Maynooth University Department of Music is delighted to announce the appointment of award-winning Irish percussionist, composer, and filmmaker Ruairí Glasheen as Artist in Residence for 2024–25. Inaugurated in 2022, the Department of Music Artist in Residence is a position hosted by Maynooth University in partnership with Kildare County Council Arts Service, Music Generation Kildare, Music Generation Offaly, and Music Generation Westmeath. The role is designed to provide students and the broader communities of Kildare, Offaly and Westmeath the opportunity to work with Ruairí, as well as giving him the time and support to develop his own projects and create new work.
Ruairí Glasheen’s passion for rhythm began at the age of four when he made his musical debut on the Irish bodhrán. In 2013, he graduated with First-Class Honours from the Royal College of Music, receiving the prestigious President’s Award from HRH Prince Charles. Ruairí has performed globally across a wide range of genres and prestigious stages, including performing with John Williams at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Come From Away in London's West End, for 5,000 schoolchildren at the Royal Albert Hall, and appearances at renowned venues such as The Barbican, Kings Place, The Southbank Centre, Ronnie Scott’s, and Union Chapel.
In 2019, Ruairí’s first documentary, Hidden Drummers of Iran, was released following a successful Kickstarter campaign. The film was officially selected for SoundTrack Cologne and the San Francisco Iranian Film Festival, and it won the Jury Prize at Italy's Sonic Scene Festival. In 2022, the film was acquired for broadcast by SVT and has been featured on BBC News, Sky News, and CNN’s Inside the Middle East. Ruairí’s subsequent documentaries include Hidden Drummers of India (exploring Southern Indian percussion), Rhythms of Italy (examining ancient Italian tambourines), and The Real Story of the Irish Bodhrán, which has been highlighted in The Irish Examiner and on Ireland AM. In 2024 Ruairí travelled to Japan to collaborate with Taiko drummers for an upcoming documentary series funded by the Daiwa Foundation.
Ruairí is deeply committed to building musical and creative communities. In addition to working with the BBC, he has led impactful educational projects with organisations such as National Theatre, London Symphony Orchestra, Wigmore Hall, Royal College of Music, Live Music Now, English Touring Opera, The Horniman Museum, and Kew Gardens, working as a project leader, presenter, composer, and music director.
Welcoming this announcement, Ruairí said: ‘It’s an incredible honour to be selected as Artist in Residence at Maynooth University for the 2024/25 academic year. I’m deeply excited to work alongside the talented students and staff, and to contribute to this vibrant music department.
One of the largest and most vibrant music departments in the country, The Department of Music at Maynooth University boasts a diverse team of musical academics and practitioners passionate about how their research and teaching connects with the community beyond the university. Regular engagement with professional artists is central to the Department’s ethos. It opens many doors for students and the wider community and creates a space in which all can be enriched, challenged, and inspired. Dr Francesca Placanica, the Department’s Director of Performance, welcomed Ruairí Glasheen’s appointment: ‘An award-winning musician and multi-talented artist, Ruairí will position the Department of Music at the forefront of creative practice and will enhance its presence in the wider Kildare community thanks to his experienced approach to art-based pedagogy. Equally at home with film and media languages, Ruairí will inspire our students with his versatile and fervent approach to performance, challenging boundaries between genres and practices across and beyond music.’
Music Generation is a national organisation offering access to high-quality performance music education to children and young people up to the age of 18 years old. Alan Costello, speaking on behalf of Music Generation Kildare, Music Generation Offaly, and Music Generation Westmeath enthusiastically welcomed Ruairí’s appointment saying ‘we are incredibly excited to have Ruairí directly involved in our wonderful programmes and for our young musicians to have the opportunity to work alongside such an experienced international musician, who transcends the many genres of music, including Irish Traditional Music. Ruairí’s professional and practical educational experience will allow him to blend seamlessly into our holistic pedagogical approach and we are looking forward to seeing the impact Ruairí will have on our young musicians across all three Music Generation counties.’
Following the announcement, Eláine Donnelly, acting Arts Officer for Kildare County Council commented, ‘Kildare County Council Arts Service is delighted to partner once again with Maynooth University and Music Generation on this artist residency. Ruairí’s practice in both music and film is immensely impressive and we look forward to the new perspectives that an artist of his vast experience will bring to the programme. We anticipate an exciting residency in the coming months, incorporating the development of Ruairí’s professional practice in parallel with opportunities for students and the wider public to get involved’.
For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit www.mu.ie/music.
For further details on Ruairí Glasheen, see https://www.ruairiglasheen.net