Jim Gunter
New Orleans, LA
The New Orleans Strathspey & Reel Society
Jim Gunter has been playing the Highland Bagpipes since the 1960s. He was a founding member of the first ever Pipe band in the New Orleans area back in 1963. In 1965 – 1969, while serving in the US Army, he was called upon as an “unofficial” Army piper to play for ceremonial events and parades. Upon release from active service and his return to his academic studies, he assisted in regenerating the Pipes and Drums of New Orleans and has been actively piping ever since. Through the years, his love of Scottish music developed further and in 2001 he took up the fiddle in hopes of expanding his knowledge and appreciation of the Scottish musical idiom. Over time the brilliant contributions of both instruments, the Bagpipe and the violin, to the colorful and convoluted history of Scottish music became apparent and forms the basis for an appreciation of how traditional music is composed, played, and passed along. In his presentation he will discuss the common repertoire of Fiddler and Piper and how it developed.