Anne-Marie OFarrell

Composer and harpist Anne-Marie O’Farrell was born in Dublin where she studied at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. An honours BA and B Mus graduate of UCD, she has received numerous diplomas in many instruments and a DAAD academic scholarship to study at Bonn University. She studied composition with Seóirse Bodley, Martin O’Leary and John Buckley and has been awarded a first class honours MA in composition from the NUI Maynooth together with many national composition awards. Her output comprises orchestral, choral, solo vocal and instrumental chamber music, including an extensive body of solo and ensemble harp repertoire. Her compositions, arrangements and performances have led to recordings for TV and radio in Ireland, France, Germany, Africa, the USA and Japan. She has also made several commercial solo albums, Heads & Harps, Harping Bach to Carolan, The Jig’s Up, Just So Bach and Double Strung with Cormac De Barra. She plays a pivotal role in the development of the Irish harp and has been consultant to Salvi harpmakers for their new mechanism based on her pioneering techniques. She lectures in composition at the DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama.