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Event Description
Traditional fiddle player/composer Seamus Gibson and jazz pianist So-Young Yoon first met during her artist residency at An Grianán Theatre in Letterkenny. They sat down at the piano and began playing Seamus’s compositions—he played the melodies while So-Young improvised harmonies around them. It was great fun and the beautiful collaboration lead them into their first gig together at Trad Week in Letterkenny.
This is their Dublin debut concert and they will be joined by Yseult Stockdale, one of the leading classical cellists in Ireland. Together they will explore the music of Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Seamus Gibson and very old Irish and Korean traditional songs.
The Cobblestone, The Backroom - doors at 3:00PM, music at 3:30PM
Séamus Gibson stands as one of Ireland’s most distinctive voices in traditional music—a master fiddler and composer whose work is both deeply rooted in heritage and daringly original in spirit. Based in the musically rich townland of St. Johnston in East Donegal, he is immersed in the powerful Donegal fiddle tradition. Music runs deep through his family: his father, Eddie Gibson, was an accomplished mandolin and fiddle player; his uncle, the legendary Tommy Peoples, was a towering figure in Irish traditional music; and his cousin Joe Cassidy also carried on the family’s musical legacy. Séamus began composing as a teenager, and his early works quickly drew attention for their lyrical beauty, rhythmic inventiveness, and structural complexity. Today, his catalogue includes over a hundred compositions, many of which are now played by traditional musicians around the world. Tunes such as “George Peoples,” “The Humours of Codeine,” and “Dermot’s Hornpipe” have become known for their originality and emotional depth. While Séamus’s music is firmly grounded in tradition, his voice as an artist is anything but static. His long-standing musical partnership with guitarist Dermot Toland produced performances known for their intensity, subtlety, and deep musical connection. Since 2024, he has been exploring new territory in collaboration with acclaimed jazz pianist and composer So-Young Yoon, blending Irish traditional music with jazz in bold and unexpected ways. His 2023 albums The Dropper Bell and Fly By Night received widespread acclaim, showcasing not only his technical brilliance and compositional flair, but also a rare ability to bridge genres and generations.
So-Young Yoon is a jazz pianist and composer based in Dublin. Active in the Dublin jazz scene since 2008, she was frequently invited to perform as a bandleader and guest musician at JJ Smyth’s. Her debut at the National Concert Hall’s John Field Room came in 2011, leading a six-piece ensemble with creative arrangements of Thelonious Monk’s music. She holds a B.A. in Jazz Performance from Newpark Music Centre, an M.Phil in Music Composition from Trinity College Dublin, and a Licentiate Teaching Diploma with distinction in performance from the Royal Irish Academy of Music. So-Young is currently a faculty member in the jazz department at Dublin City University. In June 2024, So-Young was selected as the Artist in Residence at An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny, through the Improvised Music Company (IMC) Navigator Programme. During her residency, she collaborated with virtuoso Donegal fiddle player Seamus Gibson, culminating in a performance at Trad Week in Letterkenny in January 2025. So-Young arranged Gibson’s composition for a piano-violin duo and also performed works by Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. The concert was a success, leading An Grianán Theatre to commission her for a six- piece ensemble concert project in July 2025. In February 2024, she was named one of fifteen improvisers on the island of Ireland for Improvising Across Boundaries, a research program led by UCD Music Department and IMC. Since September 2024, So-Young has been curating the Jazz Master Album Series, a monthly concert project that brings iconic jazz albums to life. She transcribes and arranges where original scores are not available, organise bands for the complete album performances, as well as being the pianist in the ensemble. The albums performed are Kind of Blue, Miles Davis(1959), Time Out, Dave Brubeck (1959), Stan Gets/Joao Gilberto (1964), Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown’s Christmas (1965), Headhunters, Herbie Hancock (1973), The Atomic Mr. Basie, Count Basie (1957), Letter from Home, Pat Metheny (1989).
Yseult is a musician with an especially explorative and varied career. With the experimental ensemble, Kirkos, she has created and performed works for festivals including Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, New Music Dublin, and Sound Scotland, as well as countless premieres. Recent performances of her self-devised works include a critically acclaimed premiere with Andy Ingamells commissioned by London Contemporary Music Festival, 2025. She works extensively as an orchestral and chamber musician, regularly performing with ensembles such as the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, Ficino Ensemble, Quiet Music Ensemble, Crash Ensemble, and has sat as principal cello with both Irish National Opera and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra on numerous occasions. She is a founding member of the Ora String Quartet, supported by the National String Quartet Foundation. A keen improviser, Yseult likes to work collaboratively. She draws influence from her wide-ranging repertoire, from very old music to very new, and everything in-between.