When he was five years old, Jake Kwiatkowski's parents knew something was off. He was carrying a fanny pack under his arm, and they didn't know why. After some investigation, they discovered he was pretending it was a set of bagpipes. They found him a teacher, and he's been a bagpiper since. Jake has traveled the United States, Canada, and Scotland to compete, perform, and educate. He was a founding member of the Feadan Or Pipe Band in Rochester, New York, before competing with the world-championship-winning 78th Fraser Highlanders in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has recently returned to Feadan Or as the Pipe Major of one of their competition groups. Jake is a grade-one solo competitor and has studied under some of the greatest pipers of the last century. Including: John Cairns, Bill Livingstone, Ken Eller, Donald Lindsay, Jim McGivillary, and many others. Jake is the only full-time bagpiper in Western New York and performs as The Rochester Bagpiper. He teaches both privately and as a faculty member at The Hochstein School of Music. He performs for both private and public events and engages with the community by playing pipes at local schools, festivals, and parks. Jake is a lifelong Rochestarian and lives with his wife, Colleen, and their three cats. He holds a BA in History and Philosophy and an MS in Global Business and Leadership from Nazareth University.
When he was five years old, Jake Kwiatkowski's parents knew something was off. He was carrying a fanny pack under his arm, and they didn't know why. After some investigation, they discovered he was pretending it was a set of bagpipes. They found him a teacher, and he's been a bagpiper since. Jake has traveled the United States, Canada, and Scotland to compete, perform, and educate. He was a founding member of the Feadan Or Pipe Band in Rochester, New York, before competing with the world-championship-winning 78th Fraser Highlanders in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has recently returned to Feadan Or as the Pipe Major of one of their competition groups. Jake is a grade-one solo competitor and has studied under some of the greatest pipers of the last century. Including: John Cairns, Bill Livingstone, Ken Eller, Donald Lindsay, Jim McGivillary, and many others. Jake is the only full-time bagpiper in Western New York and performs as The Rochester Bagpiper. He teaches both privately and as a faculty member at The Hochstein School of Music. He performs for both private and public events and engages with the community by playing pipes at local schools, festivals, and parks. Jake is a lifelong Rochestarian and lives with his wife, Colleen, and their three cats. He holds a BA in History and Philosophy and an MS in Global Business and Leadership from Nazareth University.