Bill Whelan (born 22 May 1950 in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, '' Riverdance'', was a seven-minute display of traditional Irish dancing that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish dancing and Celtic music and also won him a Grammy. " Riverdance" was released as a single in 1994, credited to "Bill Whelan and Anúna featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra". It reached number one in Ireland for 18 weeks and number nine in the UK. The album of the same title reached number 31 in the album charts in 1995. Whelan has also composed a symphonic suite version of ''Riverdance'', with its premiere performed by the Ulster Orchestra on BBC Radio 3 in August 2014.

Biography

Whelan is a native of Limerick, and was educated at Crescent College. He gained his Bachelor of Civil Law degree at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

in 1973 and then went to King's Inns. In 2011, Whelan was awarded the UCD Foundation Day Medal in recognition of his outstanding achievements and his contribution to Irish music worldwide. While he is best known for his " Riverdance" composition and the theatrical show of the same name, Whelan has been involved in many ground-breaking projects in Ireland since the 1970s. As a producer he has worked with U2 (on their War album),

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, Andy Irvine &

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, Patrick Street,

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and fellow Limerickman

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. As an arranger and composer, his credits include: * ''The Seville Suite'', which was inspired by the exploits of Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill from The Battle of Kinsale in 1601 until his arrival in

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to the welcome of The Spanish Earl of Caraçena. In addition to the orchestra, ''The Seville Suite'' includes

Celtic Music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considera ...

on Uilleann Pipes, accordion,

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

, fiddle as well as Galician harp, whistles and pipes. * ''The Spirit of Mayo'', performed by an 85-piece orchestra in Dublin's National Concert Hall and featuring a powerful Celtic drum corps and a 200 strong choir and choral group Anúna. * Whelan's Celtic/

Orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

release, ''The Connemara Suite'', features the Irish Chamber Orchestra along with soloists Zoë Conway, Morgan Crowley, Colin Dunne (Dance Percussion) and Fionnuala Hunt. In theatre, Whelan received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his adaption of Gilbert and Sullivan's '' H.M.S. Pinafore''. He wrote original music for 15 of W. B. Yeats's plays for

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and his film credits include, '' Dancing at Lughnasa'' (starring

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), '' Some Mother's Son'', ''

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'' (starring

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) and the award-winning ''At The Cinema Palace''. In 2022, Whelan's autobiography ''The Road To Riverdance'' was published.

Career timeline

Whelan's lifetime of musical endeavours include: * 1970 – Composes main theme for the film '' Bloomfield''. * 1978 – Member of the jazz-rock band Stacc, who release a single on CBS. * 1979 – Joins

on keyboards. * 1981 – ''Timedance'', composed by Whelan and Dónal Lunny, and performed by

, features in the interval of Eurovision. ''Timedance'' released as a Planxty record. * 1983 – Whelan produces "The Refugee" on the U2 album '' War''. * 1984 – Film score for ''

'', with

* 1985 – Produces and performs on

's '' Live – Take One''. * 1987 – Composes ''The O'Riada Suite''. * 1989 – Joins board of Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), on which he serves continuously until 1997. * 1990 – Produces and plays keyboards on Andy Irvine's album ''

Rude Awakening Rudeness (also called effrontery) is a display of actual or perceived disrespect by not complying with the Norm (social), social norms or etiquette of a group or culture. These norms have been established as the essential personal boundaries, b ...

'', released in early 1991 on the

Green Linnet Records Green Linnet Records was an American independent record label that specialized in Celtic music. Founded by Lisa Null and Patrick Sky as Innisfree Records in 1973, the label was initially based in Null's house in New Canaan, Connecticut. In 1975, ...

label. * 1992 – Commissioned to compose ''The Seville Suite'', released on the Tara Music label. * 1992 – Produces and plays keyboards on the Andy Irvine/

album '' EastWind'', released on the Tara Music label. * 1992 – Produces and performs on

's ''The Crooked Rose'' for the Tara Music label. * 1993 – Composes the orchestral work ''The Spirit of Mayo''. * 1994 – Composes '' Riverdance'' for interval segment of the Eurovision Song Contest. The segment is an unprecedented success and spins off into the long-running stage show. * 1995 – Invited to serve on the Government Task Force set up by Minister Michael D. Higgins. * 1996 – Composes original music for Jim Sheridan/ Terry George's film '' Some Mother's Son''. * 1997 – Receives a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for Best Musical Show Album for ''Riverdance''. * 2000 – ''Riverdance'' opens on Broadway. * 2001 – Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from IMRO ( Irish Music Rights Organisation) * 2006 – Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at the

Meteor Music Awards A Meteor Ireland Music Award was an accolade bestowed upon professionals in the music industry in Ireland and further afield. They had been bestowed each year since 2001, replacing the IRMA Ireland Music Awards held in the 1990s. Promoted by ...

. * 2008 – Releases his Celtic orchestral album ''The Connemara Suite'' on the Tara Music label. * 2010 - Joins the board of the National Music Education Programme. * 2011 - Inaugural inductee into IMRO Academy

Discography

As a keyboard player, or as an arranger, he has contributed to these albums: * '' The Woman I Loved So Well'' (

) (1980) * '' Words & Music'' (

) (1983) * ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' ( Patrick Street) (1990) * ''

'' ( Andy Irvine) (1991)

* '' East Wind'' ( Andy Irvine &

) (1992) Tara Music * ''The Seville Suite'' (various artists) (1992) Tara Music * '' Riverdance: Music from the Show'' (various artists) (1995) * '' The Best of Patrick Street'' ( Patrick Street) (1995) * ''Some Mother's Son'' (various artists) (1996) * ''L'Imaginaire Irlandais'' (various artists) (1996) * ''Roots of Riverdance'' (various artists) (1997) * ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' (various artists) (1998) * ''Riverdance on Broadway'' (various artists) (2000) * ''Zoe Conway'' (Zoe Conway) (2002) Tara Music * ''A Christmas Carol'' (various artists) (2007) * ''The Connemara Suite'' (2008) Tara Music

References

External links

*
''Bill Whelan file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Bill 1950 births Living people 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Alumni of King's Inns Alumni of University College Dublin Bodhrán players Grammy Award winners Irish composers Irish keyboardists Irish pianists Musicians from County Limerick Patrick Street members People educated at Crescent College Planxty members