Born in Armagh in 1970, Niall Vallely has established himself as one of Ireland’s most significant musicians and composers. After college Niall embarked on a performance career, touring throughout the world and recording with the likes of Nomos, Buille, Karan Casey, Paddy Keenan, Tim O’Brien and Jazz legend Cassandra Wilson. His tune compositions have been recorded on more than 80 albums while some of them have become ‘standards’ in sessions throughout the world.
In more recent years, he has been expanding the scope of his compositions to embrace larger scale forms and instrumentation and involving musicians from the worlds of traditional and classical musics.
He has had numerous commissions, including from RTÉ Lyric FM, BBC, TG4, Cork Opera House, Crash Ensemble, Kate Ellis, Boston Pops Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, NI Arts Council, the Fidelio Trio and the Vanbrugh Quartet and has had his works broadcast on radio and television in Ireland, the US and throughout Europe. He has worked on arrangement projects with such as Lúnasa, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Donal Lunny, Karan Casey, Stevie Appleby and several major orchestras. His major works include Concerto for Concertina and Orchestra, which was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra at Dublin’s National Concert Hall in 2019 and Macha, a mix of composed music, environmental sound and multi-media site-specific performance premiered at Eamhain Mhacha/Navan Fort. In 2022, Niall was appointed Artist in Residence at the National Opera House, Wexford as part of Music Network’s Resonate scheme.