Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It's not unusual for young boys to be spellbound by pirates. But when Nick Hudson would watch the movie version of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped" as a child, it wasn't for the sword play or the adventure on the high seas. Rather, he was completely captivated by a bagpipe duel. More than a decade later, Mr. Hudson is a senior at Carnegie Mellon University -- and the nation's only graduating bagpipe major.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Carnegie Mellon is home to nation's only graduating bagpipe major
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It's not unusual for young boys to be spellbound by pirates. But when Nick Hudson would watch the movie version of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped" as a child, it wasn't for the sword play or the adventure on the high seas. Rather, he was completely captivated by a bagpipe duel. More than a decade later, Mr. Hudson is a senior at Carnegie Mellon University -- and the nation's only graduating bagpipe major.
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6 comments:
After I read this article I did a quick Google image search for "bagpipes." Have you ever really looked at bagpipes? Because they're freaking hilarious.
That being said, I love walking to class on a nice day and hearing people playing bagpipes somewhere on the cut. I think it gives CMU students a strong sense of identity. What other campuses have bagpipers?
I think its great that Carnegie Mellon has a bagpipe program. It's hard for me to imagine making an entire career out of bagpipes, but as a theatre artist (who is often questioned about the legitimacy of my major), who am I to judge? Also, from this article it sounds like he's really doing well for himself.
Pia makes a good point, what other campus has bagpiper's regularly hanging out and practicing on campus. I knew we had bagpiper majors and that they are held in high regard and value on campus. Rumor holds that if you can play the bagpipe effectively you get a ridiculous scholarship. I did not realize though that we were the only school in the nation that has a bagpipe major or the first to have a graduating student with a degree in bagpipe. Every time i hear or say that someone is majoring in bagpiping i can't help but laugh a little bit. but in all seriousness congrats to him
I've always been a sap for the bagpipe because my grandfather used to play. Perhaps this was a subliminal attraction to CMU for me. I am am completely shocked, however, that there is only ONE bagpipe major in the entire country. You'd think that in the whole land there has to be at least one other person so enraptured with the instrument that they would wan't to major in it. I fully support this man and his future with the instrument.
I remember being told on my tour around the school that Carnegie Mellon was the only school in the country that had a bag piping major but I am surprised to learn that there have only ever been three graduated(including this year). Are there other people who take bagpipe classes besides the majors? I assume that there is not a ton of people trying to make a living of bag piping. I think that this major is another way that Carnegie Mellon is unique.
Good for him! At first, I was either a little shocked or dazzled to
hear that we had a bagpipe major here at CMU, but the more I think of
it, it is no where near different than being any other music major-
Cello performance major, vocalist, even any other performing major. My
roommate is a piano performance major, and when I first found out of
even this, I was in awe of how dedicated you would have to be, to play
one instrument as a carreer? But the thing is- its not so
different from art- we are dedicating our lives to recreating
beauty through art in the medium that most appeals to us, for us it
can be visuals, movement, lights, sound, for them, its the music that
can be created for the world. It's not that much different. I wish the
best of luck for him in the future, and think that his dedication to
the instrument is really inspiring.
This guy definitely struts to the tune of his own bagpipe. Okay, bad pun. But still. I'm entertained to imagine what his parents think about his major, or where it'll take him. I'd imagine most parents would want their grown children to pursue a career that they'll enjoy and make a sustainable living doing it. Luckily for him, since he's the ONLY one in the country, his talent will be in high demand, so I'm sure his bagpipe degree will take him places.
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