BIO
Ryan Molloy’s compositional work engages with the boundary of contemporary music and traditional Irish music, drawing on his extensive experience as a traditional Irish fiddler and pianist. Ryan has written over fifty works and his music has been performed to audiences on four continents for over twenty years, as well as featuring regularly in national and international TV and radio broadcasts (including BBC, RTÉ and UTV). Ryan was awarded the prestigious TG4 Gradam Ceoil Composer of the Year in 2024. He has been commissioned by both RTÉ and the BBC, as well as a range of renowned performers such as the Danish String Quartet, Ulster Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, and Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble. He has represented Ireland at the prestigious ISCM World New Music Days festivals in Hong Kong (2015), Vancouver (2017) and Auckland/Christchurch (2022).
Ryan has recorded on over thirty albums as a pianist, composer and arranger and in both 2020 and 2021 he was nominated in the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Best Folk Instrumentalist category in recognition of this work. Described as a ‘milestone’ in traditional piano performance, Ryan’s critically acclaimed first solo recording ‘pianophony’ was released in 2019 and his recent works, including casúir ’s cnaipí and PIANOBOXING, showcase his innovative approach to traditional piano performance. 2025 sees the recording of his Violin Concerto by Darragh Morgan and the Ulster Orchestra, as well as a new work—roscáth—for violin and orchestra for German violinist Katharina Uhde. Ryan is also Associate Professor of Composition at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Ryan is represented by the Contemporary Music Centre (www.cmc.ie).
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© Maurice Gunning