
Jerry O'Sullivan |
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Jerry O'Sullivan has
been widely hailed as America's premier uilleann piper. His reputation
for technical and melodic mastery of the instrument, an Irish bagpipe
known for its subtlety and expression, is unsurpassed in the United
States, and is demanding considerable attention overseas. Jerry is
also widely recorded on the tin whistle, the low whistle, the Highland
bagpipes, and the Scottish smallpipes.
Jerry has appeared on more than 90 albums and has
performed or recorded with artists such as The Boston Pops, Don Henley,
Paul Winter, James Galway, Dolly Parton, The Colorado Symphony Orchestra,
The Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Eileen Ivers, and many others.
He was a featured soloist on Paul Winter's GRAMMY winning album,
Celtic Solstice (Living Music, 1999). His first two solo albums,
The Gift (Shanachie,1998), and The Invasion (Green Linnet, 1987)
have both received critical acclaim, quickly finding their way to
the top of a number of best albums of the year lists. Jerry has just
recently released a new solo album, O'Sullivan Meets O'Farrell (Jerry
O'Sullivan Music, 2005), which features music from the 200 year old
O'Farrell tutor and tune collections. Jerry has also recorded a number
of film soundtracks including From Shore to Shore, The Long Journey
Home, Far and Away, Africans in America, and Out of Ireland, and
has appeared on numerous television commercials.
Jerry has toured extensively in the United States
and Europe and has even played as far afield as Japan and Israel.
He has been a featured performer and instructor in numerous Folk
Festivals, including: the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Milwaukee
Irish Festival, the Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham, Boston's
Gaelic Roots Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the National
Council for Traditional Arts National Folk Festival, and the Swannanoa
Gathering in Asheville, North Carolina. He has performed at such
reputable venues as New York's Lincoln Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral,
and on the mall in Washington D.C. His symphonic concerts have included
selections from John Williams Far and Away (performed and recorded
with the Boston Pops), O'Sullivan's March from Rob Roy, Main Title
Theme from Braveheart (both performed and recorded with the Boston
Pops) Patrick Cassidy's The Famine Symphony (performed at the world
debut at St. Patrick's Cathedral), Paul Winter's Pipes Peace (performed
with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra), and excerpts from Titanic
(performed with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra).
Born in New York City to an Irish-American mother
and a father from Dublin, Ireland, Jerry first learned to play the
Scottish highland pipes. During summer visits to family in Dublin,
he learned the uilleann pipes from listening and asking questions
to experienced players such as Peter Carberry, Matt Kiernan, Dan
Dowd, Peter McKenna, Fergus Finnegan, Mick O'Brien, Gay McKeon, and
others. In New York, uilleann piper Bill Ochs was a major help and
inspiration to Jerry. |