Raised on classical music, she later turned toward improvisation, studying jazz performance before redirecting her attention to early and Baroque repertoires. This shift sparked a deep exploration of the tonal range of gut strings in amplified and acoustic settings. Blending improvised, traditional, and early music practices, she documents this hybrid approach on her solo albums Oreing (2017) and The Rounds (2021). She has toured extensively with experimental Irish groups Woven Skull and Cian Nugent & the Cosmos, and has performed internationally alongside Josephine Foster and Circuit des Yeux. Her work for theatre includes scores for Isadora Epstein, as well as collaborative projects with Pat Thomas and Rhodri Davies. In 2022 she was commissioned by the Tectonics Festival to compose New Mountain, Reaching Plane, a surround work for gamelan ensemble and members of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Based in Glasgow, she collaborates widely across music and art and experimental scenes.
Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh
Irish viola player
