According to Nicholas Hudson, who holds a performance degree
in bagpiping from Carnegie Mellon, there seems to be a worldwide
surge in interest in the instrument. Hudson is an instructor with the
MacDonald Pipe Band, but also gives private lessons both in person
and via Skype. His students contact him for online lessons from as far
away as India and Qatar.
Hudson began playing at the age of 13 because he was fascinated
with the sound of the instrument. Though he has a Scots-Irish
background, his love for the music itself came first, with the
appreciation for the cultural aspects arriving later.
“I find that to be the case with many of my students,” says Hudson.
“The younger students just like the sound of the bagpipes and want
to learn, while older students tend to begin studying because they are
interested in the history and ancestral connections. But eventually