Local Irish Music Teachers
Teachers: If you would like to be listed, please submit your listing here.
Fiddle
-
Concertina, Fiddle, Whistle, Harp
Teaching in the Odenton, Maryland area.
Contact Information:
828-263-3721
BoatrightSchoolOfIrishMusic@gmail.com
Multiple All-Ireland champion, Alex is a sought-after teacher and arranger. Aside from teaching the national festival circuit, Alex teaches the Bog Band and the Potomac Waters Ceili Band, as well as the local Tune Up: The Session Club, and private lessons.
-
Irish Fiddle, Classical Violin
Offers private lessons in his home, all ages and abilities. Silver Spring, MD - Forest Glen area, close to the Beltway exit for North Georgia Ave.
Contact Information:
703-989-7369
jmitchellf@yahoo.com
Mitch earned a Bachelor of Music degree (1982) in violin performance from The Catholic University of America's School of Music where he studied with Jody Gatwood and the late Robert Gerle. He has also studied Suzuki violin pedagogy with Ronda Cole and the late John Kendall, and traditional Irish fiddling with Brendan Mulvihill and Brian Conway among others. In October 2014, Mitch applied and was accepted to take Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann’s teacher diploma course in Ireland where he earned a TTCT certification (Teastas I dTeagasc Ceolta Tíre) in Irish music.
Mitch is founding director of the Bog Band, a group of young musicians, mostly fiddlers, who are mad for traditional Irish music, and is founding director of Musical Arts & Dance (MAD) Week, a world-renowned summer day camp and music festival, based in the Washington, DC, metro area, that celebrates traditional Irish music and dance every summer.
Mitch teaches classical violin and traditional Irish fiddling in his home studio in Silver Spring, Maryland and is also on faculty at the Washington Conservatory of Music, where he teaches classes in traditional Irish fiddling for violinists.
-
Fiddle, Bouzouki
Teaching in Falls Church, Virginia
Contact Information:
757-407-1021
seanfiddlemusic@gmail.com
www.seanheely.com
Champion Celtic fiddler and singer Seán Heely is rapidly emerging as one of the most creatively versatile and captivating young artists of his generation. Fiddle legend Liz Carroll calls Seán “One powerhouse of a fiddler.” He is a U.S National Scottish Fiddle Champion as well as an award-winning Irish fiddler and singer in the folk traditions of Scotland and Ireland.
Seán holds a degree from University of South Carolina in Classical Violin Performance, and was a 2019 Artist in Residence at Strathmore Music Center in Maryland. An educator in demand, Seán is an Adjunct Instructor at American University. He has also been on the faculty at several summer camps, including Acadia Traditional School of Music and Arts , Upper Potomac Fiddle Retreat, and Fiddle Hell Festival.
He has performed in Scotland, Ireland, and at venues in the U.S such as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Seán has performed with traditional music icons such as Liz Carroll, Bonnie Rideout, Natalie Haas, Cathy Jordan, Maeve Gilchrist, Eamon O’Leary, Zan McLeod, and Paddy Keenan.
Seán performs locally and abroad with the Seán Heely Celtic Trio, Glencoe Lads, and Skylark. He is a musical
ambassador for the British Embassy Scottish Affairs Office and the St. Andrew’s Society of Washington. He also frequently travels abroad as a solo artist, has been a speaker at events such as the Scottish North American Leadership Conference, and maintains a private teaching studio in Falls Church, VA.
-
Fiddle
I teach beginning and intermediate Irish traditional fiddle, as well as other traditional music styles and skills that apply to all styles (ear-training, variation/improvisation, dance fiddling, music theory). I work with students age 9 and up, including veteran classical musicians who are new to fiddling. Lessons are held at a private studio in Silver Spring, Maryland, 1 mile from Forest Glen Metro.
Contact Information:
301-565-2777
andrea@andreahoag.com
www.andreahoag.com
For more than 30 years, Andrea Hoag has devoted herself to traditional fiddling. Immersing herself first in southern Appalachian music and culture in the early 1980s, she then traveled in Ireland and became a regular at Seattle's Irish sessions. Overtaken by a love of Swedish fiddling, Andrea earned the certificate in Folk Violin Pedagogy from Malungs Folkhögskola in Sweden.
Andrea's music has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and Performance Today, and has garnered a Grammy nomination.
Andrea is artistic director of the cross-cultural Dovetail Ensemble (www.freydashands.org), an in-depth exploration of the process of collaboration between musicians and dancers from different traditions. She performs regularly with Maggie Sansone, Sharon Knowles, Karen Ashbrook & Paul Oorts, and others.
-
Fiddle
In-home private lessons. No age limit. Weekend teaching only. Gettysburg, PA.
Contact Information:
717-677-4420
fynefiddle@comcast.net
-
Irish Piano and Suzuki (classical) Piano, Irish Fiddle, and Suzuki Violin
I currently teach full-time in my home in Baltimore, MD, Sundays through Thursdays. I accept children (beginning at age 5) and adult students. I focus on good technique, and emphasize ear training and listening for a strong foundation in music.
Contact Information:
donnalongmusic@gmail.com
www.donnalongpiano.com
Donna learned to play the piano from her father, jazz pianist Byron Long. When she moved to Baltimore, she took two years of Music and Arts education at Catonsville Community College, and learned to play the fiddle from Brendan Mulvihill. Brendan and Donna performed as a Fiddle/Piano duo for 10 years in the Baltimore/Washington area and produced two CDs, "The Steeplechase" and "The Morning Dew."
