Siobhán Kavanagh
Waltons New School of Music Faculty
Voice (Classical, Irish Traditional & Folk, Popular)
Siobhán is a singing teacher and music facilitator specialising in performance, building repertoire and adapting to the needs of each student. She has a diverse musical background, having studied jazz, classical singing, opera performance and interdisciplinary vocal techniques. She was awarded the Paul Brady Bursary to study Irish traditional styles of singing, including unaccompanied singing such as séan-nós. She holds a First Class Honours BA in Music and Anthropology from Maynooth University and studied opera performance for an Erasmus year at the renowned University of Oslo in Norway. More recently, she received a First Class Honours MA in Ethnomusicology from the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance at the University of Limerick, where she continued her studies of Irish traditional singing, researched unaccompanied traditional singing circles in Dublin and unravelled some of the history behind traditional songs, as well as exploring Middle Eastern singing techniques. Singing has provided Siobhán with many performance opportunities, and she has toured extensively with live bands on national and international stages. She also works collaboratively with artists, composers, dancers, curators and circus practitioners and has been commissioned to compose songs, music and soundscapes for films, live art performance and music events. In 2021, Siobhán received the Agility Award from the Irish Arts Council to develop a new performance piece entitled Up Jumps Johnny, which premiered at Ó Riada Hall for the Cork Midsummer Festival in June 2022. She also loves to facilitate singing circles, bringing people together from all backgrounds regardless of their experience and abilities to share songs. Her singing circle at the Cashel Arts Festival in 2022 was a huge success and featured at the Clonmel Junction Arts Festival in 2023. Siobhán also works as an administrator with the New School. ‘I believe singing is one of the most effective ways to bring people together. I love working with singers and aim to provide a safe space to sing. Practicing singing helps build confidence to perform, engage and connect with the wider music community. I also encourage students to try different genres and styles of music to experiment, have fun and explore a variety of vocal techniques. I work with students to protect the voice, develop strong technique and build repertoires. The styles I like to teach include Irish traditional, classical, jazz, rock and contemporary.’
a comprehensive music centre in the heart of Dublin.