Sempre Music
Academy
Our Teachers
Meet Our Teachers!
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Dovile Baltoniene
Violin-Piano
Dovile hails from Klaipeda, Lithuania. She began her violin studies at the age of 7 at Klaipeda J. Karosas Music School, encouraged by her mother who teaches violin herself. She continued her studies at Klaipeda S. Simkus Conservatoire and was awarded both a Music
Performance and Teacher's Qualification. Subsequently, Dovile was accepted to Klaipeda College where she decided to further develop her love of teaching in the study of pedagogy.
Resident in Kerry since 2004, she has been an active teacher and performer around the county. A founding member of the Kerry Scotia Ensemble, she has performed with them since their foundation in 2016. She has also been an adjudicator and tutor on their Mentoring Scheme. A first if it's kind in Kerry, it allows young and upcoming string players in Kerry the opportunity to perform larger string works in a professional environment. Along with other members of the Scotia Ensemble, she was integral to the establishment of the hugely successful Scotia Summer String Camp, another first of it's kind in Kerry.
Lucy White
Violin-Piano
Leicester born violinist Lucy Tanner was trained by Royal Academician Rosemary Rapaport before taking a B.Mus at Huddersfield University. After finishing her studies, Lucy taught extensively in Lincolnshire and Rutland. Besides numerous recitals in England and latterly in Kerry, Lucy has performed with the Boston Sinfonia, Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, Siamsa Tire Folk Theatre of Ireland Ensemble and the Finlay Ensemble. Lucy is a founding member and leader of second violins with the Kerry Scotia Ensemble and has performed with them throughout Kerry. Over the years she has enjoyed performing with such prominent artists as Miriam Murphy, Cara O’Sullivan, Paula Murrihy and Kenneth Rice, amongst others. She has also enjoyed playing as principal violinist for many musical productions around the county.
Lucy has been resident in Kerry since 2002 and teaches violin to students throughout the county. She is an enthusiastic educator of budding musicians and is involved in many different youth ensembles and projects. In conjunction with the Kerry Scotia Ensemble, she ran a mentoring scheme for young string players based in Kerry last year, giving them the opportunity to perform alongside professional musicians. In 2012, she initiated the “Color My Strings” project in conjunction with
Moyderwell Primary School. The project has been hugely successful and continues to make violin tuition accessable to children in the school. Lucy will be taking students in Tralee and Killarney. Contact us for more details on how to book a lesson with Lucy
Maria O'Connor
Cello-Fiddle
Maria was born, bread and buttered in Tralee. She began fiddle lessons at the age of 9 and cello lessons with Sean Brogan in KSM when she was 11. Maria won numerous prizes on both instruments during her school years. At 17, she went on to study in the CIT Cork School of Music (CSM) She holds a BMus and an MA in performance from CSM, receiving a First Class Honors in both.
Maria has been a prize winner in numerous competitions including Feis Ceoil, Feis Maitiu, Fleadh Ceoil and the CSM Concerto and Chamber Music Competition. During her studies she was a guest soloist with the CSM Symphony Orchestra. As the cellist with the Chiral Quartet, Maria was awarded the 2014 CSM Directors Prize. The quartet were subsequently named Ensemble in Residence in the CSM for that year. They have been winners of the CSM RTE Vanbrugh Quartet Chamber Music Competition, the KBC Great Music in Irish Houses Residency competition and the Music in Drumcliffe Strings Attached Competition and have studied
with both the Vogler Quartet and the Vanbrugh Quartet.
Maria has performed in numerous venues and festivals at home and abroad including the West Cork
Chamber Music Festival, Killaloe Music Festival, the Music in Drumcliffe festival and in the RDS Rising Stars recital series, the Jenneusses Musicales Festival Germany, Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, and Guildhall and Cadogan Hall, London.
Since completing her studies, Maria has enjoyed a diverse career as a chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. She has been delighted to perform with various different artists including Walking on Cars, Enya, Mick Flannery, Eimear Quinn, Lisa Hannigan and Cathy Davey.
She is currently principal cellist with the Irish Memory Orchestra and and has toured with them in both Ireland and abroad. As a freelance cellist she also plays with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Cello Ireland, Cork Opera House Orchestra and the Kerry Scotia Ensemble. Maria teaches in the Killarney Centre.