Niall Vallely
Encyclopedia
Niall Vallely is an Irish
musician
, born about 1970 in Armagh
, Northern Ireland
. In 1966 his parents, Brian and Eithne Vallely had founded the Armagh Piper's Club, but he chose to learn the concertina
instead, from the age of seven. His brother Cillian
plays the uillean pipes and low whistle
, learning from Mark Donnelly. Another of his brothers, Caoimhin, plays classical piano, tin whistle
and fiddle. In 1990 Niall founded the group Nomos
, which released two albums before breaking up in 2000. In 1992 Niall completed a degree in music at University College, Cork. Caoimhin also studied at UCC, then took an M.A. in Traditional Music Performance at the University of Limerick
.
In 1998 Niall released a solo album of contemporary and traditional tunes from Ireland and Scotland. He also produced and composed the tunes for Karan Casey
's album for children "The Seal Maiden". Niall and Karan married in Barga
, Italy
in 2007. He appears on some of her albums. In 1999 he released his debut solo album, “Beyond Words”, and in 2003 “Callan Bridge” with his brother Cillian on uilleann pipes.
Over the past few years Niall has also been spending a lot of time writing new music. In 2007 he was commissioned by the BBC to compose music for a major TV series on the Flight of the Earls. The resulting piece was then premiered at the Grand Opera House in Belfast as part of the Belfast Festival at Queens and had a subsequent performance at the Irish College in Louvain, Belgium, as part of their Flight of the Earls celebrations. In 2008 he composed an electro-acoustic piece entitled “Rakish” based on the music of travelling piper Johnny Doran which was premiered at the William Kennedy Piping Festival in Armagh. Recent commissions have included pieces for cellist Kate Ellis, Zoë Conway and the Vanbrugh String Quartet.
In 2004 he formed Buille with his brother Caoimhín Vallely (piano) and guitarist Paul Meehan. They released their debut album in 2005 on the Vertical Records label. They released their second album in 2009, entitled “Buille 2”. It featured a diverse range of guests including brother Cillian on uilleann pipes, Zoë Conway on fiddle, Cian O’Duill on viola, Kate Ellis on cello, Neil Yates on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ed Boyd and Paul Meehan on guitars and Brian Morrissey on bodhrán, percussion and banjo.
1995 - Various - River of Sound (Virgin CD + BBC Video)
1995 - Nomos - I Won't Be Afraid Any More (Solid/Grapevine/Green Linnet)
1997 - Nomos - Set You Free (Grapevine/Green Linnet)
1997 - Various - Sult, Spirit of the Music (Hummingbird) (w. Nomos)
1998 – Gael Force DVD (w. Nomos)
1999 - Niall Vallely - Beyond Words (Beyond Records)
1999 - Various - Mega Celtique (w. Nomos)
1999 - Paddy Keenan - na Keen Affair (Hot Conya Records)
2000 - Karan Casey & Friends - The Seal Maiden (Music for Little People)
2001 - Various - Celtic Christmas, Silver Anniversary Edition (Wyndham Hill)
2001 - Lewis Nash & David O'Rourke's Celtic Jazz Collective (Mapleshade)
2001 - Tim O'Brien - Two Journeys (Howdy Skies/Sugarhill Records)
2001 - Karan Casey - The Winds Begin to Sing (Shanachie)
2002 - Niall and Cillian Vallely - Callan Bridge (Compass Records)
2002 - Various - Live From The Katharine Cornell Theater
2003 - Various - Celtic Compass (Compass Records)
2003 - Karan Casey - Distant Shore (Shanachie/Vertical)
2003 - Donal Donnelly and Brian Hanlon – Driven
2004 - Various - Masters of the Accordion (Arc)
2004 - Various - Very Best of Celtic Christmas (Wyndham Hill)
2004 - Various - Live Recordings From The William Kennedy Piping Festival
2004 - Various - Other Voices, Songs from a Room 2
2005 - Karan Casey - Chasing the Sun (Shanachie)
2005 - Caoimhín Vallely – Strayaway
2005 - Barry Kerr – The World Looks Away
2006 – Tejedor – Música na Maleta (Arís Música)
2007 - Niall Vallely, Paul Meehan, Caoimhin Vallely - Buille (Vertical Records/Compass Records)
2007 - Various - Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring (EMI)
2007 - Various - Armagh Pipers Club 40th Anniversary
2007 - Various - A Christmas Celtic Sojourn Live [CD and DVD]
2008 - Karan Casey – Ships in the Forest (Compass/Crow Valley Music)
2008 - Various - Anglo International
2009 – Buille – Buille 2 (Crow Valley Music)
2010 – Transatlantic Sessions 4 [CD and DVD] (Whirlie Records)
2010 - Daimh – Diversions (Greentrax)
2011 - Highland Sessions [DVD] (Whirlie Records)
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, born about 1970 in Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. In 1966 his parents, Brian and Eithne Vallely had founded the Armagh Piper's Club, but he chose to learn the concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
instead, from the age of seven. His brother Cillian
Cillian Vallely
Cillian Vallely is an Irish musician, born in Armagh, Northern Ireland. He plays traditional Irish music on the uilleann pipes and low whistle, and studied at the Armagh Pipers Club with his mother and father, Brian and Eithne, and then with the late Armagh piper Mark Donnelly...
plays the uillean pipes and low whistle
Low whistle
The low whistle, or concert whistle, is a variation of the traditional tin whistle/pennywhistle, distinguished by its lower pitch and larger size. It is most closely associated with the performances of modern Irish musicians and groups such as Riverdance and Davy Spillane, and is increasingly...
