Biography
Winifred Horan began fiddle and Irish dance lessons in the then bustling Irish scene in New York in the 1970’s. Her fiddle teacher was the late Maureen Glynn and her dancing teacher was the great Donald Golden. Throughout these years she participated and competed in many fleadhs and competitions in the US and Ireland, winning the US National Dance Championships a record nine years in a row.
At this time, she was also pursuing a path in classical music and ultimately won a scholarship to attend Mannes College of Music in Manhattan, as a teenager, for violin. She then went on to earn a degree in Music from the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. This combination of both classical and traditional backgrounds helps to define the style that is so identifiable and associated with Winifred’s playing. In demand as a dancer, fiddle player and studio musician, she has worked with many of the finest musicians on the Irish Music scene. She has played and recorded with Cherish the Ladies, Sharon Shannon, Pierce Turner, Richard Shindell, Eileen Ivers, Pauline Scanlon, and Liz Carroll. She has also recently recorded with Roesy, Damien Dempsey and Declan O’Rourke. In demand as a session musician, she continues to add her style and musical ideas to many of the finest projects in the states and Ireland.
Her meeting and ultimate collaboration with Seamus Egan saw the start of the Irish American band Solas which has been received successfully worldwide. Solas has been critically acclaimed for it’s live performances, timeless recordings and extraordinary musicianship.
Winifred released two solo albums in 2002 - “Just one Wish” and “The Pleasures of Home” to critical acclaim in the U.S. and Ireland. Her duet album with fellow bandmate Mick McAuley titled “Serenade” was called one of the best received traditional albums of 2005.
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