Nick Bergin’s earliest memories of the bagpipes come from his elementary school years at St. Thomas Episcopal School in Houston. Like many St. Thomas kids, he learned piping through the school’s outstanding band program, led at the time by Mike Cusack. Nick was an eager student of the bagpipes; unfortunately, he was an eager student of almost nothing else. Like many such young Houstonians, he eventually found his way to the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where he got his act together a bit. During these years, he played on and off with the Hamilton Pipe Band (now the St. Thomas Alumni Band), which proved to be a demanding experience for everyone involved.
After high school, Nick studied music at the Peabody Conservatory and Indiana University, majoring in organ performance. When he finished his studies in 2012, he moved to Nashville to work as the organist at First Presbyterian Church. After a year consisting mainly of work and a lot of solo karaoke, he reached out to the Nashville Pipes and Drums and attended his first pipe band rehearsal in nearly a decade. Though his playing was a bit rusty, he felt immediately at home in this lively group of dedicated musicians. Moreover, he was excited to be part of an ensemble where he could both learn a lot and contribute a lot. Since then, he’s played regularly with the band in competitions and gigs, and both his playing and his social life have improved significantly along the way. He remains very grateful to be part of the NP&D family.
