Our special guest this year is from a family of piping enthusiasts and has been playing the uilleann pipes for the past 18 years, both as a solo musician and in various groups. From Kilkenny, he was taught predominantly by the great Waterford piper, Tommy Kearney but received many lessons from Joe Doyle, Nollaig MacCárthaigh, Pat Mitchell and Mick O’Brien, amongst others. He has been a regular participant at the Willie Clancy Summer School and the many piping tionóls over the past 25 years. His father organized the annual Tionól Tommy Kearney piping weekend in Kilkenny every November. In 2008, this piper worked at Na Píobairí Uilleann, an experience that fostered his love of uilleann pipe-making, which is a hobby that he enjoys immensely. He has a particular interest in the work of the classic makers from the 1800s such as Coyne, Kenna and Egan.

Kieran O’Hare took up the uilleann pipes in his early teens, with early guidance from pipers and pipemakers Kirk Lynch and Eugene Lambe. His first years of playing were spent largely in the company of the recordings of Séamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, Leo Rowsome, Paddy Moloney, and Liam O’Flynn, all of whose piping remain continuing influences.

While a student at Trinity College, Dublin, in the early 1990s, Kieran received great support and encouragement at Na Píobairi Uilleann, notably from Seán Potts, Seán Donnelly, Joe Doyle, Terry Moylan, Andy Conroy, and Nollaig Mac Cárthaigh. It was during these years that he was privileged to receive perhaps his single most influential guidance, in the form of countless hours spent playing with and learning from Gay McKeon. Kieran began teaching the pipes at NPU at this time, and he continues to be an active teacher, promoter, and advocate of Irish traditional music and specifically of the uilleann pipes. He was the first American-born player of Irish music to be invited to perform in the 'Ace and Deuce of Piping' concert in Ireland’s National Concert Hall.

As a professional musician, he has performed around the world through his work in music performance and the theatre—on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center, to L'Olympia and the Folies Bergères in Paris, and venues from Strasbourg to Shanghai to São Paulo. Kieran served for several years on the Board of Directors of Na Píobairí Uilleann, and he currently performs with the trio Open the Door for Three, with Liz Knowles and Pat Broaders.

Brian Miller is a musician, researcher and librarian from Minnesota. He was a longtime guitarist with the band Bua and he performs with The Northern Shores, The Lost Forty, Norah Rendell, Nathan Gourley & Laura Feddersen and David McKindley-Ward. He has taught guitar, bouzouki, flute and tenor banjo at the Center for Irish Music since 2006 and at camps and workshops across North America and in Ireland. Brian directs the Eoin McKiernan Library at Celtic Junction Arts Center and writes the blog Northwoods Songs. He has done years of research into the history of Irish music in the white pine regions of the northern US and Canada and is a past recipient of the Parsons Award from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for his work.

Website/blog: www.evergreentrad.com

          Richie Piggott is originally from Cobh, Co. Cork. He has a technical background in Enzymology and
Molecular Biology and is now working in the Food Industry in the US, based in Chicago, for over 20 years. He comes from a very musical family and, although not a musician himself, he has always been interested in Irish traditional music and musicians and has built a large personal library of books and early manuscripts on the subject. Richie has now published his research on Irish music in Chicago from 1920-2020 in a book entitled Cry of a People Gone and also opened an Archive of manuscripts recordings and storytelling on his website richipiggott.com

Born in Boston, Benedict grew up listening to recordings of Irish traditional music sent over by his mother’s family in Dublin. He took up the pipes in his twenties and has listened to and learned from a wide range of the older players, citing as particularly strong influences the stately musical tradition of East Galway and the complex and elegant piping style exemplified by the “gentlemen pipers” Seamus Ennis and Liam O’Flynn. These influences are evident in Benedict’s graceful, lyrical style of playing.

Well known as an insightful and generous teacher, Benedict will be teaching beginning and intermediate piping workshops. He and his wife, harper/button accordionist Hilari Farrington. Benedict and Hilari live in East Montpelier, Vermont where Benedict, in association with David Quinn, makes and restores uilleann pipes and continues to enhance his reputation as a superb reed maker.

          Hailing from sunny Tallahassee, Florida, Michael Stribling is an award winning Uilleann Piper and Irish musician. In County Cavan, Ireland he competed and won the title of “All Ireland Champion” on the Uilleann Pipes at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. Michael has spent a significant part of his formative years in Ireland and England performing and studying traditional Irish music, he was mentored by the piping great, Jerry O’Sullivan. His style exhibits technical punctuation with a rhythmical drive, and is heavily influenced by the music of Uilleann piping masters, Patsy Touhey and Leo Rowsome. He regularly joins the Internationally touring Irish bands Fullset and Runa. Michael has taught at Tionóls and piping workshops in California, New York, Missouri, Connecticut, and Florida.  In 2014, Michael added the traditional Irish element for renowned country music artist Trace Adkins’ Celtic Christmas tour, performing on Uilleann pipes, flute and whistle.  When he isn’t playing music, Michael competes in Ironman triathlons across the United States.

David M. Quinn began making uilleann pipes in 1975, and worked on his own until 1988. He spent ten years in Taiwan, returning in 1998 to form a pipemaking partnership with Benedict Koehler. He is one of a small
number of makers who have worked in the style of the Taylor brothers (makers of the pipes played by P. J. Touhey) and has written extensively on the techniques and peculiarities of that style of instrument. He is the author of /The Piper’s Despair/, a manual of reed making, and served
for several years as technical editor of the Seattle Pipers’ Club newsletter.
 

He works now in Waterloo, New York, where he lives with his wife Lynne and their seven talented cats.

Nick Whitmer is a retired librarian, now living in Ithaca, NY.  Began playing uilleann pipes about 40 years ago. Tried his hand at pipemaking for about 20 years.  For the past 10 years or so, focused on the history of uilleann piping, particularly in North America before 1950.  Articles published here and there, but most confident in the work on his website livesofthepipers.com

Barry O'Neill grew up in Toronto.  In the 1970s he traveled the US and Ireland gathering information on the history of the pipes and pipers.  He met many well-known players and talked with the descendants of those of the past.  He now works at UCLA, teaching and doing research on mathematical theories of human conflict.  His special interest is how to negotiate solutions to  international disputes.  Besides the pipes, his other special love is Canadian traditional songs.

       Currently based in Boston, Joey divides his attention between performance, teaching, and recording. In addition to performing solo, he performs with his wife, old-style step dancer Jaclyn O'Riley and his fiddle partner Nathan Gourley. While at home, he organizes the meetings of the Boston Pipers Club, teaches privately, and plays in The Greater Boston Area.