Donna is also a former member of the internationally-acclaimed group Cherish the Ladies, and recorded five CDs with them. She also has a solo piano CD called "Handprints." In the year 2000 the Smithsonian Institution asked Donna to represent Irish music in the series "Piano Traditions," celebrating 300 years of the piano.
-
Fiddle
Teaching in the DMV area.
Contact Information:
207-653-0814
meghan.mette@gmail.com
A life-long fiddler, Meghan began her musical career in the Irish Traditional, Cape Breton, and Appalachian Old Time styles, and has studied with some of the highest profile performers in these genres. Meghan completed a Masters in Irish Traditional Music at the University College Cork, and a study in Bluegrass immersion in Nashville, TN. She is also proficient in Quebecois and Scottish traditional music and New England style fiddling, among other styles, and is accomplished in Irish Step-Dancing and Appalachian Flatfooting. Additionally, she plays and teaches Cape Breton piano, claw hammer banjo, and harmony singing.
-
Fiddle, Mandolin
In-home private/individual lessons as well as group classes. Beginner through intermediate players. Located in Herndon, VA
Contact Information:
703-435-2637
sneel05@gmail.com
I've played Irish music for more than forty years and have played in Irish bands in Utah (Tenpenny), New York (Genessee River Band), Colorado (Jigs Up), and Virginia (Spudduggery) and currently with the Virginia-based Cool McFinn. My main influences are the greats Kevin Burke and Liz Carroll.
-
Fiddle, Tenor Banjo, and Mandolin
Lessons are taught on the campus of the Landon School in Bethesda. Maryland. All ages and levels are welcome, although space is limited. The Landon School is located in the Washington, DC, area.
Contact Information:
violinist@gmail.com
Bob is a professional performer on several instruments in many styles. He just recorded an Irish trad record with legendary Irish musicians Finbar Furey, Francie Conway, and Matt Kelleghan (from the band Moving Hearts), and has taught at MAD Week since its inception. He's a champion Scottish fiddler, is fluent in jazz and bluegrass, and serves as Concertmaster, Principal, and violin or mandolin soloist with a number of professional orchestras.
He teaches using techniques applicable to any style of music, with an emphasis on playing by ear (even if reading printed notes).
Tenor Banjo
-
Irish Bouzouki, Tenor (4-string) Banjo, Mandolin
Offers private lessons in his home in Falls Church, VA; or student's home (if in close-by Northern Virginia or Montgomery County). Contact for lesson rates.
Contact Information:
703-969-6909
keithcarr@mac.com
Keith is also on the faculty of the Washington Conservatory of Music, where he gives classes in Irish bouzouki and guitar backing techniques, and in Irish style tenor banjo and mandolin. Online information and registration for classes at Glen Echo is available at www.washingtonconservatory.org
He is most well known for performing as half of the Irish traditional duo Lilt, in which his partner is flautist Tina Eck. Over the past decade Lilt has released four CDs and has been favorably reviewed by Irish Music Magazine, The Boston Irish Reporter, IrishPhiladelphia, the NY Irish Echo, and others. Lilt’s latest album, titled “X,” was released in July 2019, and marks the duo’s ten years of performing together. In addition to his work with Lilt, Keith also often performs frequently with other prominent traditional musicians in the DC/Baltimore area.
He has served on the Board of Directors -- and as a regular teacher -- for the annual “MAD Week” Irish music summer camp (www.cceMadWeek.com) in Maryland. He has also served as a board member for the O’Neill-Malcom Branch of CCÉ.
Growing up in a family of prominent music educators in New York equipped Keith with extensive classical training in several instruments. His musical background also includes many years as a performing jazz/rock/fingerstyle guitarist. He landed in Washington, DC, thirty-some years ago to pursue a career as an ecologist, doing groundbreaking work in biodiversity conservation with several international organizations. He recently retired and is now able to devote his time to what he loves most: performing and teaching Irish traditional music.
-
Fiddle, Tenor Banjo, and Mandolin
Lessons are taught on the campus of the Landon School in Bethesda. Maryland. All ages and levels are welcome, although space is limited. The Landon School is located in the Washington, DC, area.
Contact Information:
violinist@gmail.com
Bob is a professional performer on several instruments in many styles. He just recorded an Irish trad record with legendary Irish musicians Finbar Furey, Francie Conway, and Matt Kelleghan (from the band Moving Hearts), and has taught at MAD Week since its inception. He's a champion Scottish fiddler, is fluent in jazz and bluegrass, and serves as Concertmaster, Principal, and violin or mandolin soloist with a number of professional orchestras.
He teaches using techniques applicable to any style of music, with an emphasis on playing by ear (even if reading printed notes).
Piano
-
Irish Piano and Suzuki (classical) Piano, Irish Fiddle, and Suzuki Violin
I currently teach full-time in my home in Baltimore, MD, Sundays through Thursdays. I accept children (beginning at age 5) and adult students. I focus on good technique, and emphasize ear training and listening for a strong foundation in music.
Contact Information:
donnalongmusic@gmail.com
www.donnalongpiano.com
Donna learned to play the piano from her father, jazz pianist Byron Long. When she moved to Baltimore, she took two years of Music and Arts education at Catonsville Community College, and learned to play the fiddle from Brendan Mulvihill. Brendan and Donna performed as a Fiddle/Piano duo for 10 years in the Baltimore/Washington area and produced two CDs, "The Steeplechase" and "The Morning Dew."
Donna is also a former member of the internationally-acclaimed group Cherish the Ladies, and recorded five CDs with them. She also has a solo piano CD called "Handprints." In the year 2000 the Smithsonian Institution asked Donna to represent Irish music in the series "Piano Traditions," celebrating 300 years of the piano.
