Accordionist Sharon Shannon will begin a new partnership with the NUI Galway music degree this year. 

The partnership will consist of Shannon delivering a series of masterclasses that look at different facets of the creation, performance and production of traditional Irish music. She will be joined by her long-time collaborator, Irish-American fiddle-player Win Horan.  

The masterclasses will be used as part of the teaching of traditional music modules within the new BA in Music, which was established in 2018 under Head of Music Dr Aidan Thomson.

Commenting on the new partnership, the Galway-based Clare accordionist, who was recently the subject of a Late Late Show tribute on RTÉ, said:

I’m delighted to be involved with the Music Department, and am really excited about sharing my music with the students at NUI Galway via the online masterclass series we have developed. 

Dr Thomson added:

I am thrilled that our Music students will have the opportunity to work with a musician of the calibre of Sharon Shannon. Galway has a rich history of traditional music, and it is wonderful that one of its greatest exponents should be able to share her expertise with our students, and in turn greatly enhance their learning. The next three years will be a very exciting time for the BA in Music.

Arts in Action events series
Shannon will also feature in the first event of NUI Galway’s 2021 Arts in Action series. She will perform with guitarist Jim Murray in a free online concert on Wednesday 17 February at 1pm.

This will be the first year of the series without its founding director and curator Mary McPartlan, who died last April. In celebration of McPartlan, the theme of the February to May 2021 programme is ‘art as legacy’, and features traditional and classical music, drama, performance and literary-focused events.

Among the online events are Sacrificial Wind in memory of Mary McPartlan, written by Lorna Shaughnessy and directed by Max Hafler (3 March); Máirtín O’Connor, Seamie O’Dowd and Cathal Hayden (10 March); Vincent Woods in conversation with Mick Moloney (24 March); Sean Ryan, Mick Crehan and Greg Cotter (31 March); Leah Redmond and Dearbhla Collins, in association with Music for Galway; Mike McCormack and EL Putnam (28 April); and Simon Mawhinney, in association with Music for Galway (5 May).

For further details on events, visit www.nuigalway.ie/artsinaction/