dr judit csüllög

Meet

Judit Csüllög originally from Hungary, holds degrees from Eszterházy Károly College, Miskolc University and Liszt Ferenc Music Academy Budapest, Hungary. In addition to piano, Judit also studied history, music theory, solfege, chamber music, and choral directing. Since 1999 she has worked at the Music Department of Eszterházy Károly University, recently as an associate professor.

Judit joined the Munster Music Academy in September 2019 where she teaches piano, music theory, Kodály, accompaniment and chamber music.

In her teaching, Judit’s main objective is to transmit her affection for music and allow children experience the miracle of playing an instrument while providing them with support to learn the necessary musical and technical knowledge. Judit teaches piano to all age groups, abilities, and musical interests. She is passionate to impart her love for music to all her students while fostering and nurturing their musical path.   
Judit leads an active performing career in addition to her academic and instrumental teaching. She particularly enjoys working with singers and has an extensive vocal repertoire in both classical and musical theatre genres. Judit has been the repetiteur, conductor and music director of numerous musical productions in Hungary including Chicago, The Sound of Music, and Annie. Since 2013 she has been the Musical Director of Egri Pinceszínház Theatre, Hungary.

In 2008, Judit obtained her Music Pedagogy Ph.D. diploma in Slovakia, the title of her thesis was: ‘The Role of Folk Songs in Teaching Piano to Beginners in Hungary’. Her favourite research area is piano methodology. However, she is keenly interested in Bartók and Kodály’s piano works. Judit has presented papers and publications in both Hungarian and English. As an honour, Judit was awarded the Eszterházy Károly Medallion in 2011, and the Academic Prize of Hungarian Academy of Sciences Regional Commission in 2016.

Judit favourite food is chocolate and Hungarian stuffed cabbage though not eaten together. Her favourite composer is Chopin. She is a sports fanatic. Her children know once the Olympics start on television “do not ask Mom, unless it is really important”. Judit is very fond of Agatha Christie's books. She has all her books in Hungarian and many in English. The very first English book Judit ever read was Agatha Christie’s Sleeping Murder and it remains her favourite to this day.

Judit is based in Hungary and is our unique virtual and visiting professor of piano and music theory. Judit visits Killaloe each term hosting two days of intensive lessons and workshops and for the rest of the term teaches her students weekly online. 

Judit welcomes students to join her online piano and theory classes.

celia donoghue

Meet

Celia Donoghue (B.Mus. LTCL, MA Music Therapy) teaches piano, clarinet, flute, saxophone, recorder and has taught at all levels from pre-school to third level. She plays clarinet in the Irish Symphonic Wind Orchestra, the Limerick Philharmonic and Derg Trio, and is also the organist in Ballina Church. In 2017 she qualified as a music therapist and works with young children and the elderly. 

Celia loves playing chamber music especially with her students. Other enthusiasms include swimming in the lake, watching Coronation Street and trying to tame a very wild garden. She spends hours doing Sukodu, cryptic crosswords and logic puzzles.  Celia's latest discovery is online jigsaws!

Celia teaches on Wednesdays.

rory moloney

Meet

Rory is a graduate of the Cork School of Music where he specialised in performance and composition, earning a first-class honours degree in the BMus programme. 

Rory has performed works all throughout the piano repertoire from Bach and Beethoven to Christopher Norton and John Gibson, receiving a grounding in many forms of play styles and performance practices. 

Rory is an avid lover of all things creative and believes the best learning is done through creation. Through his time in college, he has had his compositions played by the CSM symphony orchestra, Dublin's Crash Ensemble, as well as being commissioned to write a piece for the world record attempt at the highest altitude harp concert, which will be performed on mount Kilimanjaro later this year. 

In his free time, Rory might be working on his novel titled 'the intragalactic consequences of a parking ticket' or perhaps in Ponte Vecchio working his way through the pastries. 

Rory teaches Monday to Thursday inclusive. 

