MATT HARRIMAN, BAGPIPES
Matt enjoys a busy schedule as the top call piper in the Washington D.C. musicians union. He contracted and performed at both the Liberty and Freedom Presidential Inaugural Balls, which were broadcast live internationally on CNN, NBC, FoxNews, and other major news outlets. He has piped at the Canadian Embassy for the world-renowned Horatio Alger Foundation, and was heard on "Hockey Night in Canada" as he piped the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals into the stadium for the NHL's Stadium Series held in Annapolis, MD and even piped with "Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra" in New York for an audience of over 13,000. In 2018 Matt was the solo piper for the Pulitzer Prize winning opera "Silent Night" with the National Opera at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Matt regularly appears as a guest soloist with the US Naval Academy Band and appears in US Naval Academy Public Affairs videos, which garner hundreds of thousands of views from around the world.
While his family's Scottish heritage played a part in beginning Matt's highland music career, the truth is that at age 5 Matt's kindergarten teachers were continually complaining about Matt banging on the desks with markers. Instead of punishing him, his parents simply put his energy to use and enrolled him in Scottish drumming lessons with his grandpa Glenn. He caught on quickly and by age 8 he had received first place in the Solo Drumming competitions at the 1989 and 1990 Kentucky Scottish Games. By age 9 he was serving as the lead drummer for the Grade V GlenMar Pipe Band at several competitions. In addition to the GlenMar PB, he would also play with Alladdin Shrine PB, The Shamrock Club PB, and the Grade IV Capital City Pipes & Drums.
In 1997 Matt was invited to join the newly formed Cyril Scott Pipe Band, a serious Grade III competition band with members from Ohio, Kentucky, and Canada. While with CSPB, Matt studied with the great Larry Willis of the Guelph Pipe Band. In 1998 Cyril Scot competed in the World Pipeband Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, winning 2nd Place in the World while also receiving "Best Overseas Band." A return trip to Scotland in 2000 saw the band placing 2nd at the Milennium Games in Edinburgh and 3rd at the Bridge of Allan games.
In 2001 Matt was invited to join the Grade II Northcoast Pipeband, however, committment to his trumpet studies at Ohio State University prevented him from joining full time. Similarly in 2007, his Masters degree studies at the University of Southern California kept him from joining the Grade I Los Angeles Scots Pipe Band on a regular basis.
In 2015, the stable nature of a full time gig with the USNA Band allowed Matt to finally return to the world of pipe bands on a full time basis. He now performs with the MacMillan Pipe Band, where he plays snare with the grade II band and pipes with the combined MacMillan United Pipe Band. With MacMillan he has twice won the American Pipe Band Championship Drum Fanfare contest and saw a return trip to Scotland to compete in the 2017 World Championships. At the end of the 2017 season, MacMillan was ranked as the #3 Pipe band in the United States!
Matt also serves as the Enlisted Representative and playing instructor for the United States Naval Academy Pipes & Drums, assisting them with gigs such as the NYC Tartan Day Parade, an annual exchange with the Royal Military College of Canada Pipes and Drums, and even a trip to Scotland with the Midshipmen in 2019.
In his "free time" Matt acts as the Historian/Secretary for the Harriman Pipe Band, a reboot of the family pipe band started by his Grandpa in the 1950s. To check out the Harriman Pipe Band, please CLICK HERE!
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."
Piping Ohio University's newest graduate down Court Street!
With Stanley Cup winner Tom Wilson before the NHL's Stadium Series held at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, MD
Making a grand entrance in NYC for Anzac Day.