, learning from Mark Donnelly. Another of his brothers, Caoimhin, plays classical piano, tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
and fiddle. In 1990 Niall founded the group Nomos
Nomos
Nomos or Nomoi may refer to:* Nome , a subdivisions of Ancient Egypt* Nome , the administrative division immediately below the peripheries of Greece * law...
, which released two albums before breaking up in 2000. In 1992 Niall completed a degree in music at University College, Cork. Caoimhin also studied at UCC, then took an M.A. in Traditional Music Performance at the University of Limerick
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
.
In 1998 Niall released a solo album of contemporary and traditional tunes from Ireland and Scotland. He also produced and composed the tunes for Karan Casey
Karan Casey
Karan Casey is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas.-Early years:Casey was born in Ballyduff Lower, Kilmeaden, County Waterford, Ireland. Her family encouraged her to sing in the house, in a church choir and at school. At Waterford Regional Technical College she...
's album for children "The Seal Maiden". Niall and Karan married in Barga
Barga
Barga is a medieval town and comune of the province of Lucca in Tuscany, central Italy. It is home to around 10,000 people and is the chief town of the "Media Valle" of the Serchio.-Geography:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 2007. He appears on some of her albums. In 1999 he released his debut solo album, “Beyond Words”, and in 2003 “Callan Bridge” with his brother Cillian on uilleann pipes.
Over the past few years Niall has also been spending a lot of time writing new music. In 2007 he was commissioned by the BBC to compose music for a major TV series on the Flight of the Earls. The resulting piece was then premiered at the Grand Opera House in Belfast as part of the Belfast Festival at Queens and had a subsequent performance at the Irish College in Louvain, Belgium, as part of their Flight of the Earls celebrations. In 2008 he composed an electro-acoustic piece entitled “Rakish” based on the music of travelling piper Johnny Doran which was premiered at the William Kennedy Piping Festival in Armagh. Recent commissions have included pieces for cellist Kate Ellis, Zoë Conway and the Vanbrugh String Quartet.
In 2004 he formed Buille with his brother Caoimhín Vallely (piano) and guitarist Paul Meehan. They released their debut album in 2005 on the Vertical Records label. They released their second album in 2009, entitled “Buille 2”. It featured a diverse range of guests including brother Cillian on uilleann pipes, Zoë Conway on fiddle, Cian O’Duill on viola, Kate Ellis on cello, Neil Yates on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ed Boyd and Paul Meehan on guitars and Brian Morrissey on bodhrán, percussion and banjo.
Discography
1995 - Áine Uí Cheallaigh - Idir Dhá Chomhairle/In Two Minds (Gael Linn)1995 - Various - River of Sound (Virgin CD + BBC Video)
1995 - Nomos - I Won't Be Afraid Any More (Solid/Grapevine/Green Linnet)
1997 - Nomos - Set You Free (Grapevine/Green Linnet)
1997 - Various - Sult, Spirit of the Music (Hummingbird) (w. Nomos)
1998 – Gael Force DVD (w. Nomos)
1999 - Niall Vallely - Beyond Words (Beyond Records)
1999 - Various - Mega Celtique (w. Nomos)
1999 - Paddy Keenan - na Keen Affair (Hot Conya Records)
2000 - Karan Casey & Friends - The Seal Maiden (Music for Little People)
2001 - Various - Celtic Christmas, Silver Anniversary Edition (Wyndham Hill)
2001 - Lewis Nash & David O'Rourke's Celtic Jazz Collective (Mapleshade)
2001 - Tim O'Brien - Two Journeys (Howdy Skies/Sugarhill Records)
2001 - Karan Casey - The Winds Begin to Sing (Shanachie)
2002 - Niall and Cillian Vallely - Callan Bridge (Compass Records)
2002 - Various - Live From The Katharine Cornell Theater
2003 - Various - Celtic Compass (Compass Records)
2003 - Karan Casey - Distant Shore (Shanachie/Vertical)
2003 - Donal Donnelly and Brian Hanlon – Driven
2004 - Various - Masters of the Accordion (Arc)
2004 - Various - Very Best of Celtic Christmas (Wyndham Hill)
2004 - Various - Live Recordings From The William Kennedy Piping Festival
2004 - Various - Other Voices, Songs from a Room 2
2005 - Karan Casey - Chasing the Sun (Shanachie)
2005 - Caoimhín Vallely – Strayaway
2005 - Barry Kerr – The World Looks Away
2006 – Tejedor – Música na Maleta (Arís Música)
2007 - Niall Vallely, Paul Meehan, Caoimhin Vallely - Buille (Vertical Records/Compass Records)
2007 - Various - Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring (EMI)
2007 - Various - Armagh Pipers Club 40th Anniversary
2007 - Various - A Christmas Celtic Sojourn Live [CD and DVD]
2008 - Karan Casey – Ships in the Forest (Compass/Crow Valley Music)
2008 - Various - Anglo International
2009 – Buille – Buille 2 (Crow Valley Music)
2010 – Transatlantic Sessions 4 [CD and DVD] (Whirlie Records)
2010 - Daimh – Diversions (Greentrax)
2011 - Highland Sessions [DVD] (Whirlie Records)