Deirdre Scanlan

Meet

Singing from an early age Deirdre Scanlan from Ballina, Co Tipperary, has been at the forefront of traditional and contemporary Irish music for a number of years. An all Ireland champion at junior and senior level Deirdre is an accomplished solo and ensemble performer. In 1999 Deirdre’s first recording ‘Speak Softly’ which included some of her own song compositions was released to critical acclaim.
Deirdre’s first solo recording brought her to the attention of the Irish American traditional group ‘Solas’ and from 1999 to 2007 she took centre stage as lead vocalist with the group. With the group Deirdre toured extensively throughout the US, Japan and Europe. She has performed on a variety of stages from London’s West End to Radio City Music Hall NYC as well as headlining numerous international festivals, some of which include The Cambridge Folk Festival, Celtic Connections and Lorient Interceltic Festival.
In 2007 Deirdre left Solas and returned home where she is currently a primary school teacher in Nenagh, Co Tipperary. Moving home has allowed Deirdre to return to her traditional singing and teaching roots. A much sought after song tutor she has given workshops at festivals including Feakle Festival, the Geordie Hannah Traditional Singing Weekend, South Sligo Summer School and Scoil Eigse at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. She has given master-classes to MA and BA students at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick.   
Deirdre was previously a member of the Coiste Ceoil, a sub-committee of the Ardchomhairle of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, where she engaged in the promotion of traditional singing, as well as facilitating Fleadh Cheoil adjudication seminars in Ireland and the UK. In 2018 Deirdre was given a Bardic Award by CCÉ, in recognition of her work in the promotion of traditional singing, in both English and Irish.
Her media credits include, The Late Late Show, TG4’s ‘Spillane an Fánaí’, ‘Na Bailéid’ with John Spillane and Fleadh TV. An accomplished fiddle player Deirdre teaches traditional singing and fiddle with Droichead Trad in Killaloe Co Clare, she is also co-founder and co-ordinator of Kincora Trad Fest in Killaloe and Ballina.   

lucy thomas

Meet

Lucy was born in Bristol, UK and began studying the clarinet at the age of 9 and subsequently studied the piano and saxophone. She was a member of the National Youth Wind Orchestra and attended The Junior Welsh College of Music and Drama. It was at the renowned specialist music school, Chetham's School of Music, Manchester where, as a sixth-form student, Lucy as a member of Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra performed with the Halle Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Lucy holds a Bachelors degree in music performance from Trinity College of Music in Greenwich, London. 

In 2008, Lucy moved to China taking up the post as Woodwind Specialist at Dulwich College, Shanghai. She also taught at Wellington International College, Shanghai and Harrow International School, Shanghai. After many years working in schools, Lucy founded her own company, Chalumeau Music, where she was a director and worked as a freelance music teacher. This gave her the opportunity to have more flexibility to add piano and music theory to her list of teaching skills. Her popularity as a highly respected and professional teacher really began to flourish during this time. Lucy gained close professional ties with both Concordia International School and Shanghai American School which gave her a glimpse into the music curriculum of the American band system. Lucy also volunteered as a clarinet tutor for Spring Music, an organisation that brings music to children in rural areas of China. 

As a clarinetist Lucy has performed solo recitals in the UK and Shanghai. As a chamber musician, Lucy has performed with The Yulan Ensemble, The Shanghai Baroque Chamber Orchestra, Shanghai City Swing Band, Shanghai International Choral League, and Jive Lizards Quartet. Lucy is a founding member of The Anemoi Trio. She continues to work with New York Jazz Academy’s Director, Javier Arau, on her personal and professional development as a jazz clarinettist. 

In 2022, Lucy and her partner decided it was time for a change and chose Ireland as their next adventure. They packed up their many instruments, furniture and 3 cats and moved to Ireland. With no real plan set, they bought a campervan and drove around Ireland looking for what was next for them.

After a friend took them to Killaloe they stumbled upon Munster Music Academy and after a very fun interview, we can say the rest is history. This is the start of a new chapter for Lucy, her partner and their 3 cats, where Lucy hopes to practice her jazz, enjoy nature, talk to anyone who has a cute dog and meet other like-minded musicians and perform together.

Lucy teaches clarinet, flute, saxophone, recorder, piano and music theory on Saturday. 

