World-Class Bagpiper In Austin, Texas
Austin Bagpiper is dedicated to Scottish bagpiping and bagpipe music!
Hi. My name is Hylton Cruickshank. I have been a bagpiper and bag-piping enthusiast for many years. Over the years, I have played in many bagpipe competitions, including the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
With AustinBagpiper.com, I wish to bring my bagpipe music to the Austin, Texas area.
Here you can:
- Learn more about me.
- Learn about bagpiper services I offer.
- Get a brief overview of the history of bagpipes.
I invite you to browse around and to contact me if you have any questions.
When we lost someone very close, Hylton attended the funeral and played Amazing Grace by the graveside as the coffin was lowered. It was truely special and we will never forget it – it was very touching and Hylton was amazing. Thank you Hylton, myself and the family will always be grateful for what you did. Anna Russell
Hylton Cruickshank was an invaluable component of my Grandfather’s funeral as we conducted his graveside service with Military Honors. Hylton played Flowers of the Forest and Amazing Grace during the service. He is a master of his instrument and played these songs beautiflully. Hylton is a true professional. He responded immediately to my request, made recommendations, was on time and prepared, and responded quickly to last minute changes that we were forced to make. My family is grateful for his services. I highly recommend Hylton to anyone in need of a Bagpiper and he will be my first choice should I require one in the future.
If you can define professionalism and talent in couple of words those two words would be Hylton Cruickshank. He carried the day recently at my daughters wedding and provided the most unique experience any of our friends and family had experienced. If you have an event this is the man for you. He competes on an international basis and his talent level is at the highest you will find the bagpipe arena. — 7/1/2011
Not only is he talented and gifted playing the bagpipes, he is a wonderful teacher. Hylton is so very patient. I cannot praise his professionalism, kindness and delightful disposition enough. Whenever we need someone to play bagpipes it will be Hylton. He was so accomodating and a genuinely kind person. The children, youth and adults enjoyed Hylton and his bagpipe music. His “tunes” were a meaningful part of our worship service as was he. Thank you Hylton!! — 10/30/2011
I cannot say enough good things about Hylton. The Austin Bagpiper played at my December wedding, and he was truly a great find. He was extremely professional, polite and accommodating. He would call periodically to ensure everything was going alright, and he helped me find the right songs for my wedding. His talent is overwhelming, and our guests were extremely impressed – we could not be happier with our decision to have Hylton play at our wedding. We HIGHLY recommend Hylton Cruickshank.
Dear Hylton,
Just a quick note to thank you for playing at my friends wedding. Your masterful skill and insightful musical selections established a wonderfully relaxed background for the event. It was a blessing having a piper of your caliber at this celebration. I enjoyed meeting you and I will look forward to engaging your exceptional services in the future.
Best regards, Bill McCann.
Hylton Cruickshank, performance was great, enjoyed by all and I would recommend him to anyone looking for a world class Bagpiper. Thanks Hylton for an enjoyable evening.
My wife and I were married in April 2012. I wanted to surprise her with a procession leaving the church, led by a bagpiper. I found Hylton online and could not have been more pleased with his flexibility and professionalism. Hylton played beautifully, he was where he said he’d be, when he said he’d be there, and he added so much to a beautiful day. I do not hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend him for any event for which you may want Scottish bagpiping. Thanks Hylton!
Hylton added a special element to our daughter’s wedding at the Waco Suspension Bridge. He was professional, gracious, and perfectly carried out our requests. He arrived early and remained discreet until he started the ceremony by piping across the bridge playing “Amazing Grace;” he paused to continue playing from the rear of the seating area, then exited. After the ceremony, he piped the guests across the street to the reception, then returned to the bridge during picture-taking, and finally piped the bride and groom to the reception. He looked and sounded wonderful, and we appreciated having a nod to our family heritage at the wedding.
Hylton was fantastic. He communicated with me before the event, arrived on time, and was very professional. My friends from Scotland were so surprised and delighted with Hylton’s bagpipe playing. He brought tears to my friend’s eyes. Later, he posed in several pictures with my friends. This was all arranged on late notice, with great cooperation from Hylton.
Hylton was great. He performed at our wedding and was perfect. The sound of him tuning his pipes in the background was one of the first things many of our guests heard, which was a great beginning to the event. My wife did a lot of searching for the right songs, and Hylton knew them all. He was in full regalia, which fit the wedding party wonderfully. He was so friendly over the phone, and very professional. I loved that he wouldn’t let me pay him until he knew we were satisfied–clearly he hasn’t had with customer satisfaction or I don’t think he would have been willing to do that. I would highly recommend him for a wedding or any celebration. Thanks Hylton!
Dear Hylton,
We just wanted to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your incredible service in making our wedding day so special! Your professionalism and skills were so apparent and complimented on by many guests. Thank you so much again for helping to create such a beautiful wedding ambiance for Ash and me. I will be more than happy to highly recommend you to anyone I know getting married.
With great thanks,
Just finished a regional meeting with 250 people attending and to kick off the meeting we had Hylton playing the bagpipes. As the leader of the meeting I got so many compliments on this. I could not have asked for anything more from Hylton in kicking off our meeting in this fashion. On top of that he was a delight to do business with. Now I only need to find the next event I can use him at. Thank you Hylton.
Hylton was incredibly professional and accommodating. He played at my dad’s funeral when we had to plan everything in a very short period of time. He was very understanding and easy going on where he was going to play and what we requested him to play. We were spreading my dad’s ashes in a field while Hylton played and when it started to rain pretty heavily, he just stepped under a tree and continued playing without missing a beat. He is a great musician and the family members who came for the spreading of the ashes commented later that that was the most beautiful part of the day and how beautiful the bagpipe was. It was exactly like my dad would have wanted.
Service date: 3/5/17
Hylton played beautifully at a memorial that honored one of our beloved Brothers. His performance was wonderful and added so much to the memorial.
Service date: 2/17/17
Oh my gosh Hylton was awesome!!!! He was the real deal! Loved it so much! It was a wedding surprise for my Dad and it turned out perfectly! Everyone was surprised and very much enjoyed the bagpipes and him!
Service date: 3/4/17
Hylton was so great! We had him out to our Vineyard for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, and everybody loved him! He played a little bit, mingled with guests, played some more, etc. He really put our event over the top and I would highly recommend him to others!
Service Date: 3/17/17
Hylton piped the family into the sanctuary playing Amazing Grace for our uncles memorial service on 3/17/17. He did an outstanding job and we were blessed that he could accommodate our uncle’s final wishes. Thank you very much, Hylton!
Service Date: 3/17/17
Hylton,
You were a big hit and the perfect send-off for our group of high school actors heading to Edinburgh to perform in the Fringe Festival! You are an incredibly talented musician, with fascinating stories and insight to this unique instrument and its history. Thank you, thank you! I hope many others will add you to their events.