CBOI CONDUCTOR – INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED CONDUCTOR GREG BEARDSELL
Greg Beardsell was appointed conductor of the CBOI commencing in August 2015. Greg is one of the most outstanding conductors of his generation, and is considered a leading light in music education and performance, rightly winning plaudits for the outstanding performances of orchestras and chorus under his leadership.
“He was absolutely extraordinary in the results he achieved and the rapport he had with the group, not just in the technical discipline and colour he brought to the singing but also in the electrifying way he engaged the young singers, inspiring them to enjoy intensive work and to relish the process of really perfecting what they were doing” Howard Shelley, Pianist and Conductor
Greg Beardsell works worldwide as a Conductor, Singer, Adjudicator, Workshop Leader and Presenter. Sought after by top orchestras and choirs throughout the UK and Ireland, he has worked with many including the City of London Sinfonia, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, the Irish Youth Choir, and the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. Ever keen to collaborate, Greg works with world-renowned Beatboxer Shlomo as well as with electro-acoustic musicians, Irish folk bands, Indian musicians, dance companies and jazz bands.
CBOI Founding Director Sharon Treacy-Dunne said, “Greg Beardsell is an inspirational conductor and music educator, who demands the highest standards of music making. We are thrilled and honoured to be working with him. It is an incredible opportunity for our members and all the schools involved in Peace Proms. I know he will support our mission to make CBOI the most dynamic and musically exciting Orchestra in Ireland. I look forward enormously to the next chapter of the CBOI’s storied history under his distinguished leadership”
Greg Beardsell will make an invaluable contribution to music education in Ireland as he prepares to conduct the CBOI and School Choirs in Peace Proms 2017. Choirs comprising 20,000 children form over 500 Schools will participate in the CBOI’s music programme culminating in monumental Choral and Orchestral performances which will take place at arenas throughout Ireland in Spring 2017. This promises to be a most exciting, enriching and rewarding experience for choirs, teachers and audiences alike.
Greg is known for his extraordinary ability to lead powerful and exhilarating performances, always getting to the heart of the music. It was with great joy that the CBOI welcomed Greg into their wonderful orchestral family and community of choirs. Together they will bring the love they all share for music to ever-greater numbers of live audiences and music fans throughout Ireland.
Philip Ferguson, Trumpet tutor
Philip is currently a ‘district coordinator’ with the SELB. Philip is an exceptional music educator and teaches all Brass instruments preparing students for ‘Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music’ examinations, ‘GSCE’ and ‘A-level’ practical examinations. Philip has conducted many ensembles and orchestras including the highly respected Belfast Brass. Philip is an outstanding solo and ensemble performer and has worked with most of the big Operatic Societies in Northern Ireland as well as the Ulster Orchestra.
Mary Quinn, Violin tutor
Mary began violin at the age of 7 with a local teacher before going to study under Dr. Ronald Masin, Director of Young European Strings at age 14. Following that she was awarded a BMus from Queen’s University Belfast under the tutelage of Joanne Quigley. Mary has travelled extensively playing at festivals in Switzerland, Hungry and Romania and closer to home in Dublin, Cork and Louth. She has trained to be a Suzuki Violin teacher with the British Suzuki Music Association. Mary enjoys teaching the violin with the Dynamics programme having previously worked for Music Generation Meath and other private music schools.
Bernie Balfe, Clarinet Tutor
Bernie Balfe is a clarinettist, saxophonist and vocalist with an eclectic musical experience ranging from Classical and Choral, to Jazz and Rock. As an educator with Music Generation Louth she works as an instrumental and musicianship instructor. Bernie holds a BMus Perf Hons degree from DIT and an MA in Music from DkIT.
Richie Dunne, BMus. Violin tutor
Richie Dunne is an honours graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester where he studied with renowned violinist Julia Hanson. He is the current leader and soloist with the acclaimed Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland (CBOI) and has toured extensively with them, performing at premier venues all over the world including the Royal Albert Hall, London; the Oriental Arts Centre, Shanghai, and most recently Carnegie Hall, New York where he earned several standing ovations from a packed audience. Richie also leads the CBOI for their annual ‘Peace Proms’ tour which sees the orchestra perform up to 20 arena concerts across Ireland and Northern Ireland, annually. Richie has had the honour of performing for US presidents Barak Obama and Joe Biden, and for the UK’s King Charles III and late Queen Elizabeth II.
