Home-grown
I spent a number of years studying performance in Dublin and during that time I was lucky enough to work and study with some of Ireland's best up and coming singers. One might assume that all the best performers gravitate to our country's capital but you couldn't be more wrong.
Recently I have become very aware of the number of extremely talented people living and performing in our own town and around Munster. The amazingly talented Gemma Sugrue has spent the last number of months singing with Jenny Greene and the RTE Concert Orchestra. This whole project is such a great step forward for music in Ireland as it combines so many different musical genres and musicians from completely different disciplines. Gemma also runs a hugely successful school called Voiceworks and her knowledge of the ins and outs of singing seems endless.
Living locally we are very lucky to have two great male singer-songwriters, Tom Lucey and Cathal Flaherty. They have both recently released new songs along with music videos and I have to say I was both moved and impressed by what I heard.
On an international level the local brother-sister combo that are Greywind are Killarney natives Steph and Paul O' Sullivan. Their brand of music is so powerful and dramatic that it is hard to believe they began by writing material at home in Killarney and were picked up when a music company came across one of their songs on online.
I cannot begin to imagine the number of talented local people out there but what I do know is that we need to support our local talent. We all hear that we should shop local. Well, I urge you this week to listen local! If you haven't already, look up these fantastic artists and show them that homegrown talent is not only acknowledged but it is also supported.
I spent a number of years studying performance in Dublin and during that time I was lucky enough to work and study with some of Ireland's best up and coming singers. One might assume that all the best performers gravitate to our country's capital but you couldn't be more wrong.
Recently I have become very aware of the number of extremely talented people living and performing in our own town and around Munster. The amazingly talented Gemma Sugrue has spent the last number of months singing with Jenny Greene and the RTE Concert Orchestra. This whole project is such a great step forward for music in Ireland as it combines so many different musical genres and musicians from completely different disciplines. Gemma also runs a hugely successful school called Voiceworks and her knowledge of the ins and outs of singing seems endless.
Living locally we are very lucky to have two great male singer-songwriters, Tom Lucey and Cathal Flaherty. They have both recently released new songs along with music videos and I have to say I was both moved and impressed by what I heard.
On an international level the local brother-sister combo that are Greywind are Killarney natives Steph and Paul O' Sullivan. Their brand of music is so powerful and dramatic that it is hard to believe they began by writing material at home in Killarney and were picked up when a music company came across one of their songs on online.
I cannot begin to imagine the number of talented local people out there but what I do know is that we need to support our local talent. We all hear that we should shop local. Well, I urge you this week to listen local! If you haven't already, look up these fantastic artists and show them that homegrown talent is not only acknowledged but it is also supported.
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