Biography
With no family background in classical music, I first came across the violin aged five in CDs my mum borrowed from the library, introducing children to famous composers. Vivaldi’s story presented the violin as a magical force for good, and I was determined to play it. I received a tiny violin for my sixth birthday and began lessons locally. Soon afterwards I also began piano lessons, indulging my love of improvisation which goes back as far as I remember.
When I was eleven, I began singing with RTÉ Cór na nÓg (the national broadcast children’s choir). When my voice started breaking, the accompanist Carole O’Connor introduced me to the organ for the first time, and I began taking lessons with her. I applied for a scholarship scheme at the Junior Royal Irish Academy of Music, and was accepted to study piano with Hugh Tinney when I was fourteen. I became Junior Organ Scholar at Christ Church Cathedral the following year, which opened me up to the world of professional church music. I also began violin lessons at the Academy that year with Maeve Broderick, and gradually decided I wanted to pursue music professionally.
I moved to London when I was eighteen to study violin with Krysia Osostowicz at the Guildhall School. I took every opportunity to gain orchestral experience, as the pandemic had prevented much of this in Dublin. I began playing a lot of chamber music, and was awarded the St James String Ensemble Prize with the Florens Quartet in my final year. I was also delighted to be one of the inaugural awardees of the Music Network National Instrument Collection of Ireland this year, receiving an 1880 Gand et Bernardel Frères violin on loan, and funds to purchase a 1930 W. E. Hill and Sons bow.
Alongside my degree I worked as an organ scholar in St Mary’s Battersea and Grosvenor Chapel, which provided me with a great sense of community in London, and supported my continued organ studies. I received the Limpus and Dixon prizes in my FRCO diploma in 2024, and am currently in my second year as Pettman Organ Scholar at the Brompton Oratory. I hope that I can continue combining both of these instruments in a freelance career going forward! When I do get some occasional time off from music, I enjoy exploring new places, photography, cycling, and architecture.