Scoil Acla - Flute Classes

The flute has been an integral part of Irish traditional music since roughly the middle of the 19th century, when art musicians largely abandoned the wooden simple-system flute (having a conical bore, and fewer keys) for the metal Boehm system flutes of present-day classical music.

Although the choice of the Albert-system, wooden flute over the metal was initially driven by the fact that, being "outdated" castoffs, the old flutes were available cheaply second-hand, the wooden instrument has a distinct sound and continues to be commonly preferred by traditional musicians to this day.

Scoil Acla Flute Tutors

Harry Bradley

Harry Bradley was born in South Belfast in 1974. He discovered Irish traditional music through popular recordings of it and was encouraged by childhood holidays in rural Co. Down where there were a small group of players still drawing on local musical traditions. The vibrant 78 record recording heritage from the 1920s and 30s has had a huge influence on his personal playing style as has the playing of more contemporary exponents such as Seamus Tansey, Dessie Wilkinson, John Carty and piper Seamus Ennis to name but a few.

Harry has recorded numerous albums both as a solo player and in compilations with many well known traditional musicians.

Harry now lives in Roscommon and he teaches flute regularly at Na Piobairí Uilleann headquarters. He is also a dedicated Uilleann piper and a member of the board of directors of Na Píobairí Uilleann

 

Hammy Hamilton

Hammy was born in Belfast in 1953, and began to play the flute in the early 1970s, as part of a huge surge of interest in traditional music in that city. Before moving to Cork in 1976 he had already become interested in the idea of making traditional flutes which were in very short supply at the time, and in 1979, set up the first workshop devoted to the type of flute played in the Irish tradition. This was in the tiny West Cork Gaeltacht village of Cúil Aodha, and Hammy is still there today over thirty years later still making flutes and playing and teaching throughout the world.

He released a solo album ‘The `Moneymusk’ in 1990, and ‘It’s No Secret’ with Seamus Creagh and Con Fada Ó Drisceoil in 2000 and has contributed tracks to several albums devoted to the Irish flute. As well as his work in these fields, Hammy Hamilton is also involved academicaly in Irish music studies, and his doctoral research dealt with commercial recordings of Irish traditional music.

Emer Mayock

Emer is a musician and composer from Co. Mayo. She began to play traditional music during her childhood on a range of instruments including the Flute, Low Whistles, Fiddle and Uilleann Pipes. She has produced two CDs: 'Merry Bits of Timber' in 1996 and 'Playground' in 2001- the latter continuing her interest in writing new music and containing mostly her own compositions. Emer's love of the Flute in particular has lead her to bring it to centre stage on her recordings and at live concerts.

She has worked with among others, traditional musicians Donal Lunny, Paddy Glackin, the late Michael O’Domhnaill, Cormac Breathnach, Flook!, Grada, harmonica player Mick Kinsella, guitarist John Doyle, singer Damien Dempsey, jazz musician Michael Buckley, French music producer Hughes de Courson, Breton harpist Alan Stivell, The Irish Chamber Choir, Italian baroque ensemble il Giardino Armonico (with whom she recorded a cd of Vivaldi's music), Greek singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki and the Grammy nominated Afro Celts.

In recent times Emer has continued to travel widely both with her own music and as a collaborative musician including concerts in China where she performed a new work by Chinese composer Jia Daqun and in Ireland collaborating with British musician Nitin Sawhney and the Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan for The Festival of World Cultures, Dun Laoghaire.

Emer has written and recorded arrangements for traditional and Jazz musicians as part of radio producer Gerry Godley's 'Translations' programmme on RTE Radio One and has also had the pleasure of presenting a nine-week series on Radio One entitled 'The Wider Embrace', a non genre-specific program exploring music from a range of diverse sources.

In the past few years other highlights have included concerts with legendary Sligo musician Peter Horan and a concert series in the USA. Emer composed the music for 'Winter Pictures', a play for children which has toured Wales and completed a run at The Ark in Dubln and Glor Irish Music Centre, Ennis.

In 2007 Emer completed a series of highly successful concerts throughout Ireland with Breton musician Jean-Michel Veillon as part of a Music Network Tour. They continue to perform together along with guitarist Donal Siggins. During Summer 2008, Emer taught Flute and performed at the 36th Willie Clancy Summer School, Miltown Malbay, Scoil Acla, Achill Island and Ceol na Locha, Co. Mayo. Emer featured on the Masters of Tradition double cd release (Oct 2008) on the RTE LYRIC FM label among some of Ireland's finest traditional musicians recorded live in concert between 2003 & 2007 in the Library, Bantry House, West Cork- she plays two of her own compositions (Nearly Blue & Round Mid-day).

In 2008 Emer began a new collaboration with jazz musicians Francesco Turrisi (Piano, Accordion, Percussion), Nick Roth (Saxophone), Cellist Kate Ellis and Percussionist Robbie Harris. The band known as Tarab has emerged from this collaboration where the repertoire includes many of Emers compositions as well as traditional music from Ireland, Turkey, North Africa, Bulgaria and the Middle East.

Emer is currently working with Uilleann Piper Mick O’Brien and Fiddle player Aoife O’Brien exploring and recording tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts collected in Munster in the 1880s.