Uillean Pipes
-
Uilleann Pipes, Beginning Irish Whistle, Irish Wooden Flute
Located in Silver Spring, just North of the Beltway near Blair High School ("four corners", intersection of Route 29 and University Avenue).
Contact Information:
301-593-6954
rkemper@ctia.org
http://www.sligoharps.com/Uill.html
I teach in-home on evenings and weekends. I can also provide loaner Uilleann practice sets to students while they are actively progressing in their instruction. Piping requires significant strength in the arms and upper torso, so the youngest pipers generally begin at nine years old. Of course, many younger students start on the whistle earlier. I prefer to teach traditionally (imitation/by ear), but will also work off the page to get started.
Piping since 2000.
-
Uilleann Pipes, Low Whistle, Tin Whistle
I primarily offer in-home private lessons. Occasionally I provide mobile teaching services depending upon particular student needs, and have organized group lessons at Aquinas Montessori School nearby the Mount Vernon, Virginia area. For selected primary and middle schools, I have given demonstrations of Irish Traditional music on the above-listed instruments, especially in March for Irish Culture Awareness events.
My primary site for lessons is at my home in Springfield, Virginia, conveniently located near the Beltway, I-395, and I-95 exits.
Contact Information
703-593-5075
mikejudy@cox.net
www.coolmcfinn.com
I have been teaching Irish traditional music for close to 15 years. I have played at sessions in the greater DMV area, as well all over the US, wherever my job travels have taken me, and in Ireland on holidays. For the past seven years, I've performed with Celtic Marc/Cool McFinn in and around the Northern Virginia area.
Originally brought up and exposed to the modern jazz of the 1960s and 70s, I was taken up with the rebirth of Irish traditional music in the mid-to-late 1970s from the likes of the Bothy Band, Planxty, DeDannan, and the Chieftains. Fusions between them became apparent. My impetus to learn to play came from the many recordings heard on Myron Bretholtz's late-1970s, weekly 3-hour radio programs, which introduced me to these and other traditional groups' driving rhythms and tunes.
Flute
-
Irish Wooden Flute, Tin Whistle, Classical Silver "Boehm System" Flute, and Recorder
Offering private lessons and workshops out of her home studio in Baltimore, for Goucher College students, and via Skype.
Contact Information:
443-629-8699
laurabyrnemusic@gmail.com
www.laurabyrne.com
Laura has developed a reputation as an excellent teacher both locally and internationally and has regular students who travel from Philadelphia, PA, western Maryland, the eastern shore, and central Virginia. Several of her students have won first place medals at Mid-Atlantic Region CCÉ Fleadh in New York.
Laura graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in 1995 receiving a Bachelor's degree in Music Education and Flute Performance. Though classically trained, she chose to devote her musical career to Irish traditional music. After many trips to Ireland and studying with many of the older generation of Irish traditional players in the U.S., she is now considered one of only a handful to successfully cross over to traditional music from another genre. Laura has performed at countless festivals, ceilis, and concerts in the U.S., Canada, and Ireland with many of the great Irish music luminaries.
She is a three-time 1st-place winner in solo flute, duets and slow airs at the North American Mid-Atlantic Region Fleadh competition. Laura has won multiple Maryland State Arts Council grants for performance, and in 2011 was awarded the Master award for the Maryland Traditions Master/Apprentice program along with her former student Patrick Armstrong. She has appeared on numerous recordings and has two solo recordings, "Tune for the Road" and "Lucky Day."
Laura taught silver flute at the Suzuki School of Maryland from 1996-1998 and has been teaching Irish flute at Goucher College since 2002. In all, she's been teaching silver flute privately since the late 1980s and Irish flute since 2000. Laura founded the Baltimore Irish Arts Center in 2002, which offers group lessons in Irish music. Laura has taught for numerous workshops and Irish weeks around the U.S. including the Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham, New York, and CCÉ MAD Week.
-
Irish Wooden Flute, Tin Whistle
Offers private lessons in her home in Cabin John MD.
Contact Information:
tinaeck@yahoo.com
Tina also teaches group classes for flute and tin whistle several times per year through the Washington Conservatory of Music, Glen Echo Park, MD. Online information and registration for classes at Glen Echo available at www.washingtonconservatory.org
Originally from Germany and now working as a Washington-based radio news correspondent, Tina discovered her passion for Irish traditional music in a local pub in Washington, DC, in the 1990s. She has since performed at countless sessions, festivals, dances and concerts, including such notable venues as the Irish Embassy and the Kennedy Center. She has traveled to Ireland frequently and has learned technique and repertoire from some of the best traditional flute players in Ireland and the U.S. In 2011 Tina was awarded a Maryland State Arts Council Grant for Solo World Music Performance.
She performs regularly with the duo Lilt, the dance band Rambling House, and the Irish Inn Mates.
-
Uilleann Pipes, Beginning Irish Whistle, Irish Wooden Flute
Located in Silver Spring, just North of the Beltway near Blair High School ("four corners", intersection of Route 29 and University Avenue).
Contact Information:
301-593-6954
rkemper@ctia.org
http://www.sligoharps.com/Uill.html
I teach in-home on evenings and weekends. I can also provide loaner Uilleann practice sets to students while they are actively progressing in their instruction. Piping requires significant strength in the arms and upper torso, so the youngest pipers generally begin at nine years old. Of course, many younger students start on the whistle earlier. I prefer to teach traditionally (imitation/by ear), but will also work off the page to get started.
