Deborah Quigley, tin whistle & flute
Deb Quigley was born in Newtownards, County Down and lived during the early 70's in the town of Bangor where she was first introduced to the native music of Ireland.
Chris (Charlie Ferguson) R.I.P. whistle and flute player also from Bangor was a huge influence on her music during the formative years. During the late 80's she was once again inspired musically by the playing and teaching of the late Chris Langan Uillean piper, instrument maker, and music teacher originally from Rush, County Dublin who lived for many years in Toronto. Deb credits much of her music to the patient, and informative teaching style of her mentor and friend.
Deb Quigley is herself a skilled and patient teacher who teaches both privately at her home in Toronto as well as Irish music festivals across North America. She is also a teacher with the St. Paul's school of Irish Music in Toronto and has several whistle students who are introduced to the music in a patient, and encouraging way which has resulted in a positive, inspiring, and creative experience for her students.
Deb Quigley's music continues to be much in demand for recordings, weddings, sessions, and concert performances. She has recorded with several artists and in 2004 produced her own Cd with guitarist Martin Gould. In 2007 she was a featured performer at the Gala concert at Roy Thomson Hall to celebrate the opening of Ireland Park by President of Ireland Mary McAleese. Contact Debbie
Patrick Ourceau, fiddle
Fiddle player Patrick Ourceau has been playing Irish Music since his early teens. Born and raised in France, Patrick moved to the U.S. in 1989, settled in New York City where he lived for seventeen years, and is now based in Toronto, Canada.
Mostly self taught, Patrick’s taste for Clare and East Galway music developed early in his playing after being introduced to recordings of the legendary fiddle players Paddy Canny, Paddy Fahey and Bobby Casey. Patrick regularly visits Ireland and especially county Clare. Over the years, he has during those trips, been able to play with and learn from Paddy Canny, as well as from many other local musicians including flute and fiddle player Peadar O’Loughlin.
During the many years he lived in New York, Patrick often played with such great musicians as fiddle players Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds among many others, but was particularly influenced by the style and repertoire of Woodford, Co. Galway flute player Jack Coen. In the last fifteen years, Patrick has been in great demand as a teacher and regularly teaches both privately and at various festivals and summer schools across North America and Ireland.
Patrick started teaching in Toronto since his first visit to the Chris Langan Week-end, and since moving to Toronto in 2005, he has been involved in the Irish Music community, and is happy to now be part of this school. He enjoys the children’s’ enthusiasm, and has fun with them as they progress on the fiddle.
Link to Patrick’s website
Mary Lou Leslie, piano
Mary Lou has been playing piano since she was 8 years old and began playing the organ at church when she was 10. Trained by the Sisters of St. Joseph through the Royal Conservatory of Music, Mary Lou obtained her Grade 9 piano diploma. She taught piano in Ottawa for 5 years. She was involved with music in her children's schools when they lived in Montreal.
She has been a member of the Irish Choral society and several other choirs, volunteers to play in retirement homes and now enjoys teaching piano to the children at St. Paul's.
Having been exposed to Irish music very early in life because of her two Irish grandmothers, Mary Lou especially remembers her paternal grandmother playing the piano and singing "Dear old Donegal". Mary Lou is the secretary of the committee for St. Paul's Toronto School of Irish Music which raise the money to fund the music program at St. Paul's.
Contact Mary Lou
Rose Bolton, violin
Rose Bolton grew up in Toronto, where she began her musical training on classical violin and piano. Since studying music at McGill University, she has worked as both a classical and electronic composer, and a fiddler. Rose has adopted many musical styles, learning from the Irish, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, Quebec and Ontario fiddle repertoire. She is active as a violin teacher, both as a private instructor and in schools. Current projects as a composer include the beginning of an opera for Tapestry New Opera (with a libretto by poet Jill Battson), an electro-acoustic work for Toronto’s New Adventures in Sound Art, to be performed on the Toronto Island in the summer of 2007.
Rose Bolton holds a Master of Music degree in composition from McGill University. She earned her Bachelor of Music at the University of Western Ontario. Ms. Bolton has received several awards, including the H.C. Aitken prize of the 1995 New Music Concerts' young composers' competition and two prizes in the 1999 SOCAN awards for young composers. She is an associate of the Canadian Music Centre. She has been commissioned to write works for a number of performers, including Continuum Contemporary Music, Arraymusic, the Burdocks, the Canadian Electronic Ensemble and accordionist Joseph Petric. Recently Ms. Bolton was one of five young composers who participated in the Génération 2000 project directed by conductor Veronique Lacroix which involved six performances by L'ensemble contemporain de Montréal in a cross-Canada tour. In spring, 2001, her work Incidental Music of my Mind was performed by Toronto's New Music Concerts, conducted by Robert Aitken.
Rose has been teaching the violin at the St Paul’s School of Irish Music since 2004. Contact Rose.