My Biography

Niall works as a conductor, singing teacher and lecturer at Waterford Institute of Technology. Teaching on the BA Mus progamme as well as in the Institute's Music School, Niall is one of the key figures in the development of the WIT Choral Programme - an award-winning collection of six choirs providing a unique experience for nearly 200 young singers from across the South East.

Outside of WIT he has worked as a conductor with the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Irish Youth Chamber Choir, Waterford Baroque Consort, Waterford Male Voice Choir and award-winning chamber choir Ad Hoc Chorale. Niall also sings Bass with male voice quartet Concordia and has performed numerous oratorio and opera solos.

Niall's choirs have featured on numerous broadcasts on national radio and television, and regularly feature as prize winners in major Irish and European music festivals.  Passionate about the value of music, and in particular choral singing, he has been instrumental in the establishment of over ten choirs in his hometown of Waterford. In his twenty years of teaching Niall has coached a multitude of youth and adult singers, and helped nurture a new generation of music professionals and conductors. 

In 2014 Niall featured as a mentor on the television series ‘The High Hopes Choir’. Heralded as “one of the best documentaries ever made by RTÉ”, the programme chronicled the formation of a choir for those affected by homelessness. The popularity of the programme was such that the choir’s debut single reached Number 1 on the Irish iTunes chart and the programme won an IFTA in the ‘Best Documentary’ category in 2015.

In demand as a tutor Niall has worked with the Irish Youth Choir, Ulster Youth Choir, Cornell University Glee Club and Irish Boys’ Choir amongst others. He is also a regular tutor on the AOIC’s International Choral Conducting Summer School.

Niall completed his BA Mus at Waterford Institute of Technology and furthered his studies at the University of Limerick and the CIT Cork School of Music where he was awarded an MA in Musicology and MA in Conducting respectively.

Research

Areas of Interest

Adolescent Changing Voice

Arvo Part

Conducting

Contemporary Choral Music

Pedagogy

Renaissance Choral Music

Vocal Technique

 

Publications and Other Research Outputs

An Analysis of Arvo Part's 'Kanon Pokojanen' - Waterford Institute of Technology, 2001

 

An Analysis of Arvo Part's 'Litany.'  Mary Immaculate College, UL, 2004

 

The Boy's Changing Voice - AOIC International Choral Conducting Summer School, Dublin, 20th August 2008

 

The Adolescent Changing Voice in the Classroom - PPMTA Annual Conference, Athlone 15th-17th October 2010

Teaching

Lecturer - Waterford Institute of Technology (2001-present)

Conducting Tutor - AOIC International Choral Conducting Summer School - (2008, 2009 & 2013)

Course Tutor - Waterford Teachers' Centre (2002-2010)

Class Tutor - Mary Immaculate College, UL (2001-2002)

Vocal Tutor - Irish Youth Choir (2004-2012)

Vocal Tutor - National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (2011)

Vocal Tutor - Ulster Youth Choir (2012)

Specialised Music Teacher - Killea BNS (2001-2005)

Professional

Conductor - National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (2009-2015)

Conductor - Waterford Male Voice Choir (2001-2013)

Conductor - WIT Orchestra (2010-2014)

Conductor - Ad Hoc Chorale (2005-2010)

Artistic Director & Conductor - 'Come the Sails' by Waterford Choirs Association for the opening ceremony of Waterford Tall Ships Festival (2011)

Vocal Soloist - Oratorio and Opera solos including Stainer Crucifixion, Schubert Mass in G and Mozart 'The Marraige of Figaro' (2000- present)

Ensemble - Member of professional male voice quartet Concordia (2009-present)

 

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Notable Performances

Monteverdi Vespers - National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Royal Albert Hall (2013)

Bring Out The Boys - National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Sage, Gateshead (2013)

'Love, Joy, Peace' - National Youth Choirs of great Britain & Southbank Sinfonia, Cambridge (2014)

Come the Sails - Waterford Choirs Association, V.W. Wallace Plaza, Waterford (2011)

A Night at the Opera - WIT Symphony Orchestra, Waterford Male Voice Choir and guests, Waterford (2013)

Lily's Labyrinth - WIT Music School, Garter Lane, Waterford and National Concert Hall, Dublin (2003)

Passetime with Good Company - Concordia and Morisca, Waterford (2011)

A Ceremony of Carols - WIT Junior Choir and Cliona Doris, Waterford (2006)

International Advent Choir Festival - WIT Youth Choir, Krakow Cathedral (2010)

 

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Selected Choral Competition Results

WIT Youth Choir

‘National Youth Choir’ Winners - Cork International Choral Festival 2008 - 2011 

First Runners-Up - Adult National Choir of the Year - Navan Choral festival 2013

 

Waterford Boy Singers

‘Boys Unison’ Winners - Arklow Music Festival, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009

‘Two-Part under 16’ Winners - Arklow Music Festival, 2008 & 2009

 

Waterford Male Voice Choir

Male Voice Choir Winners – AIMS New Ross, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2010, 2011 & 2013

Plainchant Winners – Limerick Church Music Festival, 2009

 

Ad Hoc Chorale

‘National Choir of the Festival’ - Cork International Choral Festival, 2010

‘Church Music’ Winners - Cork International Choral Festival, 2007

Other

Recordings

This is my will - Irish Youth Choir (2001)

Highlights of the 58th Cork International Choral Festival  - WIT Youth Choir (2008)

The Choral Music of Havelock Nelson - WIT Choral Programme (2009)

Memories & Melodies - Waterford Male Voice Choir (2010)

A Festival of Britten - National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (2013)

 

Links

Association of Irish Choirs

Irish Association of Youth Orchestras

National Youth Choirs of Great Britain

Society for Musicology in Ireland