Rosie Shipley
Rosie Shipley grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, surrounded by traditional Irish music and dance, and in rural Nova Scotia, Canada, home of the famous Cape Breton-style of Scottish traditional fiddle playing. Rosie had her first violin lesson at age three and, when she was eight, began to learn traditional tunes from fiddler Brendan Mulvilhill. Along with her brothers, Rosie spent a portion of her summers when she was a teenager in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts where she studied fiddle with Sandy MacIntyre and piano with Ryan MacNeill. Rosie has toured with The Willow Band (with Gerry O'Beirne and EJ Jones) and as a guest with Cherish the Ladies. Today, she tours with singer-songwriter Gerry O'Beirne and as a trio with Gerry and singer-flute/whistle player Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh. When she is not on the road, Rosie teaches fiddle to students young and old at her popular music studio in Baltimore. In addition to her two albums on the Shipwhistle label, Rosie contributed as a session musician to EJ Jones' solo album The Willow and to Zoe Mulford's latest recording, Roadside Saints.
Gerry O'Beirne
Gerry O'Beirne, renowned singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (6- and 12-string guitars, tiple, ukelele, and others), was reared in his native County Clare and in Ghana. Gerry has been a member of Patrick Street, The Sharon Shannon Band, Midnight Well, and The Waterboys and has toured with Andy M. Stewart, Martin Hayes, and Kevin Burke and Andy Irvine. He has performed at the pre-Bush White House, opened for The Grateful Dead, appeared on Prairie Home Companion, and played electric guitar with Marianne Faithfull. Gerry is much-sought-after as an arranger and producer. His compositions have been recorded by several Irish singers, including Maura O'Connell and Mary Black. Gerry's solo album, Half Moon Bay, was included in Performing Songwriter Magazine's "12 best independent releases" list and won accolades from Folkworld, which placed the album among its top 10 of the year. To learn more about Gerry, visit gerryobeirne.com
Lisa Moscatiello
Lisa Moscatiello grew up in Arlington, Virginia. During the early 1980s, She became involved in the Irish music scene in Washington and was greatly influenced by The Irish Tradition (Billy McComiskey, Brendan Mulvihill, Andy O’Brien). By age 16, she was singing in the band Ceoltoiri. Billboard characterized Lisa’s voice as possessing "knee-buckling poignancy and believability." The Washington Area Music Awards named Lisa “Artist of the Year” several times and honored her CD, Second Avenue, as “Album of the Year.” Lisa has toured internationally with the Celtic-fusion band Whirligig and was lead singer for The New St. George. Lisa also sang in Peter & Wendy, the award-winning stage show created by the Mabou Mines company with music composed by the late fiddler Johnny Cunningham. Find out more about Lisa on her website lisamoscatiello.com
Peter Shipley
Peter Shipley began his musical and theatrical career at age five opening "A Christmas Carol," for Baltimore's Fells Point/Corner Theatre. He had started Suzuki violin a few years earlier and soon added lessons in traditional music with Brendan Mulvihill. Peter spent several years taking Irish step dance lessons and had button accordion lessons with Billy McComiskey. During his summers at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton, Peter worked with many fine fiddlers, including Sandy McIntyre, Stan Chapman, and Jerry Holland, and became accomplished in Cape Breton step dance (the current Premier of Nova Scotia, Rodney MacDonald, was one of Peter's dance teachers!). For many years, Peter has taught fiddle, and he has occasionally offered step dance workshops. On the theatrical side, Peter directed the Baltimore premier of Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero in the spring of 2005 and wrote, produced, and directed Breaking Point in Baltimore in the fall of 2005. In the spring of 2006, Peter played Walter in Jane Martin's Keely and Du and directed Neil LaBute's The Distance from Here. In the spring of 2008, Peter wrote, produced, and directed Bad Theater. Find out more about Peter and his theater troupe, Theater For Rent, on their website TheaterForRent.com
Trevor Shipley
At age 4, Trevor Shipley said he wanted to play "the horn," which his family quickly decided meant the tin whistle and wooden flute. Chris Norman taught Trevor for many years, starting with an E-flat whistle (that fits little fingers) and progressing to the more common D whistle and the wooden flute. At the Gaelic College, Trevor studied Scottish small pipes, piano accompaniment, and Cape Breton step dancing. Today, Trevor also plays acoustic and electric guitar (and bass and drums) and composes tunes for flute, piano, and guitar. Trevor is a junior at St. Mary's College of Maryland where he had much too much fun playing the role of Berger in Hair in 2006. Trevor's latest project is composing music for the upcoming St. Mary's College performance of Machiavelli's The Mandrake.
Matt Mulqueen
Matt Mulqueen was born in Baltimore, Maryland to a musical family. Having brothers who played button accordion and fiddle and a sister who was a champion step-dancer instilled in Matt an irresistible desire to be a musician. At age nine, Matt asked his parents for piano lessons and began group instruction at a local community college, which confirmed that the piano is his instrument. He soon progressed to private lessons with Donna Long, who has been the greatest influence on Matt's playing. Listening to the host of traditional musicians who haunt Baltimore's Irish pubs and to innumerable recordings has allowed Matt to forge his own style of accompanying Irish music and inspired him to compose several lovely tunes. Matt accompanies Rosie, Peter, and Trevor on the CD At Home.