Piping since 2000.
-
Irish Wooden Flute, Tin Whistle, Classical Flute
I offer in-home private lessons. I accept beginning through intermediate level students, from 10 years old to adult. Location: Alexandria, VA.
Contact Information:
703-522-2866
elise@celticweddingmusic.com
www.celticweddingmusic.com
I have been a professional performer of traditional Irish music for decades. As a singer, Irish flute player, and whistle player, I have performed with several well known Celtic bands including Skylark, MoonFire and The New St. George. I am also the creator and proprietress of Celtic Music for Your Wedding, a business providing the best DC area Celtic musical groups for every occasion.
Over the course of my career, I have appeared at the Kennedy Center, the Birchmere, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, DAR Constitution Hall, and Strathmore Hall, among other venues. I have recorded many CDs, including the award winning Present, Past, and Future (Best Celtic Album of the Year).
I have served as Musical Director and performer for several professional theatrical productions including The Stewart of Christendom at the Studio Theatre and Everyman for the Edge of the Universe Productions. My latest CD is Tunes and Songs of Celtic Lands with the band Skylark.
I have been a teacher of Irish flute and penny whistle for nearly 20 years. I teach in the traditional way; by ear and without sheet music. It is a special joy to play traditional music oneself. My main goal in teaching is to share that joy with my students, so they might experience it and share it with their listeners.
Tin Whistle
-
Tin Whistle and Hammered Dulcimer
Private lessons from my studio in Silver Spring, MD. Beginning to intermediate for penny whistle, and all levels for hammered dulcimer. 50- and 30 -minute lessons available. Hammered dulcimer lessons include theory and how to arrange a variety of styles of music, including Irish. Penny whistle lessons include reading music and playing by ear, and focuses on Irish tunes and ornamentation.
Contact Information:
301-592-0101
mail@karenashbrook.com
www.karenashbrook.com
Karen performs and teaches around the U.S. on hammered dulcimer and penny whistle. She has been on staff at the Catskills Irish Arts Week, Milwaukee Irish Fest Summer School, Augusta Heritage Irish Week, and with our local CCÉ MAD Week. She coached a dulcimer student to two All-Ireland First Place Awards in two different age groups. For 10 years she ran a DC youth Irish session, which led to her founding the Sligo Creek Hedge School, an Irish music and culture camp for children, which ran for 19 years.
Currently Karen works as a certified therapeutic musician in area hospitals. She has numerous recordings on the Maggie's Music label.
-
Concertina, Fiddle, Whistle, Harp
Teaching in the Odenton, Maryland area.
Contact Information:
828-263-3721
BoatrightSchoolOfIrishMusic@gmail.com
Multiple All-Ireland champion, Alex is a sought-after teacher and arranger. Aside from teaching the national festival circuit, Alex teaches the Bog Band and the Potomac Waters Ceili Band, as well as the local Tune Up: The Session Club, and private lessons.
-
Irish Wooden Flute, Tin Whistle, Classical Silver "Boehm System" Flute, and Recorder
Offering private lessons and workshops out of her home studio in Baltimore, for Goucher College students, and via Skype.
Contact Information:
443-629-8699
laurabyrnemusic@gmail.com
www.laurabyrne.com
Laura has developed a reputation as an excellent teacher both locally and internationally and has regular students who travel from Philadelphia, PA, western Maryland, the eastern shore, and central Virginia. Several of her students have won first place medals at Mid-Atlantic Region CCÉ Fleadh in New York.
Laura graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in 1995 receiving a Bachelor's degree in Music Education and Flute Performance. Though classically trained, she chose to devote her musical career to Irish traditional music. After many trips to Ireland and studying with many of the older generation of Irish traditional players in the U.S., she is now considered one of only a handful to successfully cross over to traditional music from another genre. Laura has performed at countless festivals, ceilis, and concerts in the U.S., Canada, and Ireland with many of the great Irish music luminaries.
She is a three-time 1st-place winner in solo flute, duets and slow airs at the North American Mid-Atlantic Region Fleadh competition. Laura has won multiple Maryland State Arts Council grants for performance, and in 2011 was awarded the Master award for the Maryland Traditions Master/Apprentice program along with her former student Patrick Armstrong. She has appeared on numerous recordings and has two solo recordings, "Tune for the Road" and "Lucky Day."
Laura taught silver flute at the Suzuki School of Maryland from 1996-1998 and has been teaching Irish flute at Goucher College since 2002. In all, she's been teaching silver flute privately since the late 1980s and Irish flute since 2000. Laura founded the Baltimore Irish Arts Center in 2002, which offers group lessons in Irish music. Laura has taught for numerous workshops and Irish weeks around the U.S. including the Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham, New York, and CCÉ MAD Week.
-
Irish Wooden Flute, Tin Whistle
Offers private lessons in her home in Cabin John MD.
Contact Information:
tinaeck@yahoo.com
Tina also teaches group classes for flute and tin whistle several times per year through the Washington Conservatory of Music, Glen Echo Park, MD. Online information and registration for classes at Glen Echo available at www.washingtonconservatory.org
Originally from Germany and now working as a Washington-based radio news correspondent, Tina discovered her passion for Irish traditional music in a local pub in Washington, DC, in the 1990s. She has since performed at countless sessions, festivals, dances and concerts, including such notable venues as the Irish Embassy and the Kennedy Center. She has traveled to Ireland frequently and has learned technique and repertoire from some of the best traditional flute players in Ireland and the U.S. In 2011 Tina was awarded a Maryland State Arts Council Grant for Solo World Music Performance.
