Bill Whelan
Encyclopedia
Bill Whelan, is an Irish
composer
and musician
. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest
. The end result, Riverdance
, was a seven-minute display of traditional Irish dancing that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish dancing and celtic music
. It was released as a single in the UK in 1994, credited to "Bill Whelan and Anúna
featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
". It reached number 9 and stayed in the charts for 16 weeks. The album of the same title reached number 31 in the album charts in 1995.
, and was educated at Crescent College
, University College Dublin
and the King's Inns
. While Bill may be best known by many for his Riverdance
composition, Bill has been involved in many ground breaking projects in Ireland since the 1970s. As a producer he has worked with U2
(on their War album), Van Morrison
, Kate Bush
, The Dubliners
, Planxty
, Andy Irvine
& Davy Spillane
, Patrick Street
, Stockton's Wing
and fellow Limerick
man Richard Harris
.
As an arranger and composer his credits include, The Seville Suite which was inspired by the exploits of 'Red' Hugh O'Donnell, The Earl of Tirconaill, from The Battle of Kinsale until his arrival in Galicia to the welcome of The Spanish Earl of Caraçena. In addition to the orchestra The Seville Suite includes Celtic Music
on Uilleann Pipes
, Accordion
, Bodhrán
, Fiddle
as well as Galician
harp, whistles and pipes. The Spirit Of Mayo, performed by an 85-piece orchestra in Dublin's National Concert Hall featuring a powerful Celtic drum corps and a 200 strong choir and choral group Anúna. Bill's latest Celtic
/Orchestral release The Connemara Suite, features the Irish Chamber Orchestra along with soloists Zoë Conway, Morgan Crowley, Colin Dunne (Dance Percussion) and Fionnuala Hunt.
In theater Bill received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his adaption of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore
. he wrote original music for 15 W. B. Yeats's plays for Dublin's Abbey Theatre
. while his film credits include, Dancing At Lughnasa
(starring Meryl Streep
), Some Mother's Son
, Lamb
(starring Liam Neeson
) and the award-winning At The Cinema Palace.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. The end result, Riverdance
Riverdance
Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish stepdancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. It originated as an interval performance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, a moment that is still considered a significant...
, was a seven-minute display of traditional Irish dancing that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish dancing and celtic music
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
. It was released as a single in the UK in 1994, credited to "Bill Whelan and Anúna
Anúna
Anúna is an Irish choral group. In 1987 Dublin composer Michael McGlynn founded An Uaithne, a name which describes the three ancient types of Celtic music, Suantraí , Geantraí and Goltraí . One of the group's stated aims is to explore and redefine this music...
featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full time professional orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, has grown from a small studio-based recording group to...
". It reached number 9 and stayed in the charts for 16 weeks. The album of the same title reached number 31 in the album charts in 1995.
Biography
Whelan is a native of LimerickLimerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, and was educated at Crescent College
Crescent College
Crescent College Comprehensive SJ is a secondary school located on a section of 40 acres of parkland at Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland. The college is one of a number of Jesuit schools in Ireland.- History :...
, University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
and the King's Inns
King's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns , is the institution which controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland...
. While Bill may be best known by many for his Riverdance
Riverdance
Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish stepdancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. It originated as an interval performance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, a moment that is still considered a significant...
composition, Bill has been involved in many ground breaking projects in Ireland since the 1970s. As a producer he has worked with U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
(on their War album), Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, The Dubliners
The Dubliners
The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
, Planxty
Planxty
Planxty is an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s, consisting initially of Christy Moore , Dónal Lunny , Andy Irvine , and Liam O'Flynn...
, Andy Irvine
Andy Irvine (musician)
Andrew Kennedy 'Andy' Irvine is a folk musician, singer, and songwriter, and a founding member of the popular band Planxty. He is an accomplished player of the mandolin, bouzouki, mandola, guitar-bouzouki, harmonica and hurdy-gurdy....