Alice
abreu

Meet

Alice finished her bachelor's degree at ESMAE (Porto Music
University) in 2020 and, even if still in the beggining of her career she has already cooperated with several other artists.
She teaches violin; records with bands; played solo cooperates frequently with jazz groups, many times involved in the creation/composition processes. She is currently taking her Masters in Irish World Academy / Irish Chamber Orchestra.
She has also premiered works from contemporary composers – for example, a piece dedicated to her for violin and eletronics – which was played in the Helena Sá e Costa theatre. She already played in multiple chamber music groups
with diverse formations as well as with orchestras –such as Youth Portuguese Orchestra, Youth Norwegian Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra Project, Orquestra da Casa da Música, among others – she has also participated in theatre productions, with companies like Seiva Trupe serving as a sound bank in a
performance (with improvisation at the moment).
She has had some distinctions from music contests, mostly from the initial phase of her musical journey. She won the best
interpretation of the portuguese piece in the first edition of the International Guimarães Violin Contest and a 3rd prize in the Violin Prestissimo Online Competition (2020).
She’s familiar with soundpainting, several types of dance and attended mental training and improvisation workshops.
She has also participated, in 2021, in the Porta-Jazz festival with the ensemble “Vazio e o Octaedro”, project that had its first album released in 2022.
She consistently invests in a diversified education. 
 

tamás nagy

Meet

Tamás Nagy is a Hungarian guitarist and guitar teacher. He started his guitar studies when he was 7 years old. Tamás has won several prizes in prestigious national and international guitar festivals and competitions. He graduated from the Tibor Varga Musical Institute of the István Széchenyi University in Győr as a guitar teacher and from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest as a concert guitar artist.

Tamás has given solo guitar concerts in numerous festivals such as the International Guitar Festival in Marosvásárhely, the International Guitar Festival in Balatonfüred and in many illustrious venues including the grand hall of the Old Academy of Music Budapest, the Synagogue of Győr, the Óbudai Társaskör, Budapest and Hungarian Radio Márvány Hall in Budapest. He recently won the ’Köszönjük Magyarország’ program and gave five concerts throughout Hungary. Tamás also served as a jury member in various European guitar competitions.

Tamás has been working as a guitar teacher for ten years. He teaches 6 year to 18 year old children and is very proud that he has a stable faculty of guitar students in Hungary who return to him every year. His students successfully participated in many guitar competitions. Tamás believes that playing music together is the most inspiring way of making music. He also leads the guitar orchestra of the Pál Járdányi Music school. 

When he is not working with his guitar students and not practising for  concerts Tamás loves fishing and walking in nature. He is fond of going to the gym as he believes that the healthy way of life supports musicians in many ways. Fun fact - his fiancée, Noémi also teaches in MMA as a violin teacher.

Tamás is currently based in Hungary and teaches as part of our Digital Music Academy. We welcome students to join Tamás' online classes where he teaches classical guitar.

oisín mckeogh

Meet

Oisín is a musician, piano teacher, and filmmaker who has a passion for the arts and a keen interest in promoting creativity amongst young people. Oisín was recently  awarded his Trinity College Licentiate Performance Diploma on the piano under the guidance of Dr Judit Csüllög. He has studied both piano and music theory at the Munster Music Academy for over ten years.

As a teacher, Oisín's vision is to inspire his students to share the love of music-making and performing from the very first lesson. He understands the importance of balancing practise and fun and believes students can equally enjoy playing and learning about music.

Oisín is also an aspiring film director, having won multiple national awards and competitions for his short films. He approaches both directing and teaching similarly, encouraging and supporting his students in developing their musical personality and identity on their musical journey. Oisín particularly enjoys combining music and visual media. He is a massive foodie and is obsessed with anything French, so if you're looking to bribe him, he has requested that you bring croissants. His favourite movie is American Honey, but he loves everything from dramas to thrillers and comedies.

Oisín teaches on Saturdays and especially welcomes beginner students to join his classes.

noémi szentimrei

Meet

Noémi Szentimrei is a violinist and violin teacher from Hungary. She started playing the violin when she was seven years old. Pursuing her love for the violin she continued her undergraduate studies and holds a BA degree from the Tibor Varga Musical Institute of the István Széchenyi University in Győr and a Master degree from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Noémi recently graduated with first class honours in the MA in Classical String Performance from Irish World Music Academy Limerick under the guidance of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

As a concert musician, Noémi has performed extensively throughout Europe with orchestras and chamber music ensembles. She is a passionate chamber musician winning prizes in national chamber music competitions in Hungary. 

