Meet the Faculty
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Geraldine Goodman
Geraldine is an experienced Irish fiddle, classical violinist, and violist player. She has a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Violin Performance from Berklee College of Music and has competed internationally. Geraldine was first introduced to the fiddle at nine years old, and discovered her passion for teaching early on in her music career.
She is currently a full time high school music teacher and also plays with The McLean Avenue Band.
PJ Doran
PJ Doran is a piano and piano accordion player from Yonkers NY. He has been teaching the piano for several years, including traditional Irish, jazz, and pop styles. He performs regularly on McLean Ave and at the weekly traditional Irish session at the Burren in Woodlawn.
PJ grew up competing in fleadhs in ceili bands with the Erin Loughran and Pearl River Schools of Irish Music, and at age 17 he took third place in the All-Ireland Fleadh in the piano accordion solo competition. His favorite part about playing Irish music is the wonderful, global community of friends that comes with it.
Séagda Coyle
Bronx native Seagda Coyle began playing the button accordion at the age of 7. Beginning his lessons under Mary Rafferty, Seagda went on to study under John Nolan where he learned most of his music. His primary influences were Joe Madden, Joe Burke, and Bobby Gardiner. A multiple time Mid-Atlantic Champion, All-Ireland medalist, regular session host/ceili musician, Seagda has worked to promote traditional Irish music and pass it on to the next generation. Seagda has traveled throughout the USA, Mexico, Ireland, and Canada while touring with various groups, most recently with the group, Socks in the Frying Pan. Seagda released his solo album “Rip the Bellows” in 2017 featuring John Walsh, Kathleen Boyle, and Steve Wickins.
Brenda Dowling
Brenda Dowling is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, educator, and performer from
Woodlawn, The Bronx, New York. An All-Ireland Champion, she has earned numerous titles
throughout her career and was recognized for her contributions to the promotion of Irish culture. Brenda has shared the stage with acclaimed artists from across the Irish music world and has toured and performed at festivals and events throughout the United States, including Atlanta Irish Fest, Catskills Irish Arts Week, and Joanie Madden’s Folk ’n Irish Cruise. She also recorded the duet album In Reel Time with New York fiddler Jake James.
A passionate educator, Brenda teaches both in the classroom and privately while continuing to perform and promote traditional Irish music throughout New York and beyond.
Fiona O'Brien
Fiona O’Brien is a flute and tin whistle player from Yonkers, NY. She previously taught at the Baltimore Irish Music School while living in the DC area. With the school Fiona taught private lessons, group classes, and ceílí bands, instructing both children and adults.
Fiona grew up regularly competing in the Fleadh Cheoil with the Woodlawn House of Irish Music and the Erin Loughran School. She has now moved back to Yonkers and continues to teach music. She is also a weekly host at the traditional Irish music sesiun at the Burren in Woodlawn.
Joe Kelly
Joe Kelly is an Uilleann Piper born and raised in New Jersey who comes from a musical family. His father, Willie is a fiddle player from New Jersey and his mother Siobhán Moloney, is a flute player from O’Callaghans Mills in Co. Clare. Joe won the All-Ireland Under-18 Trio in 2018 as well as other musical awards in Ireland and the United States. He was mainly taught the pipes by his father and takes major inspiration from the music of Willie Clancy and Liam O’Flynn. The teaching and playing of Benedict Koehler and Jerry O’Sullivan have had a big influence in his playing and style. Another influence for Joe was the East Galway musicians Mike Rafferty and Jack and Fr. Charlie Coen who lived nearby in New York. Joe took a lot of encouragement and friendship from these great musicians when he was learning the pipes.
Dylan James
Dylan James is a banjo, mandolin, fiddle player, and dancer based in the NYC area. Originally from Flushing, Queens, his involvement with the Irish tradition started at age 5 when he took up dance classes from Niall O’leary. Since then, James has benefited from the extensive tutelage of trad musicians Niall Mulligan, Annmarie Acosta, Pio Ryan, and Dan Neely, not to mention training in Appalachian and Americana music from Dan Zanes. James is a Mid-Atlantic Fleadh Champion on both mandolin and banjo, and has competed and performed in Ireland as a soloist and in groups. His performing experience includes venues such as Radio City and Symphony Space, as well as dancing alongside Mick Moloney’s “The Green Fields of America”.
Having grown up immersed in the traditional Irish session scene of NYC, James was exposed to a high quality of musicianship from a young age. Today you can find James frequenting the Irish trad session and gig circuit of NYC and outer NYC area, regularly featuring as a session leader, performing trad as a duet/trio, and backing singers in the city’s many bars and pubs.
Alice Smyth
Alice has been playing the harp and singing since she was eight-years old under the guidance and instruction of the late and great Eily O’Grady and Frank Patterson. Alice was a member of “The Gaelic Harpists and Singers of New York” which later evolved into the current “Strings of Tara” group who continue and have performed around the tri-state area including numerous sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, as well as a PBS TV Special “Galway to Broadway.” Alice began playing Irish traditional music with Annmarie Acosta and has represented the Mid-Atlantic Region at the Fleadh Cheoil in Ireland. As a solo artist some of Alice’s most memorable engagements have been singing the Irish National Anthem and playing the harp for the American Irish Historical Society’s (AIHS) annual Gold Medal Dinner, a guest artist for the Teelin Irish Dance Company’s “Celtic Storm” Show, as well as joining Cherish the Ladies for their annual Christmas concert in Tarrytown, NY.
Saoirse Grady
Saoirse Grady has been immersed in Irish traditional music from a young age. First introduced to the music by her older sisters and cousins, she went on to study fiddle with respected musicians in the New York Irish music community, including Annmarie Acosta, Willie Kelly, and Patrick Ourceau. During a semester abroad, she also studied with Siobhán Peoples and Niall Keegan at the World Academy of Irish Music and Dance at the University of Limerick.
Today, Saoirse performs regularly at sessions and gigs throughout New York City. She enjoys bringing her own voice to the tradition of Irish music and looks forward to sharing her love of the music, community, and tradition with her students.
Aidan Di Salvo
Aidan Di Salvo is a concertina & bodhrán player originally from New York. He grew up playing in the Woodlawn, Erin Loughran, Ann Marie Acosta, & Pearl Rivers Schools of Irish Music. He has completed internationally in both solo and group events.
He can be currently found playing a variety of sessions and festivals along the East Coast as well as Ireland. Additionally, he takes on the role of organizer for the school.