<p>Carlos began to play the Gaita or Galician bagpipes when he was eight years old. He also studied the recorder and Baroque music with distinction in the Royal Conservatory in Madrid. At the age of 12 he performed as the soloist with an orchestra at the Festival Interceltique in Brittany. This gave him an opportunity to hear the Chieftains for the first time and his musical direction in life was influenced profoundly on that occasion.&nbsp;</p>