Music

I play the trumpet.

Trumpet is my main hobby, which is slowly becoming more of a defining feature about myself and a bigger part of my life. I play, listen and study to a variety of types of music, however jazz trumpet is what I spend the most time on, and what I want to do after school.

"I remember Clifford"

A piece originally composed by Benny Golsen, later covered by trumpeter Lee Morgan.

Here is a rendition of the tune that I played with my trio (Rory Conneally - PIANO, Cal Halpin - DRUMS)

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Trumpet is my main "thing". However my musical studies and journey doesn't end at jazz trumpet. Since September 2023 I have been studying online for an A level in music harmony and composition with Trinity Laban consevertoire of Music and Dance. In this course I have been exposed to and explored all types of music, from Baroque-Classical-Romantic, to film music, to late 19th century impressionism, to popular music and jazz. I have learned the basic and fundamental principles of Bach chorale harmonization, and have been exploring different types of composition and styles with my composition tutor.

I also write music in my own time, mostly on the piano. I played an original song called "Prosecco and Espresso" at Kieran Quinn's Young Songwriters Showcase in Febuary 2024, and it was my first time ever performing an original song.

Apart from this, I enjoy exploring what I am capable of doing with music. At the moment of writing this I am arranging a choir accompaniment for a heavy metal song which I have re-arranged to sound more like baroque choral music. I am using what I have learned in my A level course with Trinity Laban to arrange the choir.

My journey as a musician began before I was passionate about jazz however. In early 2022, I was in a rock/metal group with some friends at school. This band is really what kickstarted my passion for performing, which later turned into jazz for other reasons. Sligo Sudbury provided a rehearsal space, equipment and a private band tutor to help and guide us during our first few months playing together. We were also able to perform for the first time at a school event, and received great support from our community.

These moments and experiences that were made available to me by Sligo Sudbury certainly played an important role in allowing me to discover that playing music and performing really was something I loved doing.

Over the course of a few months after our band was well established, for various other reasons, I began to play the trumpet more and more. I very gradually, over the course of maybe a year, made the transition from being mostly a singer in the band, to being a jazz trumpeter.

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