Ever since he could remember, Nicholas wanted to play the bagpipes. However, his parents wouldn’t let him begin taking lessons until he had demonstrated commitment to a less-costly instrument. So he quickly memorized a piano piece by ear and played it for his parents. Apparently, they were impressed enough to let him begin taking bagpipe lessons from Dennis McMaster in Salt Lake City at the age of ten. He joined the Salt Lake Scots Pipe Band in 2006 and regularly competed with the band across the Western United States and Canada until he moved to Connecticut with his wife Maddie in 2019.

After a brief hiatus, Nicholas took them back up again after moving to Charlottesville, VA, and is excited to play with the MacMillan band. When he isn’t piping, Nicholas is usually reading books for his Religious Studies Ph.D. program, cheering on the BYU football and basketball teams, and playing with his cats Margo and Maisy.