Testimonial from John McGrath

I very much enjoy and look forward to my weekly violin lessons with Lamond. I have amazed myself with the progress I have made having started as a complete novice. My story only goes to show how,even in your mid forties, it is never too late to enjoy something new – given the right encouragement and instruction.

— John McGrath

News

Currently rehearsing for an upcoming performance with pianist Havilland Willshire.

Ravel Tzigane — excerpt

Lamond Gillespie playing Ravel: Tzigane — excerpt.

Beethoven Sonata for Violin and Piano “Kreutzer” No.9 in A Major Op.47 – excerpt

Havilland Willshire and Lamond Gillespie performing excerpt fom Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano “Kreutzer” No.9 in A Major Op.47.

Review of album “TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC FROM LONDON”

The following review was published on Celtic Groves Homestead website:

JOHN BLAKE, LAMOND GILLESPIE, MICK LEAHY: TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC FROM LONDON

John Blake: flute, guitar, piano
Lamond Gillespie: fiddle, viola
Brian Rooney: fiddle
Tommy Maree: accordion
Mick Leahy: bouzouki
Traditional Irish Music from London.

Traditional Irish Music from London. Album with John Blake, Lamond Gillespie and Mick Leahy.

A wonderful new release featuring the talented John Blake, who is not only one of the best accompanists in Irish music today but also a skilled flute player, in duet with fiddle player Lamond Gillespie, with expert backing by Mick Leahy and Blake. The “godfather” himself, Brian Rooney, joins in on a couple of tracks, and so does box player Tommy Maree. Twelve tracks of this kind of music is just too little, I would have easily put up with twice as many. The music has a great swing, without being hurried or flashy. It demonstrates how good musicians such as these can show their individual talents and yet bring them all together to create an organic whole, a musical conversation where varied points of view are expressed freely but always reconciled.
 
Rating: ****Recommended

 

Testimonial from Euan Cummins

Euan Cummins is a former student of mine at RSAMD (now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland).

Mr Gillespie was a great violin teacher for me because of his creative method of teaching and his encouraging attitude towards the violin. The way Mr Gillespie approaches the methods which music can be created and the way he optimizes his students abilities, means I can honestly say that  he was the most inspiring teacher i have had the pleasure to work with.

— Euan Cummins

Testimonial from the parents of a Euan Cummins

This is what the parents to one of my students said:

Our son Euan was taught at the RCS (formerly the RSAMD) by Mr Gillespie for 4 years. He obtained grade 5 violin with distinction, enjoyed performing in a variety of orchestral and solo performances and was working towards his grade 7 violin before we had to move to Brighton for work purposes. Euan benefited greatly from Mr Gillespie’s style of teaching which he enjoyed throughly and he looked forward to every lesson. Under Lamonds tutelage Euan has developed significantly as a player both musically and technically and has remarkable tone and technique for someone so young. We would recommend Lamond Gillespie to anyone seeking a inspirational and gifted violin teacher for their child.

— Paul and Fiona Cummins

Review of the album “Humours of Highgate” in the Scotsman

This review was published in the Scotsman 5/12/2008

JOHN BLAKE, LAMOND GILLESPIE AND MICK LEAHY
Humours Of Highgate **** ARC 0002, £12.99

CD album "Humours of Highgate" with John Blake, Lamond Gillespie and Mick Leahy.Recorded in Limerick and London, on fiddle, flute and piano, with occasional guest accordion, this is the Irish music that generations of exiles played in the pubs and dance halls off the Holloway Road and Kilburn in the Fifties and Sixties – before show business discovered ‘celtic’ music. Although these tracks were put down recently, they have the authenticity of feel, phrasing, pace, style and an understated dignity that is rare in the Pogues and Riverdance generation. It’s a pity there isn’t a slow air, though.

Download this: Up Sligo/Shoemaker’s Fancy

Review of “The Trip to Carrick” album, in the Scotsman

This review of the album was published in the Scotsman on the 12/2/2012.

Lamond Gillespie, Cormac Cannon and John Blake

The Trip To Carrick
LCB001, from.custysmusic.com
****

CD abum the Trip to Carrick, acclaimed  traditional Irish folk music with  with Lamond Gillespie, Cormac Cannon and John Blake

The Trip to Carrick, acclaimed traditional Irish folk music with with Lamond Gillespie, Cormac Cannon and John Blake

Hard to find, indeed rare of this quality, this is a modest yet powerful gem of instrumental prowess, uniting a fiddler, piper and piano player in their shared love of the “old style” of traditional Irish music-making. Taking their model from the early 20th-century recordings, the monumental solidity of the phrasing with the intricate, expressive interwoven decoration of rolls, cuts and crans is a huge delight over the 15 tracks, recorded “live” over three weekends in a Donegal cottage. Each set of reels, jigs, hornpipes, laments or waltzes is accompanied by well-informed notes.

On the sleeve notes, Irish fiddle legend Tommy Peoples has the final word: “Their music lives joyously in the honour and respect of a cherished and treasured heritage.”

Norman Chalmers