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MATT HARRIMAN, BAGPIPES

Matt enjoys a busy schedule as the top-call piper in the Washington D.C. musicians' union. His high-profile performances include contracting and performing at both the Liberty and Freedom Presidential Inaugural Balls, which were broadcast live internationally on CNN, NBC, Fox News, and other major outlets. He has piped at the Canadian Embassy for the world-renowned Horatio Alger Foundation and was heard on Hockey Night in Canada, where he piped the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals into the stadium for the NHL's Stadium Series in Annapolis, MD. Matt also performed with Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra in New York for a live audience of over 13,000. Recently, Matt was featured as a piper for the Emmy Award-winning television event American Valor, which aired on CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox.

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In 2018, Matt served as the solo piper for the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night with the National Opera at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. In 2024, he reprised this role with the Wolf Trap Opera at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. That same year, he was honored to perform at the Kennedy Center again, this time for the Washington National Opera's production of Macbeth. Matt regularly appears as a guest soloist with the U.S. Naval Academy Band and is featured in the U.S. Naval Academy Public Affairs videos, which garner hundreds of thousands of views worldwide.

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While his family's Scottish heritage influenced Matt's musical journey, his love of rhythm emerged early. At age five, his kindergarten teachers frequently complained about his marker-banging habit. Rather than discourage him, his parents enrolled him in Scottish drumming lessons with his grandfather, Glenn. Matt excelled quickly, winning first place in the Solo Drumming competitions at the 1989 and 1990 Kentucky Scottish Games by age eight. At nine, he served as lead drummer for the Grade Five GlenMar Pipe Band and performed with other groups, including the Aladdin Shrine PB, The Shamrock Club PB, and the Grade Four Capital City Pipes & Drums.

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At fifteen years old, Matt joined the Cyril Scott Pipe Band (CSPB), a competitive Grade Three band with members from Ohio, Kentucky, and Canada. Under the mentorship of Larry Willis of the Guelph Pipe Band, Matt's skills flourished. CSPB achieved remarkable success, winning 2nd Place at the 1998 World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, along with "Best Overseas Band." A return trip in 2000 saw them win 2nd at the Millennium Games in Edinburgh and 3rd at the Bridge of Allan Games. In 2007, Matt joined the Grade One Los Angeles Scots Pipe Band but had limited participation due to pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Southern California.

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In 2015, Matt's full-time position with the U.S. Naval Academy Band allowed him to re-engage fully with the pipe band world. He joined the MacMillan Pipe Band, where he played snare with the Grade Two band and pipes with the combined MacMillan United Pipe Band. With MacMillan, Matt won the American Pipe Band Championship Drum Fanfare contest twice and returned to Scotland to compete in the 2017 World Championships. By the end of that season, MacMillan was ranked the #3 band in the United States.

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In addition to his work with MacMillan, Matt serves as the Enlisted Representative and playing instructor for the U.S. Naval Academy Pipes & Drums, supporting events such as the NYC Tartan Day Parade, an annual exchange with the Royal Military College of Canada Pipes and Drums, and a 2019 trip to Scotland with the Midshipmen.

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In his "free time," Matt acts as the Historian and Secretary for the Harriman Pipe Band, a revival of his grandfather's family pipe band from the 1950s. To learn more about the Harriman Pipe Band, click here.

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Matt proudly plays David Naill Bagpipes.

Amazing Grace arr. Glenn Harriman

Soloing with the USNA Band for a Memorial Day video project

Argyllshire Gathering

Teaming up with members from Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and the City of Dunedin Pipe Band to form a virtual clone band!

Amazing Grace

Filmed on the banks of the Severn River, this video was posted by the United States Naval Academy Band's facebook as tribute to former President George H.W. Bush on his passing, garnering over 282,000 views.

Wings

Using some movie magic, I form a one-man band for this USNA St. Patricks day video, which received over 436,000 views on Facebook!

Medley

Performing on snare with the Grade II MacMillan Pipe Band, this run would win Best Medley, and Best Drum section at the Chicago Games

Medley

Same selection as the above video, however this time at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland!

Flattery

Combining a GoPro from my snare with some video shot by the crowd, enjoy the MacMillan Pipe Band's drum corps as we successfully defend our title and win 1st place at the American Pipe Band Championships at the Virginia Tattoo for the 2nd year in a row!

The Green Glens of Antrim

Not content with being a world class Trombone and Euphonium player, my Grandpa also was a highly regarded bagpiper and teacher of Scottish druming.  He was a former Piper Major of the Capital City Pipes and Drums, Fort Wayne Indiana Pipes and Drums, and was a member of the Shamrock Club Pipes and Drums.   He founded the Aladdin Shrine Pipes and Drums and  the GlenMar Pipe Bands.  I try my best at playing all three parts on his arraignment of "The Green Glens of Antrim."

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Piping Ohio University's newest graduate down Court Street!

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With Stanley Cup winner Tom Wilson before the NHL's Stadium Series held at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, MD

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Making a grand entrance in NYC for Anzac Day.

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