B​rian Leach.

I am a Composer, Musician, and Maker excited by the cross over of ancient tradition and contemporary technology. My interdisciplinary approach encompasses sound art, music, and musical instrument building.

A fascination with new harmonies and timbres leads me to design and build one-of-a-kind musical instruments with unique character. I completed my studies in Musical Instrument Building at St. John’s Central College Cork in 2017. Drawing on a degree in Astrophysics, and a Masters in Music Technology, I design electronic/acoustic instruments with a solid scientific understanding, technical intuition, and an artist’s eye.

My artistic practice involves public interaction with these new instruments, encouraging play and community engagement in the arts. I am currently composing and experimenting at the Guesthouse Project, Cork, where I am developing new electronic and acoustic instruments to create environmental sound compositions that come alive at the moment of audience engagement.

As a musician I have toured around the world with the bands: The Underscore Orkestra, Torcán, and The Amadáns & Bodhráns. My compositions have been performed at the National Concert Hall, The Chelsea School of Art, Hearsay International Audio Arts Festival, The West Cork Arts Centre, Blackrock Castle Observatory, and Fitzgerald’s Park Cork.

Recently my traditional Irish style composition “Trip to Teulada” featured on a Heritage Council commissioned video, “A Short History of Irish Travellers”, which promoted traveller awareness and combatted racism against that community.

When composing in the traditional Irish idiom I like to immerse myself in a place or an idea. I live the experience through interactions with people and landscape. It’s my opinion that Irish music comes from the land, the sea, the soil, the cliffs, and the wind that surround us. It is a living tradition because these things have yet more to tell us. It’s the composer’s job to listen, and convey that message to others.