Liz Doherty

Liz Doherty is a musician, educator and entrepreneur from Buncrana, Co. Donegal. She is the Founder and Director of I Teach Trad, a new company devoted to developing and delivering training and professional development courses for teachers of Irish traditional music (iteachtrad.com). She has also created a unique method for helping all traditional musicians master the skills of music reading which Bill Whelan, composer of Riverdance, has praised as being “an invaluable addition to the armoury of anyone who has learned their instrument the “trad way”. (readmusicthetradway.com).

Her academic credentials include a PhD on Cape Breton fiddle music); she published The Cape Breton Fiddle Companion in 2015. Since 1994 she has lectured in Irish traditional music at University College, Cork and at Ulster University, Derry as well as in Canada, the US and Australia; she was recognised for her pioneering work in this area with the prestigious National Teaching Fellowship Award.

As a fiddle player, she has performed and recorded with National Symphony and Concert Orchestras, Riverdance -The Show, international all-women band, String Sisters, and as part of Fintan Vallely’s Compánach production. She was also a member of bands Bumblebees, Fiddlesticks and Nomos and has two solo recordings – Last Orders and Quare Imagination. 

As a traditional arts and education consultant Liz has worked with the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon, served on Culture Ireland’s Expert Advisory Committee and is a member of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil judging panel. She has also extensive experience as a curator of traditional arts conferences (e.g. Crosbhealach an Cheoil/Crossroads Conferences) and festivals (e.g. NAFCo, Éigse na Laoi, FiddleFest, Ar Ais Arís). More recently she has worked as music producer on TV shows including the annual TG4 Live Fleadh TV shows (with Power Pictures), Cultír (Sugartown Films), Mayo Day (Riverside Productions) and the award-winning Samhlú (Fibín).