& Davy Spillane
Davy Spillane
Davy Spillane is a songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle.early yearsDavy was born in Dublin in 1959 . At the age of 12 he started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him and inspired him with his love of all music genres...
, Patrick Street
Patrick Street
Patrick Street is an Irish folk group.The band was formed in Dublin in 1986 with Kevin Burke on fiddle, Jackie Daly on button accordion, Andy Irvine on bouzouki and vocals, and Arty McGlynn on guitar...
, Stockton's Wing
Stockton's Wing
Stockton's Wing is an Irish band formed in 1977 by four All-Ireland champion musicians - Paul Roche flute/whistle, Maurice Lennon fiddle, Tommy Hayes bodhran, and Kieran Hanrahan banjo/mandolin, along with Tony Callinan on guitar and vocals.-Name:...
and fellow Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
man Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
.
As an arranger and composer his credits include, The Seville Suite which was inspired by the exploits of 'Red' Hugh O'Donnell, The Earl of Tirconaill, from The Battle of Kinsale until his arrival in Galicia to the welcome of The Spanish Earl of Caraçena. In addition to the orchestra The Seville Suite includes Celtic Music
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
on Uilleann Pipes
Uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a...
, Accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, Bodhrán
Bodhrán
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
, Fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
as well as Galician
Galician
Galician can refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Galicia * Galician language* Galician people, an ethnic group of Galicia, Spain* Galician wine, wine produced in Galicia, Spain*Galician cuisine- See also :* Galicia...
harp, whistles and pipes. The Spirit Of Mayo, performed by an 85-piece orchestra in Dublin's National Concert Hall featuring a powerful Celtic drum corps and a 200 strong choir and choral group Anúna. Bill's latest Celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
/Orchestral release The Connemara Suite, features the Irish Chamber Orchestra along with soloists Zoë Conway, Morgan Crowley, Colin Dunne (Dance Percussion) and Fionnuala Hunt.
In theater Bill received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his adaption of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
. he wrote original music for 15 W. B. Yeats's plays for Dublin's Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
. while his film credits include, Dancing At Lughnasa
Dancing at Lughnasa (film)
Dancing at Lughnasa is a 1998 film adapted from the Brian Friel play of the same title, directed by Pat O'Connor.The movie competed in the Venice Film Festival of 1998. It won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Female Role by Brid Brennan...
(starring Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
), Some Mother's Son
Some Mother's Son
Some Mother's Son is a 1996 film written and directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George, co-written by Jim Sheridan, and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in the Maze Prison, in Northern Ireland...
, Lamb
Lamb (film)
Lamb is a 1985 English drama film, directed by Colin Gregg and starring Liam Neeson, Hugh O'Conor and Ian Bannen. The film is based on the novel by Bernard MacLaverty, who also wrote the screenplay.-Plot:...
(starring Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
) and the award-winning At The Cinema Palace.
Musical career - excerpts
Whelan's lifetime of musical endeavours include:- 1950 Bill Whelan born in LimerickLimerickLimerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
. - 1970 Composes score for the film Bloomfield.
- 1978 Member of the jazz-rock band Stacc, who release a single on CBS.
- 1979 Joins PlanxtyPlanxtyPlanxty is an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s, consisting initially of Christy Moore , Dónal Lunny , Andy Irvine , and Liam O'Flynn...
on keyboards. - 1981 Timedance, composed by Whelan and Donal LunnyDónal LunnyDónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of traditional Irish music for more than thirty-five years and has participated within the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period...
, and performed by PlanxtyPlanxtyPlanxty is an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s, consisting initially of Christy Moore , Dónal Lunny , Andy Irvine , and Liam O'Flynn...
