Ciarán O’Grady is widely regarded as one of the leading concertina players of his generation. Growing up within the vibrant Irish music diaspora in England, Ciarán was largely self-taught, spending long family trips to Ireland each Summer immersing himself in the music and learning directly from legendary Irish musicians. Ciaran is an All-Ireland champion and has toured extensively in America, Canada and the UK with Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.
He has performed with Aifric Boylan for over 20 years including concerts and major folk festivals in Australia. Prior to emigrating to Australia, they recorded a duet album, the Hunting Room.
As a very experienced anglo concertina tutor, Ciaran is in strong demand and, along with Aifric Boylan, have developed a thriving Irish music school in Melbourne for all ages and abilities. He has taught concertina and composition regularly at the Lake School and combines a remarkable technical understanding of the concertina with a warm, supportive manner. Ciaran will focus on helping players get the most from their music.
For beginners: Instrument control, Bellows and air management, finger work, phasing and ornamentation.
For intermediate/advanced players: playing cross keys, advanced ornamentation, chords, lift and dynamics.
Ciaran will also discuss some of the major concertina styles in Irish music.