl Pipers.
Some of my bagpiping highlights include:
- solo piper atop Leeds castle at the end of their summer festival
- zombie piper in a Bollywood movie (Heropanti 2)
- playing for the Kings of Spain
- opening the Rugby at New Zealand's Eden park in the mass bands parade
Bagpiper for D-Day Landings Anniversary
D-day landings, 80th anniversary on 6 June 2024.
Book Julia a bagpiper, Scottish piper to play for the D-day landings 80th anniversary on 6 June 2024
Bagpiper, Scottish piper in South East England, London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey. Bagpiper for hire, Scottish piper for hire
Testimonials
"amazing bagpiper, you sent my dad off on his next journey like a King. Thankyou so much. My dad loved the bagpipes. Many thanks for your outstanding performance. Nel"
Thank you so much for playing at our wedding. You were absolutely amazing and all the guests kept mentioning how great you were. It was truly magical being able to walk down the stairs to you playing all of me. You created a wonderful atmosphere and memories that will last a lifetime!
Thank you so much for playing at our wedding Julia. You made it extra special and heartwarming. You were absolutely amazing and we loved the special touch you added to the day xxxxx
Just wanted to say a huge thank you for playing at our wedding on Tuesday. Having you there really made it that extra bit special, was amazing. Thank you, Kevin and Jessica
"Julia, we cannot thank you enough for helping to make Sophie and Kiran’s wedding a simply magical day. So many guests have complimented you, but many with Scottish heritage were simply astounded by what you played. I only wish we’d had the chance to really thank you on the day, as you were absolutely brilliant!! Wishing you all the best, and only too pleased to recommend you to others."
"Our original piper emailed me at 9:30am on our wedding day to cancel the booking. We found Julia who luckily was free, she had 2 hours notice to put on her Highland dress, drive 12 miles, set up and play for our guests. She was there on time and learnt the song I wanted piped down the isle to, on the way. She was amazing, and played beautifully. Our guests loved her too, and all complimented on how well she played. I would recommend Julia, she will always be my first piper to call."
Julia was excellent. She arrived super early and looked absolutely fantastic. She was very accommodating with my daughter who wanted to ‘help’ and about the cramped space in a small old beamed pub. Wish we’d asked for another dance! Many thanks
I wanted to say again how brilliant you were at our wedding. Your performances still gets talked about with friends! As Richard says ‘I knew you were on your way!’ Thank you again.
Julia was booked for this most important role at this high profile charity ball. She came dressed in a smart piper’s uniform with a beautiful set of bagpipes and played very professionally at various times during the evening: whilst guests arrived, inside during the dinner and most importantly piped in the haggis! I would highly recommend Julia as a solo bagpiper