Richie was also a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland (NYOI) and Co-led the Ulster Youth Orchestra (UYO) for their 25th anniversary tour to Vienna, Bratislava and Salzburg.
Richie has a keen interest in Musical Theatre and has played in, and produced numerous musicals with amateur musical societies across Ireland and the UK. In addition to performing with orchestras, ensembles and as a soloist, Richie enjoys writing musical arrangements and has written arrangements of popular music for full symphony orchestras. Notably, his orchestral arrangement of ‘Shallow’ from the film A Star is Born for the CBOI has garnered over 20 million views on social media.
Instagram @richiedunne
Áine Balfe, Flute tutor
Áine holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Trinity College Dublin and DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and also has an LTCL diploma in flute performance with distinction. In 2013 she completed a Masters in Music Performance at the DIT where she studied under Ciarán O’ Connell. During this time, she won the DIT Briscoe Cup, the Orchestral Excerpts Prize and performed Mozart’s Flute and Harp concerto with the TCD Orchestra. Áine has an avid interest in both performing and teaching music. In 2014 Áine was appointed to the position of Head of Music at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Grammar School, Dublin 8 having previously taught at Wesley College since 2009.
Fiona Gryson, Harp tutor
Fiona is an award-winning harpist based on the border of Meath and Dublin. Fiona enjoys a varied career as a freelance harpist and teacher, and has performed as Principal Harpist with the RTÉ National Symphony and Concert Orchestras, the Irish Chamber and the Ulster Orchestras. As a soloist and member of ensembles, she has performed extensively nationally and internationally, both live and on television and radio. She is in demand as a teacher and is director of her own student harp ensemble.
Fiona recently received funding from the Irish Research Council to pursue PhD research at TUDublin Conservatoire. Fiona completed postgraduate studies in Harp at the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado, Milan with Irina Zingg. She graduated with a Master Degree in Music Performance from the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama with Denise Kelly-McDonnell having previously graduated with a First Class Honours BMus degree in Performance and Pedagogy and the Nuala Levins Perpetual Award for Pedagogy from the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. Her awards include the John Vallery Memorial prize for ‘the best performance by a string player’ at the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year competition as well as the RTE Lyric FM Instrumental Bursary at Sligo Feis Ceoil.
John Rousseau, Percussion tutor
In 2021 John was offered the Nick Jack award scholarship by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study an ‘Orchestral Artistry’ Masters. John holds a Bachelor and Masters from TU Dublin in Percussion Performance. More recently John was also named as one of the University Concert Hall’s Rising Stars and granted an opportunity to perform a solo recital in April 2021. John has often featured on RTÉ television and radio broadcast both in solo and ensemble performances.
A regular on the professional freelance circuit, John often performs with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Dublin Concert Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of Ireland, the National Symphony Orchestra, Irish National Opera Orchestra, Bangers and Crash Percussion Group, and the Gaiety Theatre Live Orchestra. John also performs with the Wexford Festival Opera orchestra, one of Europe’s most prestigious opera festivals. Notable conductors John has worked under include Marin Alsop, Sir Simon Rattle, François-Xavier Roth, Michael Giacchino, Francesco Cilluffo, Diego Ceretta, Sergio Alapont, Eimear Noone, David Brophy, Gavin Maloney, Timothy Myers, Kenneth Montgomery, and Stephen Bell.
Sam Dunne Gillick, Violin totur
Sam is a violinist and conductor from Dublin who is passionate about performing, teaching, and sharing music with others. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Trinity College Dublin and TUD Conservatoire of Music and Drama. Sam is involved with a number of educational music projects in Ireland including the National Concert Hall’s Quavers to Quadratics programme and The National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. As a violinist Sam has a wealth of experience performing with ensembles such as the City of Dublin Chamber Orchestra and Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland which he was a member of from 2013 – 2019. In recent years Sam has begun to pursue a career as a conductor and has had involvement with a number of ensembles in Ireland. Notable of these is his involvement with the Trinity College Orchestra with whom he conducted a series of three concerts in Dublin and Barcelona. Sam is currently studying for a masters in orchestral conducting with David Brophy in the TU Dublin conservatoire and plays an 1877 Emile Mennesson violin