Paddy O'Brien 1367 Highland Parkway Saint Paul MN 55116 (651) 698-2258 hartobrien2@qwest.net www.chulrua.com Work Samples Audio: Paddy Fahy's Reel (slow reel) The Butterfly (hop jig) The Mountaintop (reel) To hear the work samples, Windows Media Player is required. If you do not have it installed, you can download it for free here: Download Windows Media Player

Paddy O'Brien Irish accordion I especially enjoy introducing people to my lifelong passionóthe old instrumental dance music of Ireland. I have been a serious player and composer of Irish music for more than 30 years, in that time collecting a repertoire of more than 3,000 Irish traditional tunes. In 1995 I received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to record and write notes on 500 reels and jigs in my repertoire. I have extensive experience performing at community fairs and festivals, colleges and universities, folk clubs, and a variety of other venues. I've done hundreds of concerts, workshops and dances, and have appeared many times on radio and television in Ireland and the U.S. I've also enjoyed working as an artist in the schools, and as a master in the Arts Board's Folk Arts Apprenticeship program. My presentation is flexible; I play two-row button accordion, accompanied by guitar and vocals, sometimes with fiddle or pipes. I can arrange for a larger group, and for dance instruction as needed. Available: I am available anytime during the week. I generally tour outside Minnesota three or four months of the year. Call for scheduling details. There are no mileage restrictions. Space: For solo concert performances, 4 by 4 ft. to accommodate sitting position on a chair in front of two microphones. Space requirement is 12 by 12 ft. if accompanists are included in the program. Fee: $400 to $1,500 depending on the situation, negotiable

Additional Information:
Paddy O'Brien is a world-renowned performer and collector of Irish traditional music. A master of the two-row button accordion, he has devoted himself since the 1950s to learning, practicing, and sharing tunes. At present, he has a repertoire of over 3,000 pieces.

Paddy O'Brien was born and raised in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. From an early age, he began to travel the countryside, listening to older players and learning both the music and the stories and history behind the tunes. In 1954, he began to learn the button accordion. Money was tight at the time, and paying off an accordion was a real challenge, but he was devoted to his instrument. In the late 1960s, he began to perform in public with the Ballinamere Céilí Band. Together with Seán and Kathleen Ryan, he toured the eastern U.S. in 1968. His reputation in Ireland and abroad continued to grow. In 1975, he was named All-Ireland senior accordion champion. Since settling in Minneapolis in 1983, he has toured as a solo artist and with several groups, recorded several albums, and has been featured on radio and television in Ireland and the U.S. A 1994 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts gave him the rare honor of recording and annotating a collection of 500 tunes from his repertoire. That project, a 12-hour-long set of tapes entitled The Paddy O'Brien Tune Collection: A Personal Treasury of Irish Jigs and Reels, has been praised as an invaluable resource for traditional musicians. He was also recognized as a master musician in the Minnesota Arts Board's Folk Arts Apprenticeship program.

Paddy O'Brien plays a wide range of traditional tunes, including jigs, reels, hornpipes, Irish polkas, slow airs, marches, slides, 17th-century harp tunes, and set dances. Much of the music that he plays was originally used for social dance music. While Irish dance steps are now considered a specialty known to but a few dancers, Irish instrumental music has become a concert idiom. Paddy's performances are filled with highly ornamented versions of dance tunes played to the virtuosic world standard. He has learned these pieces by ear, trading tunes with other players in Ireland and the U.S.

The programs that Paddy O'Brien offers are quite flexible. He has performed at fairs and festivals, colleges and universities, folk clubs, concert halls, and schools. He can appear as a solo performer, with one or two accompanists, or as part of a larger group. If desired, he can conduct workshops or arrange for dance instruction.