Monday 22nd – Friday 26th July 2024 | 10am – 1pm | Ulster University, York Street, BT15 1ED

Born into an extremely musical family, Mick O´Brien is a highly regarded performer who has broadcast on TV and radio extensively both as a soloist and with various artists including the likes of Charlotte Church, The Dubliners, The Boys of the Lough, Altan, Charlie Lennon and more recently with the Norwegian group Secret Garden.  Now much in demand as a tutor, Mick has travelled to Europe, Canada and the USA conducting masterclasses. His traditional style shows great delicacy and subtlety, strong in rhythm and enlivened by his unique inflections and nuances, his performances always throw new light on even the most familiar tune. 

Tara Howley, a prolific multi-award-winning artist from Kilfenora, Co. Clare, excels as an instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and composer. With a background in classical and traditional music, Tara’s illustrious career is adorned with prestigious awards. For 7 years, she led in ‘Riverdance,’ the Grammy-winning show, captivating global audiences. Tara’s musical collaborations span luminaries like the Grammy-nominated ‘Afro Celt Sound System’ and performances alongside legends such as Sir James Galway, Bill Whelan, Paddy Keenan, and Finbar Furey. Her recent single, ‘Outlawed Tunes on Outlawed,’ etched history as the sole female uilleann piper to hit number 9 on the iTunes Charts.  

TG4 Young Musician of the Year (2011), Pádraic Keane hails from Co. Galway was born into a great musical family and started learning the uilleann pipes at the age of 8 under the tuition of his father. Pádraic is a highly sought after tutor and musician who has performed worldwide and collaborated with various artists including Ragús, The Irish Chamber Orchestra, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, RTE Concert and Symphony Orchestras and many more. He has featured on several albums including "The Rolling Wave", "Tunes in the Church", "Rogha Raelach" and has recently released acclaimed solo piping album entitled “In Full Tune”. 

The Summer School’s team of tutors is made up of internationally renowned performers with proven track records as teachers and educationalists. The primary means of teaching and learning will be ‘by ear’ with an emphasis in the less experienced classes of assisting pupils to develop oral/aural skills in addition to instrumental competency and developing core repertoire. All classes are designed for intermediate to advanced (minimum 2 years instrument experience) adults and children over 6 years of age except bodhrán, set dancing, sean nós dancing, traditional singing & sean nós singing which are suitable for beginners.