About Winter Taylor, Atlanta Bagpiper
Winter began her piping career at the age of 12, in Huntington, WV. She had a good natural talent and a strong desire to succeed. With the
help of William Smart, a renowned local teacher and a lot of hard work, she
excelled.
Winter’s
primary piping instructor was John MacFadyen and has had sessions with a
‘who’s-who’ of the piping world, including: Sandy Jones, Duncan MacFadyen,
Hamilton Workman, John Recknagel, Sandy Keith, Mike Cusack, Alasdair Gillies,
Roddy MacLeod and others. In addition to regular lessons, Winter attended scores
of summer sessions, as well as 34 hours of private instruction at the Piping
Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.
As a solo piper, Winter enjoyed a successful career, progressing through the
ranks to the professional level, where she competed successfully for 2 years
before retiring from competition.
In college, Winter took the helm as Pipe Major for the University of Iowa
Pipe Band, touring England and Scotland during her tenure there. Later she took
over as Pipe Major for the Caledonian Pipes & Drums of Cincinnati, Ohio. In the
1980s she moved to Dunedin, Florida and played with the City of Dunedin Pipe
Band, the highest ranked band in the South (Grade 2). She competed with Dunedin
several times in the World Pipe Band Championships. Since moving to Atlanta in
1994, Winter has been a member of the Atlanta Pipe Band (APB).
In 2001, when the Dot Com bust took her job as Project Manager for a major
Internet company, she decided to become one of the few full-time bagpipers in
the US. These days, her calendar is full performing at weddings, funerals,
ceremonies and other functions; teaching individuals and the APB Grade 5
Competition Unit; and performing with the Atlanta Pipe Band.
Winter didn’t plan it this way, but she was a pioneer in her early piping
career. Female players were not taken very seriously by the piping community
when Winter began her career. But her love of the instrument and her instructors
helped her persevere. It was with mixed feelings that she accepted the
compliment from an old line piper that “she plays like a man.”
Winter’s childhood nickname “Winkie” still sticks, and today her students,
friends and many pipers know her by that name.