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Arts & Culture

Here’s the squeeze: bagpipes are back at King’s

Listen as student Cameron Barrett plays his bagpipes. Barrett will be back playing every Friday while the weather stays good.

Bagpipes rang out across the quad once again at the University of King’s College.

The source of the music was King’s student Cameron Barrett, who plans to perform every Friday afternoon as long as weather permits.

“They can be a source of inspiration for people,” Barrett said about bagpipes. He hopes that the performances will give students “something to look forward to.” 

King’s student Cameron Barrett plays bagpipes in the University of King’s College Quad, Oct. 9, 2020. Barrett has started playing his bagpipes every Friday afternoon to inspire students on and off campus. (Dylan Taylor/The Watch)

Bagpipes are a staple of King’s traditions, included in ceremonies and formal meals. COVID-19 has made many of these events impossible.

A crowd of students and staff left their residences to listen to the music, and applause followed every piece.

King’s President Bill Lahey was in the audience, and emphasized the importance that bagpipes have at the university.

King’s student Cameron Barrett plays bagpipes in the University of King’s College Quad, Oct. 9, 2020. Barrett has started playing his bagpipes every Friday afternoon to inspire students on and off campus. (Dylan Taylor/The Watch)

“Way back in the 70s and 80s, it was traditional for there to be a piper in the quad every morning,” Lahey said. 

Barrett and Lahey both see the instrument as an important part of King’s identity.

“We want to recreate a little bit of what we normally do at King’s,” Barrett said. “It’s meant to get people excited and stir a bit of hope.”

Lahey says that performances like these are “about keeping traditions alive as we live through the pandemic. It helps to create a sense of identity that is distinctively King’s.”

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