Information About Conor - Ballynahinch teacher

Personal Description:

I've been a professional musician for over 25 years playing both electric bass and double bass.

I primarily tour and record with Foy Vance and played on the albums (Joy of Nothing, Live at Bangor Abbey and The Wild Swan). Through Foy I've played throughout Europe, the US and Canada.

Since 2015 I've also played with Grammy winner, Gretchen Peters. Gretchen tours in Europe twice a year and I join her band.

Other notable acts:

Phil Coulter, with whom I've recorded and toured his solo albums and also toured for 3 years with his production Celtic Thunder (Take me Home, Voyage, Christmas, Storm, It's Entertainment)

The FourOfUs (Fingerprints, Heaven and Earth, Live at Vicar Street)

Beoga (Before We Change Our Mind)

Barry Kerr (Boy in a Boat)

Grainne Holland (Corcra, Gaelré)

Kathleen Turner (Like a Lion)

Flook (Ancora)

The Orphan Brigade (To the edge of the world)

The Darkling Air (Ancestor)

These are just a sample of the albums I've recorded on

Tutoring Experience:

I've taught the Rock School syllabus privately, taking the student through all grade levels and also taught a jazz double bass course in Wallace High School, Lisburn. I took the PGCE at Queens in 2005.

Tutoring Approach:

I believe the student should most importantly enjoy playing music. I can easily facilitate the technical and theory components but always lean towards a "feel" or "connection" to the song. Every player has their own unique fingerprint I want to help them unearth that. I went ahead and jumped straight to the grade 8 for Rockschool bass (as by this stage I'd been playing and reading for years) to find out what a student would go through.
Although the bass is a monophonic instrument I also like to explore the connection to chords as I believe the player becomes more aware of where the instrument sits in an ensemble. I like to explore other bass players styles and find a fit for the student so that not only do they learn their instrument but begin to develop their own style with a good grounding from the top players.