She performs regularly with the duo Lilt, the dance band Rambling House, and the Irish Inn Mates.
-
Uilleann Pipes, Beginning Irish Whistle, Irish Wooden Flute
Located in Silver Spring, just North of the Beltway near Blair High School ("four corners", intersection of Route 29 and University Avenue).
Contact Information:
301-593-6954
rkemper@ctia.org
http://www.sligoharps.com/Uill.html
I teach in-home on evenings and weekends. I can also provide loaner Uilleann practice sets to students while they are actively progressing in their instruction. Piping requires significant strength in the arms and upper torso, so the youngest pipers generally begin at nine years old. Of course, many younger students start on the whistle earlier. I prefer to teach traditionally (imitation/by ear), but will also work off the page to get started.
Piping since 2000.
-
Irish Wooden Flute, Tin Whistle, Classical Flute
I offer in-home private lessons. I accept beginning through intermediate level students, from 10 years old to adult. Location: Alexandria, VA.
Contact Information:
703-522-2866
elise@celticweddingmusic.com
www.celticweddingmusic.com
I have been a professional performer of traditional Irish music for decades. As a singer, Irish flute player, and whistle player, I have performed with several well known Celtic bands including Skylark, MoonFire and The New St. George. I am also the creator and proprietress of Celtic Music for Your Wedding, a business providing the best DC area Celtic musical groups for every occasion.
Over the course of my career, I have appeared at the Kennedy Center, the Birchmere, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, DAR Constitution Hall, and Strathmore Hall, among other venues. I have recorded many CDs, including the award winning Present, Past, and Future (Best Celtic Album of the Year).
I have served as Musical Director and performer for several professional theatrical productions including The Stewart of Christendom at the Studio Theatre and Everyman for the Edge of the Universe Productions. My latest CD is Tunes and Songs of Celtic Lands with the band Skylark.
I have been a teacher of Irish flute and penny whistle for nearly 20 years. I teach in the traditional way; by ear and without sheet music. It is a special joy to play traditional music oneself. My main goal in teaching is to share that joy with my students, so they might experience it and share it with their listeners.
Bodhrán
-
Bodhrán
Instruction offered through annual fall and spring group classes at the Washington Conservatory of Music, Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo MD.
Contact Information:
301-613-0753
jessewinch@hotmail.com
www.jesse-winch.com
Jesse Winch was born and raised in the Bronx of Irish immigrant parents. He is the former cathaoirleach (chairman) of the O'Neill-Malcom Branch of CCÉ. A founding member of the bands Celtic Thunder and the Bog Wanderers Ceili Band, Jesse also performs with various other groups. He plays bodhrán (Irish drum; pronounced "bow-ron"), guitar, bouzouki, and harmonica, and has recorded widely with many notable musicians. In May of 2012, Jesse was inducted into the CCÉ Hall of Fame.
-
Bodhrán
Teaching in Northern Virginia.
Contact Information:
703-220-7033
stickjf@icloud.com
Jim began drumming at an early age (8). Upon completing a Bachelor of Music Education degree in percussion (JMU, 1985), Jim served from 1985-1990 as a snare drummer in the US Army’s Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps. He then spent the next ten years teaching elementary band in Fairfax County Public Schools, in addition to instructing various high school percussion sections, marching and concert, throughout the county. Jim also was the lead drummer for the City of Alexandria Pipes & Drums for 5 years and it was during that period he began playing bodhrán in the Northern Virginia session scene.
An active session player, Jim is often found at several Irish and Scottish sessions in Northern Virginia, in addition to performing frequently with traditional musicians in the area and teaching privately. He has recorded with several notable musicians in the DC region, most recently with Irish duo Lilt (Tina Eck and Keith Carr) and 2016 US National Scottish fiddle champion Seán Heely.
Irish/Celtic Harp
-
Concertina, Fiddle, Whistle, Harp
Teaching in the Odenton, Maryland area.
Contact Information:
828-263-3721
BoatrightSchoolOfIrishMusic@gmail.com
Multiple All-Ireland champion, Alex is a sought-after teacher and arranger. Aside from teaching the national festival circuit, Alex teaches the Bog Band and the Potomac Waters Ceili Band, as well as the local Tune Up: The Session Club, and private lessons.
-
Celtic Harp
Lessons, group lessons, and workshops for all ages both in home and while on tour. Lessons available by video apps. Gettysburg, PA, Montgomery County, MD, and Washington, DC area.
Contact Information:
301-938 5395
fynesound@comcast.net
www.fynesound.com
www.maggiesmusic.com
Once Sharon discovered the harp in her twenties, she immediately plunged into acquiring the necessary skills to play, teach, and perform music. From studying with harpers such as Mary MacMaster, Patsy Seddon, and Judith Peacock Cummings, to playing in "innumerable" sessions, to taking three years of college courses in music theory, singing, chorus, music history, and piano as well as many workshops, Sharon devoted herself to becoming a serious musician. With her customary thoroughness, she took the time to acquaint herself with the pedal harp, to better enable her help students making the transition from pedal to lever harp.
Sharon, who is most comfortable playing by ear, is a masterful accompanist and has performed in Hen with Sue Richards and Fynesound, a larger ensemble which also includes a dancer. She currently performs solo, in a duo with husband John, in another duo with soprano Stephanie Roelker, in an Irish instrumental ensemble called The Morning Star and in a trio with record label owner Maggie Sansone. She has also recorded with claw hammer banjo player Joe Trudeau. This recording is unique.
