Sean McKeongrew up listening to music at home in Dublin, with his parents Gay McKeon (uilleann pipes) and Mary Corcoran (fiddle and piano) being his earliest influences. He began playing the tin whistle at the age of 6 under the guidance of Maureen McGrattan and within two years progressed to the uilleann pipes. Sean’s first and only formal lessons came from Sean ?g Potts. At a young age Sean took an interest in the older generation of musicians, such as Seamus Ennis, Patsy Touhey and James Morrison. It was this keen interest in recordings of older musicians that helped shape Sean’s approach to piping.
By the age of 15 Sean had amassed a total of 5 Fleadh Ceoil na hEireann titles and within a month of turning 18 he had won the senior Oireachtas solo competition. In recent years Sean has performed with Noel Hill, Robbie Hannon and Sean Keane as well as forging an exciting duet with fiddle player Liam O’Connor. He has toured Europe performing and teaching music and continues to teach at Na Pioibairi Uilleann as well as at various traditional music events like the Willie Clancy Summer School, South Sligo Summer School and Frankie Kennedy Winter School. Sean plays a full set of concert pitch pipes made by Cillian O Briain and released a recording in 2005 that features both his own music and that of his brother, Conor, and his father, Gay. Sean was awarded TG4 Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2005.
Discography:
Dublin Made Me, with Liam O’Connor (2009)
To The City (2013)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
