Justin's Bio

Bio





	September 26, 2005 Justin Gonzalez is from Rock Hill, SC and has been playing bagpipes since he was 14 years old. Currently he is the Pipe Major of the Grade III Grandfather Mountain Highlanders Pipe Band, which won 8th place in Grade III A at the 2005 World’s Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. He is also the Pipe Major of the Charlotte Fire Department Pipe Band (NC). Justin started playing the bagpipes at his grandfather’s (Dr. Robert W. Patton) invitation. His first piping teacher was Joe Hardy of Rock Hill, SC. P/M Hardy was responsible for Justin’s introduction to the bagpipes and was with him through Justin’s climb to Grade III in the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association’s competition levels. Justin joined the Loch Norman Pipe Band (Huntersville, NC) under the leadership of Pipe Major Ed Krintz in 1998. At that time, Justin started taking lessons from PM Krintz, also a professional piper and competition judge in the EUSPBA. During this time he attended the North American Academy of Piping (Valle Crusis, NC) directed by PM Sandy Jones during the summers. In 2000, he started attending the Balmoral Piping School in Kentucky and studied under various well-known and legendary professional pipers such as Alasdair Gillis, John Wilson , Jack Lee, Bob Worrall, Ed Neigh and Michael Cusack. Justin was ranked in the EUSPBA standings at year’s end at # 8 out of several hundred pipers in Grade III in 1999: #8 in Grade II out of a hundred competitors in 2000, #3 in Grade II in 2001, #1 in Grade I in 2002, #3 (after being able to attend only a few games) in 2003, and #2 in Grade I in 2004 in both the entire grade and the Piobreached competion. At the end of 2004, the Music Board of the EUSPBA upgraded Justin to the final level of Professional Piper. Last year, he was ranked in the Top Ten of all the Professional Pipers in the EUSPBA.	Contact Justin Email 803-984-4371 803-817-6324 .

Justin has won the prestigious “Piper of the Grade” at many Highland Games throughout the Eastern United States during his competition career. In 2004, he won the overall championship of the first Sandy Jones Invitational as well as 1st place trophies in 3 out of 4 of the events. Since he was upgraded to Professional Piper, he has won the acclaimed “Piper of the Day” at several Highland Games. Justin has won numerous international competitions in his piping career. Among Justin’s accomplishments was winning the overall championship at the George Sherriff Invitational in Toronto, Canada in 2004. He was also the 2004 New England Grade I champion and was the Grade I overall winner at several highland games throughout the EUSPBA. In 2003, he won the 6/8 March competition at the George Sherriff Invitational in Toronto, Canada and in 2002, he won the Piobaireachd Championship. He also won the MSR championship at the USPF in 2002. He competes in the formal Maclaine of Lochbuie tartan in honor of his late grandfather who introduced him to the bagpipes. For more information visit his tartan page. This picture is from an article that appeared in The Herald on January 7, 2003. The article called “Piping Hot” showcases his piping career and many of his trophies are pictured behind him. Justin has also written several tunes……some of which have been published. Check out the media page for more. This year, the Grandfather Mountain Highlanders are competing with a medley in which the ending tune is a tune that Justin wrote in honor of his former Pipe Major. This will be the selection that the band will present at the 2007 World’s Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

		Photo: Courtesy of Zac Carter