Gediminas Karkauskas (piano) returns to Maynooth University for a lunchtime concert of contemporary jazz alongside Cormac O'Brien (bass).
Gediminas Karkauskas is both a jazz and classically trained pianist and has been based in Dublin for the past 20 years. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague and completed his Masters at the Dublin Institute of Technology Conservatory of Music. Since arriving in Dublin, Gediminas has returned many times to continental Europe to appear in concert venues and jazz festivals and has received numerous invitations from the Baltic States, including the Broma Jazz Festival and Klaipeda City Jazz Festival in his native Lithuania. He has performed in many notable concerts in Ireland including a performance at the National Concert Hall with celebrated Irish jazz guitarist Louis Stewart. He has also played at various jazz festivals in Ireland, such as the Kilkenny Jazz Festival and Cork Guinness Jazz Festival. Gediminas is currently working on his upcoming album, due to be released in 2025.
Cormac O'Brien is a Department Chair in Jazz and Contemporary Music at Dublin City University. Cormac draws from a wide range of musical influences and styles, and is one of Dublin's busiest bassists. He has performed and recorded with many Irish and international artists such as Louis Stewart, Tommy Halferty, Michael Buckley, Hugh Buckley, The Kai Big Band, The Zoid Ensemble, Lunfardia, Yurodny, Jack L and Mary Coughlan.