The Belfast Ceili Band

Patrick is from Belfast and is a respected performer, teacher and composer of traditional Irish music. He is a former Senior All-Ireland uilleann pipes champion and is the Senior Examiner for the Irish traditional examinations of The London College of Music.

Along with his wife Bronagh, Patrick runs his own school of traditional music in West Belfast, which is producing a new generation of young traditional musicians.

Patrick has been composing traditional Irish music for many years and his compositions have been performed and recorded by many musicians. Patrick also has a background in classical music and holds a BMus degree as well as an MA in Baroque Performance.

Mairead studied violin at the prestigious Francis McPeake School of Music in Belfast. Currently the fiddle player with McPEAKE, nominated as “Best Traditional Band” at the 2012 Irish Music Awards, USA, Mairead has toured USA and Europe extensively, headlining the leading Irish and Folk Music Festivals.

Recently featuring in the Emmy Award Winning PBS Documentary ‘Music of Ireland,’ Mairéad frequently represents traditional music from Northern Ireland on an international stage.

Loreto is a freelance musician based in Belfast, working as a harpist, pianist, organist and musical director.

She is an experienced orchestral and choral musician and has been involved in live music for over thirty years. She plays piano, organ, harp and french horn, and holds a BMus Hons degree from QUB.

Loreto is the Director of Amadeus Music and Sacred Services. She is the founder of the chamber choir ‘Voices’, the McAuley Piano Trio and the McAuley Harp Trio. She also plays jazz piano.

Suzanne is from Ayrshire and is much in demand as a brass player, drummer and percussionist.

She is steeped in the brass band tradition and plays principal baritone with the award winning 1st Old Boys Silver Band who recently were runners-up in the European Championships.

As well as gigging as a drummer Suzanne plays guitar and piano accordion and has an extensive knowledge of Scottish Ceilidh Band music. By profession, Suzanne is a Research and Development scientist.