Haley Richardson is a virtuosic musician, whose talents extend to the fields of both classical and Irish traditional music. With her highly ornamented Sligo style perfected under the tutelage of fiddler Brian Conway, Haley has garnered a number of prestigious awards and honors, including multiple championships at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All Ireland) in Ireland, numerous MidAtlantic Championships, and the coveted Junior (2015) and Senior (2018) Fiddler Of Dooney awards.
A year after asking to learn the violin at age two, Haley began Suzuki violin lessons. Before her 5th birthday, she fell in love with Irish music inspired by a live performance of fiddler Kevin Burke. She began learning fiddle tunes from Kevin's How to Play Celtic Fiddle DVD and by playing along to his CD while riding in the car. Haley won her first MidAtlantic under twelve Irish fiddle competition at just six years old and by April 2017, Haley is a 9X MidAtlantic Regional fiddle champion. She is a multiple time All Ireland champion in both solo fiddle and fiddle slow airs and an All Ireland place winner in trio competition.
Whether performing in a solo capacity or in an ensemble, Haley brings a rare dynamism and energy to her music, which is informed by her thorough knowledge of the form, her mastery of her instrument, and the absolutely trailblazing and show-stopping technique and emotion evident in every note she plays. She has performed with many of the most well-known names in Irish music including The Chieftains, Altan, Dervish, Mick Moloney, Pride of New York, Liz Carroll with Cherish the Ladies, John Whelan, Paddy Keenan, The Máirtín de Cógáin Project. Haley has been a member of Green Fields of American and The John Whelan Band. She was the band fiddler for the Studio2Stage Irish dance production, That's Dancing, from 2014-2017.
John Whelan mentored, recorded, and produced Haley's (accompanied by brother, Dylan) debut CD, Heart on a String, in March 2015. In March 2017, Haley released a CD she produced entitled Music for Mercy, a compilation CD featuring donated tracks from many of the best Irish musicians under 21 years old from around the world. All proceeds from that CD benefit the Mercy Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. In May 2019, Haley teamed up with musical genious and multi-instrumentalist, Quinn Bachand, to release their debut duo recording, When the Wind Blows High and Clear.
During the pandemic, Haley created a music collaboration series entitled #COVIDuets (check them out on her Facebook page) and recorded an EP with talented electronic music producer, Zac Klingenberg, entitled Enigma (click the link to listen on Spotify).
Haley is currently the fiddler for the 25th Anniversary tour of the Grammy Award winning production, "Riverdance", appeared in the movie/DVD recording of the 25th Anniversary show recorded at the 3Arena in Dublin, and was invited by Riverdance composer, Bill Whelan, to record on the Riverdance 25th Anniversary Album released December 2019.
Fiddler for 25th Anniversary Riverdance Tour
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