Booking

Solo Performance Rate:

Can vary depending upon whether your event is happening during a peak time slot (weekend evenings/St. Pat’s week) or off-peak (weekday afternoons), and how much driving is required to and from Santa Cruz.

To receive a quote, please fill in the details of your event at Contact Elise

To put down a deposit or pay a balance for your event, after agreeing upon the booking fee, click here to use Pay Pal

Guidelines to Consider:

Bagpiping events typically involve up to 1 hour of playing time (possibly split into sections) and up to 2-3 hours of being onsite. (Note that Elise can play longer (her personal record is 4 hours for the Big Sur Marathon), but doing so requires beyond-normal physical effort and training.)

It’s reasonable to request 1 tune that is not already in a bagpiper’s repertoire, and nice to give the bagpiper at least 2 weeks advance notice of the request (or better yet a month), so they can properly learn the tune in time for a good performance.

To see Elise’s repertoire in bulk form, click repertoire, or Request Formatted List of recommended tunes for weddings, funerals, parties, etc.

If this is your first time booking a bagpiper, and the quotes you’ve been getting seem high, please keep reading…

A standing joke among professional bagpipers is when a client hoping for a cheap price declares, “I just want you to play Amazing Grace.” People unfamiliar with bagpiping might logically assume that playing Amazing Grace is trivial, because the song only lasts 5 minutes (plus a half-hour for the piper to put on and remove the fancy costume). However, it actually requires a lot more advance preparation for a bagpiper to create the spellbinding effect that people usually wish for when they request Amazing Grace. This is because great Highland Bagpipes are an extremely finicky instrument. Making them sound good requires complicated last-minute tuning procedures (or a very expensive tuning device), skill with adjusting the bagpipe drones and reeds for varying environmental factors (elevation, heat/cold, humidity/excessive dryness), anticipating how small weather changes might dramatically influence the pipes’ performance during a long event, and daily physical training in order to be able to play the bagpipes without unpleasant wavering in pitch or tone. If a bagpiper does not go undergo such extensive preparations, then the pitches of the drones and chanter will not align properly and the desired spellbinding effect that Amazing Grace ought to have will never occur. So whether you are looking for a bagpiper who can simply do a good job of performing one 5-minute song, or who can also spice up your party with contagious dance music, while maybe looking impressive and entertaining your guests, or even taking requests for a lot of nostalgic tunes, please appreciate that all of these services are made possible by “what goes on behind the curtain.”

Other Santa Cruz Area Private Event Services

Wedding Officiant Hayne Bendick Marry Me In Santa Cruz

Celtic Trio or Band for weddings, wakes, and parties Charmas Band