Harper Cormac de Barra
BelfastTrad is delighted to have Cormac de Barra teaching a workshop for advanced and upper intermediate players.
De Barra comes from a family of traditional musicians and singers from Dublin but with roots in County Cork. He studied Irish harp with his grandmother, Róisín Ní Shé, in Dublin and went on to study concert harp in the US with Leone Paulson.
He has also toured the UK, Europe, US and Australia with Hazel O'Connor since 1998 in her autobiographical show 'Beyond Breaking Glass'.[1] De Barra has also played with The Chieftains and the Irish Harp Orchestra, Cathy Jordan of Dervish, Liam Ó Maonlaí and with his brothers Fionán and Éamonn (a member of 'Slide'). De Barra has recorded with Galldubh, Moya Brennan and Brian Kennedy.
Since winning the Féis Ceoil Harp Competition in 1989, something he refers to as his first big moment, he has performed as a solo musician for the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo (at the age of 17), played at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with Hazel O'Connor and finished his first CD Barcó in 2003.
As well as performing Cormac presented the traditional Irish music series, Flosc, on TG4, Ireland's Gaelic-language TV channel. Flosc was awarded Best Music Series by Irish Music Magazine in 2002. He is a presenter of the arts series Imeall on TG4.[2]
In 2003 Cormac joined his brother Fionán in Moya Brennan's band. In 2007 they were both part of the reunited line-up of Moya's family group, the world-famous Clannad. Since 2009 he has also toured and performed with the singer and composer Julie Feeney.