Musician / Composer / Producer / Educator
Really thrilled to be performing at Galway International Arts Festival this year with JazzTempo!
It’s a real privilege to be part of this cross-genre collaboration with ConTempo String Quartet and Matthew Berrill, Róisín Mulliez and Barry Donoghue.
These wonderful artists are some of the finest classical and jazz musicians Ireland has produced – I can’t wait!
Be sure to grab a ticket soon because they will go fast!
Tickets at http://www.giaf.ie
The Arts Council have invited That’s Life to showcase our band Electric Dreams at this year’s Festival Makers Conference! The event will be in Galway Rowing Club on May 11, hope to see you there!
I’m going to be performing jazz on RTÉ with the wonderfully amazing Matthew Berrill and Izumi Kimura. At my favourite venue Campbell’s Tavern! Great that our national broadcaster is celebrating the hard work that venues like the Tav do for live music in this country, should be a great show, also feat. leading folk and trad artists Sean Keane, The Whileaways & Pauline Scanlon and The Kane Sisters & John Blake.
You can register here to be a part of the TV audience, this Thursday 2nd Mar at three different time slots throughout the day
The two weeks I spent on my artist residency in Courthouse Arts Centre Tinahely was truly inspiring and nourishing as an artist. It was also a challenge, but that is what sparks creativity.
Getting out of your comfort zone is always good!
Here is a little piece I wrote as a reflection on my time there
Thanks again to Improvised Music Company for making this happen, it was a fantastic experience.
#navigatorresidency
Very happy to announce that I have been chosen for an artist residency at The Courthouse Arts Centre in Tinahely, Co. Wicklow!
https://www.improvisedmusic.ie/whats-happening/news/four-artists-chosen-for-imcs-navigator-programme
The 14-day Navigator Jazz Residency programme is run by Improvised Music Company and it offers jazz and improvising musicians professionally remunerated time and space to develop and perform work, while building relationships locally.
It’s a wonderful opportunity to be embarking on this residency. As an artist it is rare to get the support to focus on your work for an extended period, away from the distractions of day to day life, and I feel very fortunate for this opportunity.
Community engagement with the arts is something very close to my heart and I’m really excited to work with and be inspired by the local community of Tinahely.
In recent times, nature has been inspiring my work more and more. I’m also looking forward to drawing inspiration from the beautiful surrounds of Co. Wicklow and the nearby ancient oak trees of Tomnafinnoge Woods.
I’m very thrilled to have been awarded an Agility Award by The Arts Council!
For this project, I will be doing some field recording around Lough Corrib, Co. Galway and using nature sounds and ambient recording to make some new Penji tracks.
Some great news – The Arts Council have awarded me with an Agility Award to compose some new works and develop them with my trio!
I will be honing in on free improv, a great passion of mine. It’s an absolute privilege to work with Matthew Jacobson and Derek Whyte, truly two of Ireland’s most gifted musicians. I cannot wait!
Here is ‘A Life Lived’, the second video of my new series of compositions.
I don’t usually share personal matters on my website, but this needs an introduction.
The pandemic and lockdown have been tough on everyone, and I had the added sorrow of my father passing away last April. I composed these pieces mostly during the summer, and I’d like to say it was clear sailing, but it wasn’t. The grief of losing my Dad was really awful at times, and it was compounded by the fact that we couldn’t have a regular funeral for months afterward. I honestly had to dig deep to write this music, and while it was tough, it was cathartic too.
Lots of people are going through challenging times these days, and I’m sure that this is a story shared by countless others. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost someone during this awful pandemic. This piece is dedicated to my father Richard, and if you find expression in it for your story, then it’s dedicated to you and the loved ones you have lost too.
Massive thanks to Arts Council Ireland for the support through these dark times.
#COVID-19 Crisis Response Award
Let me present ‘Shimmer’! This is the first in a series of six pieces I created using improvisation as a compositional process. The full EP will be released on Nov 26th.
Created with support from Arts Council Ireland‘s #COVID-19 Crisis Response Award.
I’m proud to present my contribution which was supported by the Arts Council Ireland Covid-19 Crisis Response Award.
I have composed and recorded six new pieces for guitar and electronics, and two live videos.
I set myself a strict method of composing through improvisation. So all the main thematic material was written in the heat of the moment and the pieces were meticulously finished afterwards. It was an interesting process and I’m pretty happy with the result!
All will be revealed in the coming days and weeks, so please stay tuned..