CRAWFORD AND VALLELY IN ARIZONA IN OCTOBER HOUSE CONCERTS

BIOGRAPHY

Two of the most well-known musicians on the Irish
music circuit are flute player Kevin Crawford and
uilleann piper Cillian Vallely

Kevin Crawford - Born in Birmingham, England,
Kevin Crawford’s early life was one long journey into
Irish music and Co. Clare, where he eventually moved
while in his 20’s. He quickly became one of the most
sought-after and respected traditional musicians in
Ireland and played in various groups including Moving
Cloud, Grianan and Raise the Rafters.

Cillian Vallely - He took up his father’s instrument and
polished his skills with tutelage from the late Armagh piper Mark Donnelly. His mastery of chanter, drones
and regulators, and of all the accents and moods of the traditional piping idiom, place him
in the first rank of today’s Irish pipers. Cillian now tours with the group Lúnasa, and has
also performed extensively in America with groups such as New York’s Whirligig and
Paddy O’Brien’s Chulrua, and has appeared with fiddler Seamus Connolly, Riverdance on
Broadway and Tim O’Brien’s The Crossing.

The combination of uilleann pipes and flute is rare in duet recordings of traditional music
and the duo have utilized the unique tonal qualities of these flat-pitched ‘C’ instruments to
record their music. The tunes have been sourced from various manuscripts, archives and
field recordings but there are also a number of new, self-composed pieces. In addition,
Kevin and Cillian play a variety of low whistles.