Sharon teaches harp all over the USA, and is a respected adjudicator with the Scottish Harp Society of America. She also runs an internationally-recognized concert series out of her home near Gettysburg, PA.
Her CDs are Ferry Cottage (with husband, John), Almost Home and Christmas Joy (Fynesound), HEN by HEN, Highland Echoes with Joe Trudeau, Cold Frosty Morn and The Morning Star.
Sharon can be seen and heard at the following links:-
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaU7pdK70_sTprTrs8EKYmQ
https://www.facebook.com/Fynesound-Music-Group-190794294283381/
https://www.facebook.com/The-Morning-Star-102388231293769/
Hammer Dulcimer
-
Tin Whistle and Hammered Dulcimer
Private lessons from my studio in Silver Spring, MD. Beginning to intermediate for penny whistle, and all levels for hammered dulcimer. 50- and 30 -minute lessons available. Hammered dulcimer lessons include theory and how to arrange a variety of styles of music, including Irish. Penny whistle lessons include reading music and playing by ear, and focuses on Irish tunes and ornamentation.
Contact Information:
301-592-0101
mail@karenashbrook.com
www.karenashbrook.com
Karen performs and teaches around the U.S. on hammered dulcimer and penny whistle. She has been on staff at the Catskills Irish Arts Week, Milwaukee Irish Fest Summer School, Augusta Heritage Irish Week, and with our local CCÉ MAD Week. She coached a dulcimer student to two All-Ireland First Place Awards in two different age groups. For 10 years she ran a DC youth Irish session, which led to her founding the Sligo Creek Hedge School, an Irish music and culture camp for children, which ran for 19 years.
Currently Karen works as a certified therapeutic musician in area hospitals. She has numerous recordings on the Maggie's Music label
Traditional Singing
-
Traditional Singing, Button Accordion (B/C, C#D, et al)
Teaching in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Eastern Shore
Contact Information:
202-630-4235
inquiries@newcenturyirisharts.com
newcenturyirisharts.com
Peter teaches private lessons in traditional singing, the button accordion, music theory, and ear training, and teaches old-style Irish dancing with his wife, the dancer Catherine Marafino Brice. A native Annapolitan and an exponent of Baltimore, Maryland's Irish traditional music community, Peter's work blends singing and musicianship with musicology and history, humor, and colorful design, and a vision for traditional culture as a foundation for an intellectual life. His playing reflects his admiration for Galway accordionists such as Joe Cooley, Kevin Keegan, and Raymond Roland—a style into which he was initiated by Brooklyn-born accordionist and National Heritage Fellow Billy McComiskey.
A lifelong singer, Peter has married a repertoire of American historical songs with a wide-ranging English-language style that he gleaned from his teachers Dónal Maguire and the late Louisa Jo Killen.
Peter has served as the executive director of the New Century American Irish-Arts Company since its inception in 2011. He is a former vice-chair of CCÉ’s O’Neill-Malcom Branch, and a past co-coordinator of the Washington Folk Festival. He founded the Baltimore Singers Club with singers Andy O’Brien and Pat Egan to promote traditional singing in Maryland, and was a founding member of the Old Bay Ceili Band.
In 2014, he and his mentor Billy McComiskey were recognized by the Maryland State Arts Council as a traditional arts master-apprentice pair. He received the Maryland Traditions Apprenticeship Award again in 2019 with singer Lisa Null. He has independently written over $22,000 in awarded grants for Maryland's Irish traditional music community.
A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory Preparatory program, Peter also holds a BA in Irish Traditional Music and Dance from the University of Limerick.
-
Traditional Singing
Irish-American musician and singer Eileen Estes is a full time musician who recently relocated from Chicago to PA. Whether performing at home or touring, Estes has thrilled audiences for years with her extraordinary voice, which effortlessly combines vocal power with subtle emotional expressiveness. She also works as a studio musician and a vocal coach. Eileen is a former faculty member at Blue Ridge Irish Music School, where she is still a visiting instructor, and travels to teach Master Classes in the United States and abroad. She currently works as one of the Directors of Irish Music Arts and Dance Week in Bethesda MD, is a contributing artist to the Baltimore Washington Academy of Irish Culture and is the vocal instructor for the Irish Music School of Chicago.
Daughter of Nita (Conley) Korn, Celtic Thunder’s original lead singer, Eileen grew up immersed in the traditional music of Ireland and Scotland. She is a traditional singer as well as an arranger, songwriter and song collector who has collaborated with many bands over the years. In 2015, Nita and Eileen released an album of Irish and Scottish songs called The Apple Tree Project.
Concertina
-
Concertina, Fiddle, Whistle, Harp
Teaching in the Odenton, Maryland area.
Contact Information:
828-263-3721
BoatrightSchoolOfIrishMusic@gmail.com
Multiple All-Ireland champion, Alex is a sought-after teacher and arranger. Aside from teaching the national festival circuit, Alex teaches the Bog Band and the Potomac Waters Ceili Band, as well as the local Tune Up: The Session Club, and private lessons.
Guitar
-
Guitar
Zan McLeod began playing music at the age of 14 in Charlotte, NC. His was influenced by his next-door neighbor, Fred Kirby, who played guitar and sang on local TV as a cowboy entertainer. Zan listened to his older friends in the Clanton Park neighborhood rehearse their rock band Die Hards and learned to play all the instrumentation by ear. He got his first Rickenbacker electric guitar for Christmas 1967 and the rest is history.
