Gordon Walker

Gordon J Walker is one of the world’s premier solo pipers and comes from a piping background. With two uncles who served both as pipers in the Scots Guards, it was natural he would follow them into the military. He served 16 years with the 1st Btn. The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret’s Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment) and saw active service in the Gulf War and operational tours of duty in Bosnia and Northern Ireland.

Before retiring from the Army in October 1999 after a distinguished career, he was the Lone Piper at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and personal piper to the Lord Provost of Glasgow. He was awarded his Pipe Majors Certificate in 1989 at the Army School of Piping in Edinburgh Castle with which he passed with distinguished honours, and holds all the teaching qualifications of the Institute of Piping.

He hails from Cumnock in Ayrshire where he received tuition from the late Pipe Major David Kay, a brilliant tutor, and then in turn from Pipe Major Iain M Morrison Queen’s Own Highlanders, and Captain Andrew Pitkeathly Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, formerly personal piper to HM Queen Elizabeth II and a Director of the Army Bagpipe Music.

2000, the millennium year, saw Gordon on many recital, concert and competition platforms not only at home in Scotland, but in Australia and Canada. He was the Senior Pipe Major of the Marie Curie Cancer Care March in Edinburgh, the largest ever gathering of pipers to have taken place anywhere in the world. Additionally, he held workshops and seminars to help promote the cause. Gordon is also a member of the Scottish Power Pipe Band which shows at the very top levels one can combine both pipe band and solo playing and achieve the highest success.

Gordon appears on 'The Piping Centre 1998 Recital Series Vol II' (Temple Records COMD2088)