, features in the interval of Eurovision. Timedance released as a PlanxtyPlanxtyPlanxty is an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s, consisting initially of Christy Moore , Dónal Lunny , Andy Irvine , and Liam O'Flynn...
record. - 1983 Whelan produces 'The Refugee' on the U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
album War. - 1984 Film score for Lamb, with Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
- 1985 Produces and performs on Stockton's WingStockton's WingStockton's Wing is an Irish band formed in 1977 by four All-Ireland champion musicians - Paul Roche flute/whistle, Maurice Lennon fiddle, Tommy Hayes bodhran, and Kieran Hanrahan banjo/mandolin, along with Tony Callinan on guitar and vocals.-Name:...
Live - Take One. - 1987 Composes The O'Riada Suite.
- 1989 Joins board of Irish Music Rights OrganisationIrish Music Rights OrganisationIrish Music Rights Organisation is the collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publishers of Ireland. Its role is to act as an agent for its members in order to collect license fees whenever their musical works are performed in public, broadcast or transmitted, and to pay out...
(IMRO), on which he serves continuously until 1997. - 1992 Commissioned to compose The Seville Suite. Produces and plays keyboards on the Andy Irvine (musician)/Davy SpillaneDavy SpillaneDavy Spillane is a songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle.early yearsDavy was born in Dublin in 1959 . At the age of 12 he started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him and inspired him with his love of all music genres...
album EastWindEastWindThe EastWind album, from Andy Irvine & Davy Spillane, serves as a musical meeting of Celtic Music and World Music. It was widely regarded as revolutionary at the time of recording.-Track listing:# "Chetvorno Horo" 3:48# "The Bear's Rock" 3:31...
(both released on the Tara Music Label). - 1992 Produces and performs on Stockton's WingStockton's WingStockton's Wing is an Irish band formed in 1977 by four All-Ireland champion musicians - Paul Roche flute/whistle, Maurice Lennon fiddle, Tommy Hayes bodhran, and Kieran Hanrahan banjo/mandolin, along with Tony Callinan on guitar and vocals.-Name:...
's ' The Crooked Rose' for the Tara Music Label. - 1993 Composes the orchestral work The Spirit Of Mayo.
- 1994 Composes Riverdance for interval segment of the Eurovision Song Contest. The segment is an unprecedented success and spins off into the long running stage show.
- 1995 Invited to serve on Government Task Force set up by Minister Michael D Higgins.
- 1996 Composes original music for Jim SheridanJim SheridanJim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
/Terry GeorgeTerry GeorgeTerry George is an Irish screenwriter and director. Born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland much of his film work involves the Troubles in Northern Ireland...
film Some Mother's SonSome Mother's SonSome Mother's Son is a 1996 film written and directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George, co-written by Jim Sheridan, and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in the Maze Prison, in Northern Ireland...
. - 1997 Receives Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Musical Show Album for Riverdance. - 2000 Riverdance opens on BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. - 2001 Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from IMRO (Irish Music Rights OrganisationIrish Music Rights OrganisationIrish Music Rights Organisation is the collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publishers of Ireland. Its role is to act as an agent for its members in order to collect license fees whenever their musical works are performed in public, broadcast or transmitted, and to pay out...
) - 2006 Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at the Meteor Music AwardsMeteor Music AwardsThe Meteor Ireland Music Awards are a group of music awards in Ireland...
. - 2008 Releases his CelticCeltic musicCeltic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
orchestral album 'The Connemara Suite' on the Tara Music Label.
Discography
As a keyboard player, or as an arranger, he has contributed to these albums:- The Seville Suite (various artists) (1992) Tara Music Label
- Riverdance - music from the show (various artists) (1994)
- Patrick Street: The Best of (Patrick Street) (1995)
- Some Mother's Son (various artists) (1996)
- L'Imaginaire Irlandais (various artists) (1996)
- Roots of Riverdance (various artists) (1997)
- Riverdance on Broadway (various artists) (2000)
- Zoe Conway (Zoe Conway) (2002)Tara Music Label
- The Connemara Suite (2008)Tara Music Label