Billy Oskay is an American violinist and record producer.

Biography

Billy Oskay was born and raised in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...

, where he first learned to play the violin at the age seven. In 1970, he began studying under Eugen Prokop at the International Academy of Music in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and in 1971 earned his master's degree in music from Ball State University in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Oskay was the head of the music department at Oregon's Mt. Angel College, and later joined the swing combo Everything's Jake. In 1983, he met Irish guitarist

Mícheál Ó Domhnaill Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (; 7 October 1951 – 7 July 2006) was an Irish singer, guitarist, composer, and producer who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered for his innovativ ...

who was an influential figure in the Irish traditional music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, having performed for seven years with

The Bothy Band The Bothy Band were an Irish traditional band active during the mid 1970s. They quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music. Their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity had a significant influen ...

and collaborated for several years with the master fiddler Kevin Burke. Oskay and Ó Domhnaill began to collaborate on a new and innovative music that integrated traditional Irish, jazz, and classical chamber music. They composed and recorded some songs in Oskay's

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

home and were pleased with the unique understated sound they had created, which had a "rough but fresh quality that engendered a serene atmosphere". Ó Domhnaill signed a contract with William Ackerman at

Windham Hill Records Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label wa ...

, and the tracks he and Oskay had recorded in Portland were mixed and released in 1984 under the title ''

Nightnoise Nightnoise was a music ensemble active from 1984 to 1997. Their original blend of Irish traditional music, Celtic music, jazz, and classical chamber music inspired a generation of Irish musicians. They released seven albums on the Windham Hi ...

''. In 1987, Oskay and Ó Domhnaill were joined by Mícheál's sister, Irish pianist and vocalist Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, and Irish-American flutist Brian Dunning to found the musical group

. The group toured the world and recorded three additional albums: ''

Something of Time ''Something of Time'' is a studio album by Nightnoise. The album was released by Windham Hill Records (WD-1057) in 1987. Track listing # "Timewinds" by Billy Oskay (3:47) # "Perchance to Dream" (Billy Oskay, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill) – 4:56 ...

'' (1987), ''

At the End of the Evening ''At the End of the Evening'' is a studio album by Nightnoise. The album was released by Windham Hill Records (WD-1076) in 1988. Track listing # "Windell" by Billy Oskay and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (3:47) # "Of a Summer Morn" by Mícheál ...

'' (1988), and ''

The Parting Tide ''The Parting Tide'' is a studio album by Nightnoise. The album was released by Windham Hill Records (WD-1097) in 1990. Track listing # "Bleu" by Brian Dunning (4:56) # "An Irish Carol" by Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (8:00) # "Jig of Sorts" ...

'' (1990). During that time, Oskay emerged as a prolific session musician appearing on projects by harp guitarist

John Doan John Doan (born May 16, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. Background Doan grew up in Venice, California, and at the age of eleven began playing the guitar, first a 12-string, and later a double-neck electric in a rock band. Later, w ...

, bluegrass guitarist

Dan Crary Dan Crary ''(aka Deacon Dan Crary)'' was born September 29, 1939 in Kansas City, Kansas and is an American bluegrass guitarist. He helped re-establish flatpicked guitar as a prominent soloing bluegrass instrument. Crary is an innovator of the flat ...

, and others. Oskay also produced many albums at his Oskay Recording studio in Portland. In 1992, Oskay left Nightnoise to focus on record production. In 1993, he purchased 26 acres of land in

Corbett, Oregon Corbett is an unincorporated community on the Columbia River in eastern Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the Historic Columbia River Highway (a.k.a. Crown Point Highway) between the Sandy River and Crown Point. Corbett ...

, where he built the Big Red Studio from 1997 to 2000. The studio's centerpiece was a 1979 Trident TSM console, once owned by

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945) () is a Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song " F ...

. Since 2000 Oskay has produced numerous musical artists at his Big Red Studio in Corbett, including ''

Drum Hat Buddha ''Drum Hat Buddha'' is a 2001 album by American folk duo Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer were an American folk duo who released three albums from 1998 to 2001, as well as additional material released after Dave C ...

'' (2001) by

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer were an American folk duo who released three albums from 1998 to 2001, as well as additional material released after Dave Carter's death. The duo consisted of Dave Carter (songwriter, vocals, banjo, guitar, organ) ...

, ''Blu di Genova'' (2003) by

Beppe Gambetta Beppe Gambetta (born 1955) is an Italian acoustic guitarist and singer. A native of Genoa, he is a composer, teacher, author, and researcher of traditional music and instruments. Music career In 1977, Gambetta founded Red Wine, an Italian blue ...

, and ''Renaissance of the Steel-String Guitar'' (2004) by

. He still performs violin occasionally with

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based singer-songwriter Jim Page.

Discography

* ''

'' (1984) * ''

'' (1987) * ''

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1990)

References

External links

Big Red Studio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oskay, Billy Living people Record producers from New York (state) American male violinists Musicians from Portland, Oregon Musicians from Kingston, New York Nightnoise members 21st-century American violinists 21st-century American male musicians Year of birth missing (living people)