Zan’s professional career began in 1970 playing Pop Radio rock music. Salvation, Willie Tee & Skinny, and Hummingbird were Zan’s first bands. They opened in big arenas for groups such as The Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker, Deep Purple, Poco, Johnny Winter and Black Sabbath. In 1975, his band Skylite Mission recorded their first album of original songs in Nashville.
His early forays into the Irish music scene began in 1979 when he and North Carolina singer/songwriter Mike Cross visited Nashville. On tour from his home in Chapel Hill, NC he met Triona NiDhomnaill, of the legendary Bothy Band, while recording in Nashville. Their musical chemistry inspired Triona and Zan to form the innovative and groundbreaking band Touchstone. For 5 years they recorded and toured together. Touchstone’s album The New Land won the NAIRD Award for best Indie album of 1981. Jealousy, Touchstone’s second album, was well received and both were on the Green Linnet Label.
In 1985 Zan’s electric roots called him back home and he further explored his love of the electric by playing reggae and Caribbean music. He toured and played with The Fun Addix until moving to Washington, DC in 1988.
Zan immediately took up the Irish reins and was a mainstay of the Washington, DC Irish music scene performing at Irish festivals, Ceili Club Events, CCE, Gaston Hall and Smithsonian. Zan accompanied the winners of The National Council for Traditional Arts; Donny Golden, Mick Maloney, Seamus Connolly, and Joe Derrane were at their award ceremonies as well as The Folk Masters at The Barns of Wolf Trap.
Zan was a contributing musician on the 1999 Grammy winning CD, Celtic Solstice by Paul Winter. In addition, he appeared on the Grammy nominated CD, Journey with the Sun by Paul Winter and The Long Journey Home by the Chieftains. Zan’s self-produced solo album, Highland Soul, won the Washington, DC WAMMIE Award for Best Album in 1994, inspiring him to pursue a simultaneous career as musician and audio engineer.
After graduating from the Omega School of Recording, he established his project studio Tonehouse Recording.
In addition to recording on over 200 CDs, Zan recorded several film soundtracks including: Edward Burns’ The Brothers McMullen, Ang Lee’s Ride with the Devil, Sam Shepard’s Far North, and James Horner’s Back to Titanic.
As a respected and experienced workshop leader and guitar instructor, Zan taught for 20 years at the Augusta Heritage Center’s Irish/Celtic Week , Boston College’s Gaelic Roots Program , McDaniel College’s Common Ground , Jerry Holland’s Ceili Trail School, and he was one of the founders of Warren Wilson College’s Swannanoa Gathering.
In 2001, Zan released the instructional video Learn to Play the Irish Bouzouki for Homespun Tapes. In 2008, Zan starred in Fire On The Mountain at the Arkansas Repertory Theater. The musical, an environmental, anti-coal mining work set in Appalachia, was a great success.
Zan won the Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artist Grant for composition in 2011, 2014 and 2017.
Zan has been a voting member of the GRAMMY’S (NARAS) since 1993.
Bouzouki
-
Irish Bouzouki, Tenor (4-string) Banjo, Mandolin
Offers private lessons in his home in Falls Church, VA; or student's home (if in close-by Northern Virginia or Montgomery County). Contact for lesson rates.
Contact Information:
703-969-6909
keithcarr@mac.com
Keith is also on the faculty of the Washington Conservatory of Music, where he gives classes in Irish bouzouki and guitar backing techniques, and in Irish style tenor banjo and mandolin. Online information and registration for classes at Glen Echo is available at www.washingtonconservatory.org
He is most well known for performing as half of the Irish traditional duo Lilt, in which his partner is flautist Tina Eck. Over the past decade Lilt has released four CDs and has been favorably reviewed by Irish Music Magazine, The Boston Irish Reporter, IrishPhiladelphia, the NY Irish Echo, and others. Lilt’s latest album, titled “X,” was released in July 2019, and marks the duo’s ten years of performing together. In addition to his work with Lilt, Keith also often performs frequently with other prominent traditional musicians in the DC/Baltimore area.
He has served on the Board of Directors -- and as a regular teacher -- for the annual “MAD Week” Irish music summer camp (www.cceMadWeek.com) in Maryland. He has also served as a board member for the O’Neill-Malcom Branch of CCÉ.
Growing up in a family of prominent music educators in New York equipped Keith with extensive classical training in several instruments. His musical background also includes many years as a performing jazz/rock/fingerstyle guitarist. He landed in Washington, DC, thirty-some years ago to pursue a career as an ecologist, doing groundbreaking work in biodiversity conservation with several international organizations. He recently retired and is now able to devote his time to what he loves most: performing and teaching Irish traditional music.
-
Fiddle, Bouzouki
Teaching in Falls Church, Virginia
Contact Information:
757-407-1021
seanfiddlemusic@gmail.com
www.seanheely.com
Champion Celtic fiddler and singer Seán Heely is rapidly emerging as one of the most creatively versatile and captivating young artists of his generation. Fiddle legend Liz Carroll calls Seán “One powerhouse of a fiddler.” He is a U.S National Scottish Fiddle Champion as well as an award-winning Irish fiddler and singer in the folk traditions of Scotland and Ireland.
Seán holds a degree from University of South Carolina in Classical Violin Performance, and was a 2019 Artist in Residence at Strathmore Music Center in Maryland. An educator in demand, Seán is an Adjunct Instructor at American University. He has also been on the faculty at several summer camps, including Acadia Traditional School of Music and Arts , Upper Potomac Fiddle Retreat, and Fiddle Hell Festival.
