Portland Metro Pipe Band – Band Member Profile

Name: Bill Cunningham

Piper or Drummer? Piper

How long have you been playing pipes or drums? Piping for 25 years

Provide some info about your piping/drumming background and other bands you’ve played with: The people who serve as my musical inspiration in piping are too numerous to mention and include instructors as well as band mates from Hawaii, New Zealand, Portland, British Columbia, Ontario, and Scotland.

High points of your band and/or solo career, including awards or trips: Certification from the Royal New Zealand Pipe Band Association. Pipe bands I’ve played with include the Honolulu Pipes & Drums, City of Portland Pipes & Drums, Clan MacLeay, Willamette Valley, and City of Detroit.

Misc. fact about you: High points include placing first in solo competition at Santa Rosa and placing at the BC Indoors, serving as an instructor at the Coeur d’Alene School of Piping and Drumming, and – perhaps the most fun – busking in London and Edinburgh.

Father of two young girls – ages 4 and 2 – who will eventually be dominating the Portland piping scene.