Michael O'Toole is an Irish classical

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Education

O'Toole studied for many years with John Feeley at the

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological University Dublin, as TU Dublin City Campus. The insti ...

(DIT) Conservatory of Music and Drama, Dublin and also spent two years studying with the renowned Cuban virtuoso Ricardo Iznaola in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. He holds a master's degree in performance from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

and a PhD from the DIT Conservatory.

Career

O'Toole has performed extensively throughout

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and has performed several times on national radio and television. He has worked with Irish composers Eric Sweeney, Jerome de Bromhead, David Fennessy and Ian Wilson, and has performed in ensemble with the

Opera Theatre Company Irish National Opera is one of Ireland's largest arts organisations and presents opera in Dublin, on tour across Ireland and internationally. Irish National Opera was created from a merger of the Opera Theatre Company (OTC) and Wide Open Opera in ...

, the

RTÉ Concert Orchestra The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is a professional radio orchestra in Ireland and is part of RTÉ, the national broadcaster. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra has grown from a small studio-bas ...

, the

Dublin Guitar Quartet The Dublin Guitar Quartet is an Irish guitar quartet that specialises in the performance of contemporary classical music, particularly music associated with minimalist composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt and Kevin Volans. T ...

and

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; previously known as Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra) is the largest professional orchestra in Ireland. Housed at the National Concert Hall, D ...

. He is/was artistic director of The Waltons International Guitar Festival and the "Chord" Ennis International Music Festival, and was also on the board of directors of the prestigious

Kilkenny Arts Festival The Kilkenny Arts Festival, formally known as Kilkenny Arts Week, was founded in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1974. It covers a number of art forms, including classical music and performance. Playwright and poet Seamus Heaney gave a reading of some of ...

. O'Toole was on the faculty of The

Royal Irish Academy of Music Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roy ...

and the Music Department at

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ) was an Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland, institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otoole, Michael Academics of Dublin City University Irish classical guitarists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Irish guitarists People associated with Waterford Institute of Technology Year of birth missing (living people) Irish male guitarists 21st-century Irish male musicians Alumni of University College Cork