Casa Captivating
Exclusive Interviews
Read our exclusive interview with Eric Rigler, Hollywood’s most recorded bagpiper, ahead of his performance at our upcoming fundraiser. For more information and his full bio visit our calendar.
I saw the Great Highland Bagpipes (commonly known as the Scottish Highland bagpipes) being played at about two years of age and was completely taken by them. Seeing this, my parents continued to expose me to bagpipes and I finally began taking lessons at age 7. I believe that it was not only the sound of the instrument but the uniform of the piper, the traditional Scottish kilt, that also fueled my interest. The obsession with the pipes finally took me to Scotland at age 21 where I lived off and on for 10 years, becoming massively involved with the instrument and the traditional music scene over there.
There are many, especially with the uilleann pipes. The uilleann pipes are the traditional bagpipe of Ireland, and the differences between the Scottish Highland bagpipe are huge. The uilleann pipes are blown by pumping a bellows under the right arm and strapped to the waist. The Highland pipes are mouth-blown. The uilleann pipes are a seated instrument, with the body of the pipes laying on the piper’s lap. The Highland pipes are played standing up allowing the piper to march. The uilleann pipes are quiet in volume and have a two-octave range and can play in several keys. The Highland pipes are extremely loud, have only nine notes and can play in one key.
The two favorite memories would be performing “Amazing Grace” while leading President Ronald Reagan’s casket to its final resting spot, and recording the soundtrack of Braveheart for two weeks at Abbey Road Studios and meeting The Beatles when they popped into the studio to meet Mel Gibson.
I was taught to read music for the bagpipe when I started playing, but I didn’t have a “music school” level of Classical music education…it just isn’t necessary with an ethnic instrument such as the bagpipes. But as I began performing on more and more soundtracks and working with world-class orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and famous conductors, I had to “up” my musical knowledge game and learn more about how the orchestra works, how to properly follow a conductor, and how to read more complicated music charts. It was a little overwhelming at first, but I was really keen to become a better all-round musician.
This ensemble is nearly completely different from the band that played back in 2020 at Casa Romantica. During the downtime for musicians during COVID, and there was a LOT of downtime, I began to rethink how I wanted this project to connect with the audience. I wanted the pieces to be more expanded in instrumentation, filling the listener with more energy, excitement and emotion. The material we perform is very personal for me, as it represents the 30-plus years of my career as a studio musician and touches on the folk music background that was a huge part of my life learning Irish and Scottish traditional music. The reboot of what I now call “Celtic Hollywood” involves an orchestral part and a Celtic part, represented by the diverse instrumentation onstage and merged together to produce a signature sound unique to my life as a musician. In 2024, the project went to Asia with a new band and new musical program for our international debut, performing at beautiful concert halls in three cities in Taiwan, including our final concert at The National Concert Hall in Taipei. The program has been updated to capture current soundtracks I’ve recorded on, such as Amazon Studios’ Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the 2023 Paramount Pictures feature, Dungeons and Dragons, as well as extended arrangements into the emotional scores of Academy Award-winners Braveheart and Titanic.
Details: Friday, March 28, 2025 @ 7 PM • $175 on sale now!
Join us for a seated dinner and concert benefiting Casa Romantica’s artistic programs. Enjoy music by Eric Rigler, history’s most recorded Celtic musician, performing his original melodies from Oscar-winning films, hit TV shows, and Grammy-winning albums. Buy Tickets Now >>