He has performed in Scotland, Ireland, and at venues in the U.S such as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Seán has performed with traditional music icons such as Liz Carroll, Bonnie Rideout, Natalie Haas, Cathy Jordan, Maeve Gilchrist, Eamon O’Leary, Zan McLeod, and Paddy Keenan.
Seán performs locally and abroad with the Seán Heely Celtic Trio, Glencoe Lads, and Skylark. He is a musical ambassador for the British Embassy Scottish Affairs Office and the St. Andrew’s Society of Washington. He also frequently travels abroad as a solo artist, has been a speaker at events such as the Scottish North American Leadership Conference, and maintains a private teaching studio in Falls Church, VA.
B/C Button Accordion
-
Traditional Singing, Button Accordion (B/C, C#D, et al)
Teaching in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Eastern Shore
Contact Information:
202-630-4235
inquiries@newcenturyirisharts.com
newcenturyirisharts.com
Peter teaches private lessons in traditional singing, the button accordion, music theory, and ear training, and teaches old-style Irish dancing with his wife, the dancer Catherine Marafino Brice. A native Annapolitan and an exponent of Baltimore, Maryland's Irish traditional music community, Peter's work blends singing and musicianship with musicology and history, humor, and colorful design, and a vision for traditional culture as a foundation for an intellectual life. His playing reflects his admiration for Galway accordionists such as Joe Cooley, Kevin Keegan, and Raymond Roland—a style into which he was initiated by Brooklyn-born accordionist and National Heritage Fellow Billy McComiskey.
A lifelong singer, Peter has married a repertoire of American historical songs with a wide-ranging English-language style that he gleaned from his teachers Dónal Maguire and the late Louisa Jo Killen.
Peter has served as the executive director of the New Century American Irish-Arts Company since its inception in 2011. He is a former vice-chair of CCÉ’s O’Neill-Malcom Branch, and a past co-coordinator of the Washington Folk Festival. He founded the Baltimore Singers Club with singers Andy O’Brien and Pat Egan to promote traditional singing in Maryland, and was a founding member of the Old Bay Ceili Band.
In 2014, he and his mentor Billy McComiskey were recognized by the Maryland State Arts Council as a traditional arts master-apprentice pair. He received the Maryland Traditions Apprenticeship Award again in 2019 with singer Lisa Null. He has independently written over $22,000 in awarded grants for Maryland's Irish traditional music community.
A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory Preparatory program, Peter also holds a BA in Irish Traditional Music and Dance from the University of Limerick.
-
B/C Button Accordion
Private or small group lessons at my home in Wheaton, MD. Beginner, advanced beginner, and intermediate levels.
Contact Information:
(301)946-0434
tonyziselberger@yahoo.com
Mandolin
-
Irish Bouzouki, Tenor (4-string) Banjo, Mandolin
Offers private lessons in his home in Falls Church, VA; or student's home (if in close-by Northern Virginia or Montgomery County). Contact for lesson rates.
Contact Information:
703-969-6909
keithcarr@mac.com
Keith is also on the faculty of the Washington Conservatory of Music, where he gives classes in Irish bouzouki and guitar backing techniques, and in Irish style tenor banjo and mandolin. Online information and registration for classes at Glen Echo is available at www.washingtonconservatory.org
He is most well known for performing as half of the Irish traditional duo Lilt, in which his partner is flautist Tina Eck. Over the past decade Lilt has released four CDs and has been favorably reviewed by Irish Music Magazine, The Boston Irish Reporter, IrishPhiladelphia, the NY Irish Echo, and others. Lilt’s latest album, titled “X,” was released in July 2019, and marks the duo’s ten years of performing together. In addition to his work with Lilt, Keith also often performs frequently with other prominent traditional musicians in the DC/Baltimore area.
He has served on the Board of Directors -- and as a regular teacher -- for the annual “MAD Week” Irish music summer camp (www.cceMadWeek.com) in Maryland. He has also served as a board member for the O’Neill-Malcom Branch of CCÉ.
Growing up in a family of prominent music educators in New York equipped Keith with extensive classical training in several instruments. His musical background also includes many years as a performing jazz/rock/fingerstyle guitarist. He landed in Washington, DC, thirty-some years ago to pursue a career as an ecologist, doing groundbreaking work in biodiversity conservation with several international organizations. He recently retired and is now able to devote his time to what he loves most: performing and teaching Irish traditional music.
-
Fiddle, Mandolin
In-home private/individual lessons as well as group classes. Beginner through intermediate players. Located in Herndon, VA
Contact Information:
703-435-2637
sneel05@gmail.com
I've played Irish music for more than forty years and have played in Irish bands in Utah (Tenpenny), New York (Genessee River Band), Colorado (Jigs Up), and Virginia (Spudduggery) and currently with the Virginia-based Cool McFinn. My main influences are the greats Kevin Burke and Liz Carroll.
-
Fiddle, Tenor Banjo, and Mandolin
Lessons are taught on the campus of the Landon School in Bethesda. Maryland. All ages and levels are welcome, although space is limited. The Landon School is located in the Washington, DC, area.
Contact Information:
violinist@gmail.com
Bob is a professional performer on several instruments in many styles. He just recorded an Irish trad record with legendary Irish musicians Finbar Furey, Francie Conway, and Matt Kelleghan (from the band Moving Hearts), and has taught at MAD Week since its inception. He's a champion Scottish fiddler, is fluent in jazz and bluegrass, and serves as Concertmaster, Principal, and violin or mandolin soloist with a number of professional orchestras.
He teaches using techniques applicable to any style of music, with an emphasis on playing by ear (even if reading printed notes).