My name is Colin Richdale, and I'm a Bagpiper for Hire and Bagpipe Teacher from Coquitlam, British Columbia. I play in the Cascadia Pipe Band, as well as being a Piping Instructor at the White Spot Pipe Band.

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I started playing the pipes when I was seven years old. It was only natural, as my family has a longstanding tradition of playing Scottish music. My grandfather and my uncle are both pipers, and my mother is a snare drummer.​

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The White Spot Pipe Band is an important organization for my family, with many of my relatives being either current members or alumni. Hal Senyk has been my primary piping instructor since I was nine years old. I served as the band's Pipe Major from 2022 until I aged out in 2025.

 

When I was asked by the White Spot Pipe Band's leadership to begin teaching in 2023, it was a no-brainer. It was a fantastic next step in my piping journey, and teaching students has improved my understanding of the instrument a great deal. In 2026, I became the Vice-President of the White Spot Pipe Band Society.

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After leaving White Spot, I joined the Grade 2 Cascadia Pipe Band based in Seattle, Washington.

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Along with playing with Cascadia and teaching White Spot, I'm a Grade 1 solo piper. I've played at competitions throughout British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, winning the BCPA Grade 1 Grand Aggregate in 2026. On top of local competitions, I've played at events across the world, including the 2025 Nicol-Brown Amateur Invitational Piping Competition in Maryland, where I placed second out of 10 and played against some of North America's top amateur pipers; Kansas City Winter Storm in 2026, where I placed third in the North American Amateur Ceol Beag Championship; and Pipe Idol at Piping Live! in Glasgow, a competition for 16 of the world's top under-21 pipers. ​I will be competing at the 2026 Nicol-Brown, George Sherriff, and Western States Invitational competitions.

 

Since 2018, I've been a Bagpiper for Hire, playing at weddings, funerals, Burns nights, memorials, Remembrance Day ceremonies, graduations, birthday parties, and so much more!