Patrick Connolly
Waltons New School of Music Faculty
Piano • Jazz Piano • Jazz Piano Basics
Not only an accomplished pianist but a guitar, bass and banjo player as well, Patrick started learning piano at an early age but first realised his passion for music after being enrolled in a piano summer camp in Toronto, Canada. Although he was born in Dublin, he spent twelve years of his life in Canada, from the ages of 7 to 19. Later in his stint in Canada, Patrick was accepted into Humber College’s Bachelor of Music programme on an entrance scholarship, and he spent a year there studying under Canada’s premier jazz musicians. Returning to Ireland, Patrick enrolled in Dublin City University’s BA in Jazz and Contemporary Performance programme. With the guidance of his teachers and mentors Scott Flanagan and Greg Felton, Patrick explored his own sound and approach to improvisation and jazz, as well as excelling in ensemble settings as an arranger. Since then, he has performed in a range of venues, both in Canada and Ireland, ranging from intimate clubs to the National Concert Hall. Patrick is currently active as both a gigging musician and a music teacher. In the latter capacity, he has taught students of all ages, working in a wide range of genres and styles. ‘Throughout my journey in music, I have had several great teachers from all sorts of backgrounds, each of whom influenced not only my playing but my teaching style as well. I do my best to incorporate the best things I learned from them into my own approach to teaching. I believe that even the most basic grasp of melody, harmony and sight reading provides developing pianists with the means to communicate their ideas effectively. It is up to the musician to dive deeper and up to the teacher to provide all the tools needed to do so.’
a comprehensive music centre in the heart of Dublin.