Darragh Gilleece

Dr. Darragh Gilleece is an Irish composer, educator, and pianist. He is a Performance Tutor at Maynooth University. He also serves as a music examiner for the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), Ireland’s leading conservatoire, for which he assesses music examinations and recitals nationwide. He previously held the position of Assistant Lecturer in Piano at RIAM. 

Darragh holds a BA International in Music, which included studying at the University of Vienna, as well as a master’s degree in performance and musicology. He also holds an Associate Diploma in Piano Pedagogy from RIAM and a Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance from Trinity College London. He completed his PhD in musicology as a recipient of the prestigious John and Pat Hume Scholarship, focusing on the piano duets of Franz Schubert and their role in pedagogy. His research has been presented internationally, including for events hosted by the Schubert Institute UK and the Society for Musicology in Ireland.

As a composer of pedagogical repertoire, Darragh has collaborated with Quiet Life Music (UK) on piano method books used in RIAM teaching programs. His works often feature on various exam syllabi, including Universal Music Exams and RIAM. Two of his compositions will soon be published in upcoming RIAM piano albums. He is also the author of the recent piano repertoire books First Steps 1 and First Steps 2, published by Forsyth Publications. Darragh looks forward to his upcoming publication of jazz and blues-style compositions with Clifton Edition.