Biography
Qualifications and appointments
Moira is a specialist in piano accompaniment and chamber music.
She studied piano and clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music, winning
award and her qualifications include
FLCM, LRAM, ARCM (Piano), LTCL (Clarinet), and Dip Mus (Open).
As well as teaching privately, Moira's previous appointments have included:
- Head of Keyboard at the Limerick VEC School of Music
- Assistant Organist at St. Mary's Cathedral, Limerick
- Accompanist to the Limerick Feile Luimni and Church Music International
- Founder member of Mosaic Music, a specialist Chamber Group in Ireland
- Co-founder of the Limerick County Youth Orchestras & Companions of St. Mary's Cathedral Music
- Festival Adjudicator
- Piano Teacher in Pocklington School, Yorkshire
- Accompanist for the Masters String Course at the Irish world Music Centre
- Examiner for the London College of Music
As a Performer and Accompanist
Moira has performed regularly as soloist and accompanist in Ireland, England and abroad,
including the National Concert Hall in Dublin, and a recording for BBC Radio 3.
She was for many years the accompanist for students of the Masters String Course at the University of Limerick.
She was the official accompanist for the 1999 German-Irish Masterclasses in Ireland for Wind and Brass Instruments.
Moira has also acted as the official accompanist to the two major Limerick Music Festivals -
the Feile Luimni and Church Music International which regularly attracted choirs from Britain,
Europe and America to sing in St. Mary's Cathedral.
In 2003 she premiered in Ireland the piano music of Lajos Szücs, a modern Hungarian composer who was
composer in residence at the University of Limerick.
As a Teacher
Moira taught for many years in the School of Music in Limerick, with many successful students in
exams and local and national Music Festivals. Many went on to study music at third level, with some
going on to specialist music schools and colleges in Britain & Ireland.
As a Composer
Moira was a finalist in both the 1996 & 2001 RTE Church Music Competition with a setting of the Gloria
and Psalm 23. The latter has now been published by Columba in Ireland.
This represents a small part of the liturgical music she composed for the Cathedral Choir, which
was in regular use. She is particularly fond of composing for wind instruments and her output includes
wind trios, quartets and quintets. She is currently engaged on writing for piano. She reached the final stage of the Leeds Heritage
Singers competition with her composition, "God the Holy Spirit".