Campus News
By Peter Melahn, Staff Writer
No, you did not wake up in Scotland or Ireland – you probably just heard Geno Cardosi on the bagpipes. The first-year history major from Cincinnati has been humming sweet tunes across campus this year, so here is everything you need to know about Xavier’s mysterious bagpiper.
You can usually find Cardosi playing his bagpipes in the labyrinth behind Smith Hall on campus, near where Xavier’s new Osteopathic School of Medicine is under construction. Students in the Commons apartments, Justice Hall and even University Station have likely heard him playing when the weather is nice.
First-year history major Geno Cardosi can be spotted around campus playing his bagpipes for all to hear.
Cardosi went to Indian Hill High School and is in his first year at Xavier. He grew up playing piano, but one day in high school he decided he was interested in trying out something a little more unique.
“I played piano for 17 years now, and I was bored, I wanted to find a second instrument. I tried guitar, and I hated it… so as a joke one day I kind of said ‘Hey, what if I tried the bagpipes?’” Cardosi said.
On his 15th birthday, he got a practice set of bagpipes and a book, and was “off to the races,” according to Cardosi.
He says his excitement around the bagpipes stems from the fact that they are so unique in the U.S.
“I turn more heads with bagpipes. If I sit down with a piano, most people will just walk by… If I pull out the bagpipes on a sunny day and start playing, everybody stops,” Cardosi said.
With St. Patrick’s Day celebrations occurring last Monday, students across campus got into the Irish mood. Cardosi said his current set of bagpipes is from the Celtic Corner Store right here in Cincinnati.
“If you need bagpipes, kilts or anything else, that’s the place to go,” Cardosi said.
Cardosi mentioned that the bagpipes are largely misunderstood as an instrument.
“If you want to learn, it’s really not that hard,” Cardosi said.
You will never catch him playing in a practice room in Edgecliff because the bagpipes are simply too loud. So, next time you hear the instantly recognizable hum of the iconic instrument on campus, all you have to do is follow your ears, and you will probably find Geno.
