Guitar

Born in Ireland in 2000, Liam McManus first started playing the guitar at the age of 7. He has won numerous awards and has performed in many national venues in Ireland, including the National Concert Hall, and in his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Concerti Sinfonietta, presented by Artistic Director/Founder, Julie Jordan.   Liam has studied the guitar for eight years under the tuition of world renowned guitarist Dr. John Feeley, and has achieved success in numerous competitions. 

In 2015 he won the classical guitar section of Sky Arts 'Guitar Star'. The competition, which had over a thousand entrants, was open to guitarists from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and was broadcast on television worldwide. As part of this competition he recorded at Abbey Road studios and performed at the Barbican Centre in London, and also featured in the well-known music festival, Latitude.

At the age of eleven, Liam won the under eighteen category in the national Feis Ceoil guitar contest and at the age of twelve he won the senior Bach prize in the same competition. Grammy award winning guitarist, Milos Karadaglic, said "Liam has a unique way of expressing the phrase, and drawing us into his world. I think he can become something quite special".

Piano

Stan was born in 2003 and has been playing piano from age 5. He is studying with world-renowned pianist Dr. Archie Chen at the Piano Academy of Ireland. He has performed on television as well as in venues such as the Roman Baths, the Lighthouse Cinema, An Táin Arts Centre the Pavilion Theatre, the RDS Concert Hall, Christ Church Cathedral and the O'Reilly Theatre, performing in the RIAM High Achiever Awards Gala concert for four consecutive years, with distinction in Grades 3,5,6,7 and 8. 
He was Gran Prix winner of the John Field International Competition. He has also received numerous first prizes in festivals including the ESB Feis Ceoil, Piano Academy of Ireland Piano Festival, Feis Shligigh and Newpark Music Festival. He loves to partake in many masterclasses with pianists from around the world, including Evelyn Brancart, Frederic Chiu, Lance Coburn and Joanna McGregor. Stan attends Gonzaga College SJ and is currently in 2nd Year. He enjoys playing tennis, soccer, ultimate Frisbee and has an interest in all sports. He also enjoys gardening and walking in the park with his dogs or hiking in the mountains and playing chess.

Piano/Vocal

Maria Nasypanaya was born in Ireland on the 23rd of October 2006. She has been studying piano since the age of 5, with her mum, pianist Anna Kiselyova, and from September 2014 she is also a student of Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, with teachers Reamonn Keary (2014 to 2016), and Lance Coburn (since September 2016).  Maria has been awarded 1st prizes at the International Piano Competitions “Piano Talents” (Milan, Italy) and “Lia Tortora” (Cita Della Pieva, Italy), 2nd prizes at the International Piano Competitions “Cezar Frank”(Brussels,  Belgium), “Clavicologne” (Aachen, Germany) and “John Filed” (Dublin, Ireland) and 3rd prize at Malta International Piano Competition . She attended masterclasses with acclaimed pianists John O’Connor, Emanuel Krasovsky, Yuri Didenko, Juliano Mazzocante, Andreas Frölich and Arkadi Zenziper.  Additionally, Maria has won prizes in numerous national competitions in Ireland, the most recent achievements were a Junior Piano Repertoire cup in category under 16 years old and the Stanley Cup for the best overall performer at Newpark Music Festival in February 2017. Maria has recently started taking vocal lessons with Máire-Íde Clíodhna.

Soprano

Twelve-year-old Orna Collins, from Ballina, Co. Tipperary, commenced her vocal studies with Máire Keary-Scanlon in Limerick in 2015 and currently studies with Dr Imelda Drumm. She has also had the privilege of receiving vocal coaching from Dr Veronica Dunne at the RIAM. Orna has won prizes at various feiseanna throughout Ireland, including the Patricia Black Cup (U12, 2016) and Jeannie Reddin Cup (U 14, 2018) at the ESB Feis Ceoil. She was a member of the children’s chorus in the 2016 Ellen Kent production of Puccini’s Tosca at ULCH and will make her operatic début as Aninku in the Irish première of Hans Krása’s opera for children, Brundibár, at this year’s Killaloe Chamber Music Festival. She also studies cello and piano.

Clarinet

Max O’Neill (17) studies clarinet with Dr Paul Roe at the DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama.  He plays 1st clarinet with both the DIT Concert Band and the Gonzaga College Orchestra.  Max  won the Paul Ryan cup and gold medal

for Clarinet at Feis Ceoil 2018 and was also awarded the Rose Bowl prize for

the best overall woodwind performance.

Max is also an accomplished singer, holding a Diploma with distinction from Trinity College London,  an Advanced Recital Gold Medal from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and several Feis Ceoil  prizes.  Max has had many singing opportunities at home and abroad including the Yorke Trust Opera, Opera in the Open and the Snowman at the National Concert Hall and he is a member of Dubin Choral Foundation’s Lassus Scholars.

Max also studies recorder at DIT, piano at the Piano Academy of Ireland,  Organ with Dr Paul McKeever and Conducting with Robert Houlihan.

Cello

Catherine Cotter is fifteen years old and studies cello with Aisling Drury Byrne at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She has won a number of prizes at the ESB Feis Ceoil , including Violincello (A) (B) and (D) categories, and the Junior Strings Rosebowl. She is a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, and recently performed at the London Cello Festival in Greenwich. She has won a number of scholarships to the RIAM , and has been admitted to their Young Scholar Programme.

Piano

Ryan Keogh only had his 7th birthday party last week. He started studying piano at very early age, his mother was his first teacher. After 5, he studies piano with pianist Anna Kiselyova. He has been awarded the 2nd prize in Piano Academy of Ireland National Piano Festival 2017 under 6. In  2018, he was awarded the 2nd prize in Piano Academy National Piano Festival and 3rd prize in Newpark Music Festival Piano Under 8. He has also performed in Russian Cultural Festival for two consecutive years.
Ryan is also a ballroom dancer.

Piano

Anita Han is 8 years old, she only formally started studying piano with pianist Anna Kiselyova in May 2017. She has been awarded 3rd prize in New Park music Festival 2018 piano under 10 and in Piano Academy of Ireland National Piano Festival 2018 under 10. Anita has a wide range of hobbies, she likes reading, painting, calligraphy, arithmetic and Taekwondo, nevertheless, piano is her favourite, she wants to be a pianist and teaching piano like her teacher in the future.

Flute

Jennifer O’Donovan is a final year Music and Irish student in Maynooth University, studying classical flute with Dr. Julie Maisel. Jennifer has extensive experience playing both ensembly and as a soloist. She has been a member of the ‘Clarion Winds’ flute ensemble under the direction of Dr. Julie Maisel for the past five years. The ensemble has competed in both the Feis Ceoil and the Newpark Music festival as well as performing at the Five Lamps Arts Festival in the Custom House. Jennifer has also played with the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble and toured with them to Austria in 2017. She recently performed the Mozart Flute Concerto in G major with the Maynooth University Orchestra who she has been playing with for the last three years. As a soloist, Jennifer has competed and placed at the Feis Ceoil in previous years as well as at the Newpark Music Festival. Jennifer will be performing her final recital for her undergraduate degree in May playing works from J.S Bach, Charles Marie Widor and Katherine Hoover.