Bill Whelan
Bill Whelan has composed music for theatre, film and orchestra.
His 1997 Grammy Award winning music Riverdance continues to be performed around the world and the show is about to embark on a 25th anniversary tour of the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. To date, 22 million people have seen Riverdance The Show live.
Bill is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music and holds two honorary doctorates and is a member of Áosdána. He is an Honorary Freeman of the City of Limerick, where is was born.
Izumi Kimura
Pianist Izumi Kimura has performed internationally since moving to Ireland from Japan. She has collaborated with top performers and ensembles in classical, jazz, and improvised music. In recent years, her main focus has been on interpreting contemporary music, spontaneous composition, interactive improvisation, and the intersections of these areas.
‘A fearless explorer of the contemporary music landscape … Kimura brings a combination of feral creativity and technical virtuosity to the stage that belies her calm demeanour’ - The Irish Times
‘Prodigiously fluent quicksilver imagination’ - Marlbank
Kevin Brady
Kevin Brady grew up in a family where music and music appreciation was a high priority. Beginning at age six, he studied classical piano and trumpet privately and later added the drums to his repertoire taking lessons at the Newpark Academy of Music. He then went on to study with some of New York’s finest musicians at the Drummers Collective.
He has established himself as one of the most in demand musicians in Europe. In 2007, Kevin began to lead his own piano trio featuring the U.S. pianist Bill Carrothers. Their aim was to create and produce compositions by all members of the trio. The group have travelled widely and won the appreciation of discerning jazz audiences as far afield as the USA, Europe, China and the Azores.
To date he has released four internationally acclaimed studio albums entitled Plan B, Ensam, Common Ground & Zeitgeist. His latest album entitled ‘PLAN B’ features U.S. Saxophonist Seamus Blake & Bill Carrothers on Fender Rhodes. The album received a 4.5 Star Album review from Downbeat Magazine and was selected as one of the Top jazz Album releases of 2022.