Seán Heely - Celtic Fiddle
Champion fiddler and singer Seán Heely is one of the most creatively versatile and captivating young artists of his generation. He is a U.S National Scottish Fiddle Champion as well as an award-winning Irish Fiddler and singer in the folk and Gaelic traditions of Scotland and Ireland. Seán holds a degree from University of South Carolina in Classical Violin Performance and was a 2019 Artist in Residence at Strathmore Music Center in Maryland. An educator in demand, Seán is an Adjunct Instructor at American University, he has also been on the faculty at several summer camps such as Acadia Traditional School of Music and Arts, Upper Potomac Fiddle Retreat, and Fiddle Hell Festival. He has performed in Scotland, Ireland, and at venues in the U.S such as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Seán has performed with traditional music icons such as Liz Carroll, Bonnie Rideout, Natalie Haas, Cathy Jordan, Eamon O’Leary, Zan McLeod, Maeve Gilchrist, and Paddy Keenan..
Along with his accolades in Traditional Music, Seán made his Classical solo debut with the Virginia Symphony in 2012 performing Mozart's 5th Violin Concerto. A composer and arranger, Seán has won national awards including the 2016 Scottish Fiddling Revival’s Tune writing competition. Seán was a featured soloist with the Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk, VA in April 2017 and 2019. In 2018, Seán was named the recipient of the first annual Claude Martin Memorial Life Membership Award from the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, an honor granted in recognition of his significant contributions to the local folk scene while still under age 30.
2018 saw Seán featured on the cover the Fiddler Magazine Winter Issue as well as an interview article on Seán's journey to one of the foremost young performers of his generation.
Currently based in Washington DC, Seán performs locally and abroad with the Seán Heely Celtic Trio, Glencoe Lads and Skylark. He is a musical ambassador for the British Embassy Scottish Affairs Office and the St. Andrew’s Society of Washington. He also frequently travels abroad as a solo artist, has been a speaker at events such as the Scottish North American Leadership Conference, and maintains a private teaching studio in Falls Church, VA.
