Armagh-born Niall Vallely has established himself in recent years as one of the most original and distinctive voices in Irish music. A member of Cork-based band NOMOS, he has been acclaimed throughout the world as one of Ireland’s greatest concertina players. Niall began learning the concertina at the age of seven, taught by his parents Brian and Eithne Vallely, founders of the Armagh Pipers’ Club, and over the years he has developed a unique approach to playing the instrument.

A resident of Cork since 1988, Niall completed a degree in music at University College Cork in 1992. As a student he was involved in various musical projects with composer/pianist Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin and, in 1992, was featured on the highly acclaimed BBC/RTE television series ‘A River of Sound’ and had a track included on the Virgin album and BBC video which accompanied the series.

In 1990 Niall formed NOMOS who went on to become internationally recognised as one of the most important Irish bands of recent times, recording two albums to widespread critical acclaim. In June 1999 Niall released his debut solo album, Beyond Words, featuring a mixture of new compositions by Niall and arrangements of new and traditional tunes from Ireland and Scotland.

Over the past few years Niall has been involved in a wide variety of musical activities. These have included: touring and recording with singer Karan Casey and guitarist Robbie Overson; recording projects with the Celtic Jazz Collective in New York and with Tim O'Brien and The Crossing in Nashville; producing two albums for Cork-based band North Cregg; producing and composing music for a children’s album with Karan Casey (The Seal Maiden). He has just released an album with his brother Cillian on pipes entitled Callan Bridge. The album features traditional music learned from their parents during their years growing up in Armagh.

Niall has extensive teaching experience including 8 years as concertina tutor in the Music Department of University College Cork. He has also tutored on the Masters in Traditional Music Performance program at the University of Limerick and has given master classes in Ireland, England, Europe and North America. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.