She is an experienced teacher who loves working with children of all ages. In Ireland she had the opportunity to teach in the Sing Out With Strings and the Saturday Strings with the Irish Chamber Orchestra in Limerick. In her teaching, Noémi creates a friendly, relaxed yet supportive atmosphere in her lessons which encourages her students to be more confident and enthusiastic about their musical experience.

Noémi's strong bond with Ireland and traditional music was ignited a few years ago when she played violin in an Irish Punk Rock band consisting of Hungarian musicians! She is a multi-passionate creative who is fond of writing novels, composing music, taking photos, and drawing in her leisure time. Looking at her slender figure no one would suspect that she can eat bottomless bowls of her favourite food, french fries morning, noon, and night.

Noémi is based in Hungary and teaches as part of our Digital Music Academy. We welcome students to join Noémi's online classes where she teaches violin, viola, and chamber music. 

claire martin

Meet

Claire is a Functional Yoga teacher. The core of her approach is helping students to experience and recognise that every 'body' is different and responds uniquely to particular movement and postures. Specialising in Restorative, Slow Flow and Yin Yoga, Claire teaches with 'body awareness' - a key aspect of practising functionally and helping people to establish a better relationship to their body by 'listening to' and respecting what their body needs. She has a passion for human anatomy, the impact of habitual patterns on people’s bodies and everyday life, and how a functional practice can help people to develop more harmony between their bodies and daily activities. Mindfulness is woven into her practice, to help people cope with modern-day pressures, their resulting emotions, and to foster ‘inner-awareness’ - a better connection to the person within.

Claire grew up in Portugal, started learning music age 6. She played the flute with the Lisbon International Youth Orchestra until her early twenties. Her language studies took her into the world of corporate finance, where she turned to yoga to release stress and nurture her body, which was frequently hunched over a computer. Yoga soon became a passion, as it had a transformational and healing effect on Claire as she eventually became physically stronger and agile, and able to access a quieter space within. She turned her passion into her career and began teaching yoga in the UK and Portugal. Now in Ireland, Claire teaches in Killaloe Ballina and online, and writes on the topic of yoga and functional movement for her blog.

Claire is an artist, animal and nature-lover, tea-drinker, a self-awarded star at poaching eggs, and grew up tri-lingual in Portuguese, French and English. www.clariayoga.com

pranayam aquino

Meet

Pranayam (Yam) musical life began in Batangas and Manila when he was 9 years old, with the guitar being his first instrument. He soon discovered his talent and interest also lay in playing the drums and he began performing with his father’s band at the age of 15. Pranayam studied music at the University of St. Thomas and subsequently performed with local and international bands.

Pranayam relocated to Shanghai with his band in 2004 and has since become a highly regarded and respected freelance drummer collaborating and performing with a diverse collective of musicians from across the globe.

Pranayam holds a First Class Honours Degree in Creative Music Performance from Falmouth University, UK and teaching qualifications from Rock School, London. He was a passionate dynamic drum and guitar tutor in Shanghai with a thriving teaching studio in primary and secondary schools.

In concert, Pranayam has performed in the Philippines, Hong Kong, UK, Germany, New York and extensively throughout China. He is an International Ambassador of 'Petra Drums' and enjoys performing both as the musician in front of the microphone and the sound engineer behind the magic. 

Pranayam enjoys photography and connecting and collaborating with fellow musicians. He is an avid fan of legendary drummers Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd and Virgil Donati and can regularly be found pouring over their tunes and drumming techniques. Pranayam enjoys spending time with his partner and their three cats. He is obsessed with Dragon Ball since childhood. If you’re also a fan, don’t be afraid to ask him about it because his partner doesn’t want to anymore!

We are delighted to welcome Yam to Munster Music Academy where he will be teaching guitar on Monday, Thursday and Saturdays. In October Yam will lead a fab and funky 6-week rhythmic percussion group course.