At the Baltimore Irish Music School, students have a clear path to connect with the music at any stage in their musical journey. In Ireland, it is common for children to begin their instruction on the tin whistle, and we align with this by starting new students off in the group tin whistle class to learn the fundamentals of the instrument and the music.

After a student has graduated from the tin whistle class, or if a new student comes in with previous experience, we encourage them to begin working with a private teacher on their instrument of choice. They are also ready for the performance class—a class focused on building session repertoire and learning the fundamentals of playing with other musicians. Students in the performance bands will be given regular opportunities to perform on local and festival stages throughout the year.

Students who want to dive deeper can also enroll in the ceili band class. The focus of this class will be on playing for dancers.  Participants in the ceili band class will work with a small number of tunes, but will use them as vehicles to work on timing, rhythm, ornamentation, speed, and playing cleanly together with the class.  Students in the ceili band class will be given opportunities to perform and compete throughout the year.

Lastly, once enrollment for the Spring has settled, the school will work with parents to organize students into small groups for solo instrument instruction. This does not replace their private teacher but will help them to work on the material from their classes in a targeted, instrument-specific context.

All classes are held in person in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore.