Laoise Kelly is a traditional Irish music composer and harpist. She won the 2020 Musician of the Year Award.
Laoise Kelly is a young harpist with the disposition of an iconoclast and the talent and technique of a virtuoso.” - Irish Times
Laoise Kelly from Westport, Co. Mayo, now living on Achill Island, is regarded as the most significant harper of her generation – Nuala O’Connor.
Biography
Laoise Kelly is from Westport, County Mayo. Kelly learned music from her father and began learning the harp from when she was 12. She learned from Ann-Marie Scanlon and Kim Fleming as well as John Hoban. Kelly has been described as the "most significant harper of her generation". She has founded a number of groups including Bumblebees and Fiddletree with whom she has several albums each. She has also recorded albums with a wide variety of Irish artists including Uilleann piper Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn, The Chieftains, Sharon Shannon, Mary Black, Dónal Lunny, Kate Bush, Christy Moore and American musician Tim O’Brien. She also tours with pipers, fiddlers and singers
Kelly lives on Achill Island and was involved in founding the new Achill International Harp Festival. Kelly is also a composer and has written music for The Abbey, Dublin and the National Theatre of Scotland when they worked together on Theatre Gu Leòr’s Scotties. She's also worked as the musical director for theatre productions which took part in the Edinburgh festival. She has won three all-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil harp competitions and the O’Carolan Harp Festival.
Kelly has performed on TV and radio as well as for heads of state. She represented Ireland at the World Harp Festival in Paraguay.
Audio
Track 1: An Londubh
Track 2: All Alive
Track 3: Beautiful Gortree
Track 4: Joe Cassidy's Reel
Track Listing
- An Londubh/Maidrin Ruath. 4.09
- The Honarable Thomas Burke. 2.19
- With Her Dog & Her Gun. 3.24
- Joe Cassidy's/Frank Gilruth/Hull's Reel. 3.50
- Toureendarby Polka/Neil Mahoney's Polka/Mike Buckley's Favourite. 2.26
- Achill Air. 3.21
- Beautiful Gortree. 3.50
- All Alive/Malcolm's New Fiddle/The Battering Ram. 3.59
- Little John's Hame/The Spey in Spate. 3.41
- Is Gatar \c\raidhte an Gradh. 3.30
- Sliabh na mBan. 2.35
- Seperation of Soul & Body. 2.49
- Siobhánin Seó. 6.19
Also available from Copperplate:
Laoise Kelly: Just Harp
Laoise Kelly & Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn: On The Shoulders of Giants