Ailbhe Kehoe

Ailbhe Kehoe is a pianist, flautist and vocalist from county Carlow. Learning music from a young age, she was extremely active in her local musical community, and was a member of various musical ensembles and choirs, such as Carlow Youth Orchestra and Aspiro choir. As a teenager, she frequently worked as an accompanist and session musician for various projects, such as accompanying individual musicians, choirs and the Follow Me Up To Carlow concert series. She has performed as solo musician for televised broadcasts, such as the Christmas services of 2015, which were broadcast live on RTÉ as well as on several European stations.  

Ailbhe was awarded an academic scholarship to study Music at Maynooth University, where she graduated with a first class honours. She received the highest marks in her class at the end of each academic year, and eventually graduated top of the class. During her time at Maynooth, she discovered her love for musical theatre after playing piano for Maynooth University Musical Society’s (formerly Maynooth Music And Drama Society) first ever full-scale show, Grease. She went on to act as Musical Director for their following three shows; Rent (2016), Spring Awakening (2017), and All Shook Up(2018). She also worked as an Assistant Music Director for the highly regarded British Youth Music Theatre (formerly Youth Music Theatre UK) on their productions of The Frenzy of Sweeney (2016) and Children of the New Forest (2017). Her love for musical theatre inspired her to then complete her MLitt at Maynooth, a research masters entitled: Music in Theatre: A Portfolio of Compositions and Accompanying Commentary. 

Ailbhe works as a tutor and musician with Music Generation, and continues to work as an in-demand musician and accompanist. As a pianist, flautist and vocalist she has performed in venues such as the National Concert Hall, the 3 Arena and RTÉ studios, and has perforned alongside artists such as Rebecca Storm, Tony Kenny and Mary Byrne. She is delighted to be a part of this concert series, and would like to thank Carlow County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for this opportunity.