Aoife Ní Bhriain - Secret Music Series

Aoife Ní Bhriain performs in The Black Abbey as part of Kilkenny Arts Festival Secret Music Series 2021.

Fiddle player Aoife Ni Bhriain combines the richness of a family heritage of traditional music and a lifetime of classical music training. Born in Dublin she began studying the violin at an early age winning numerous national and international competitions for both classical and traditional Irish music. She graduated with first class honours from the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Leipzig in 2018 and plays on a violin by J.B. Vuillaume on generous loan.

Her unique musical pedigree has led her to experiment, collaborate and perform across many musical genres with artists such as pianist Eliso Virsaladze, fiddle player Martin Hayes, jazz guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, actor Tim Robbins, and the avant garde string quintet Wooden Elephant.

With her father uilleann piper Mick O’ Brien and flute player Emer Mayock she has recorded two albums of tunes sourced from the Canon Goodman Collection, melodies collected in the southwest of Ireland in the 19th century: Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts (2012) and More Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts (2021). The Trio were awarded a TG4 Gradam Ceoil Award in 2014.

Aoife joins us from The Black Abbey for this year's Secret Music series, playing a stunning set in an iconic Kilkenny space that amplifies the beauty of her sound and style.