Artist in Residence
Séamus Connolly’s feats on the fiddle were the stuff of legend across Ireland by 1976, the year he immigrated to the United States. It is hard to imagine equaling, let alone outshining, his exceptional musical legacy in Ireland, but Séamus did precisely that in the United States. Whether through private tutelage, classroom instruction, summer school curricula, or music camp workshops, he has steadfastly taught U.S.-born students the techniques and regional styles of Irish traditional fiddling.
From 1993 to 2003, Séamus was the director of the Gaelic Roots Summer School and Festival that he founded on the campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It was the finest Irish traditional music and dance summer school ever to emerge on U.S. soil. Séamus has appeared on dozens of recordings, and his compositions have entered the Irish tradition.
He was the recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship in 2013, awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts in recognition of distinguished lifetime achievement by traditional artist residing in the United States. And was recently named the recipient of the Gradam Saoil/Lifetime Achievement award for 2020.