Conor O'Reilly
Conor O'Reilly is a composer, professional chorister and conductor.
He started his musical training at an early age and won a choral scholarship to become a member of the Schola Cantorum in St. Finian’s College Mullingar. While studying at the DIT Conservatory of Music, Dublin with Veronica Dunne and Deirdre Grier Delaney (voice) he won the William Watt Tenor solo and John McCormack trophies at Dublin Feis Ceoil. He also studied piano with Marie Jones and composition with Dr. Joseph Groocock. He had further composition studies with Colin Mawby and further vocal studies with Philip O'Reilly at the RIAM.
His choral music is published in the USA by Lawson Gould/Alfred Publishing. He has composed and arranged for numerous singers including Méav Ní Mhaolchatha. His orchestral arrangement of ‘Dúlamán’ was performed by Méav & the New York Pops Orchestra in Carnegie Hall and featured the celebrated fiddler Liz Knowles as soloist. He has had numerous choral commissions including a setting of TS Eliot's 'Landscapes' for the NCC. His choral piece 'Pie Jesu' featured on the NCC's Pie Jesu CD and was described as “two minutes of near-perfect tranquillity” by Tarik O'Regan in the Observer. His choral arrangement of 'Danny Boy’, which featured in the hit show Celtic Woman, was described in a U.S. review as "this luscious setting by Irishman Conor O'Reilly is certain to become the definitive arrangement for discerning choirs”.
In 2016 Conor was commissioned by the Palestrina Choir to set Joseph Mary Plunkett’s ‘I See His Blood upon the Rose’ for the State Commemoration of the Easter Rising at Arbour Hill Chapel in Dublin. He was also commissioned by Longford County Choir to set Thomas MacDonagh’s 'Wishes For My Son, Born On St Cecilia's Day, 1912' for a performance in St. Mel’s Cathedral, Longford.
Conor currently also works as a freelance chorister throughout Europe singing repertoire from Medieval, and Renaissance periods right through to contemporary works and has performed with Bo Holten & his group Musica Ficta.
Conor was Music Director of West Wicklow Voices for eight years taking them to sing in Rome and the Costa Barcelona festival as well as concerts with Majella Cullagh, Victoria Massey and James Nelson. He is also the Music Director of the vocal ensemble Vocative.