ABOUT JAMES

James Kinnear is an ever-growing name on the Scottish and Irish traditional music scenes. A highly accomplished uilleann piper, wooden flute and whistle player and composer, his eclectic, vibrant and versatile musical palette has led to highlight festival performances including at Celtic Connections and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His work today has seen him performing and working with some of Scotland's best-known creative voices in traditional music and theatre, including with Karine Polwart, Kinnaris Quintet,

the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and the National Theatre of Scotland.

 

James began his studies at the age of nine on classical piano, before encompassing the uilleann pipes, whistles, cello and other instruments by his mid-teens. His musical studies, combined with many years working in theatre has resulted in James being highly respected and admired across the arts, with many inter-disciplinary credits to his name - most recently the five-star, sell-out premiere of 'Come From Away' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where his actor-musician skills won acclaim from many reviewers.

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In 2022, James was a recipient of the Uilleann Piping Scholarship awarded by Na Píobairí Uilleann, which allowed him to study piping at the renowned Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy in Miltown Malbay, and has studied the uilleann pipes with many of the most respected pipers of today including Mick O'Brien, Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn and Brian McNamara, as well as from countless other musicians across Scotland and Ireland.

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James is currently studying for his BMus (Hons) in Traditional Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, under the tuition of many of the country's most respected traditional musicians. Most recently, James undertook an exchange to the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, studying uilleann pipes with Blackie O'Connell and flute with Dr. Niall Keegan.