Our Instructors — The Baltimore Irish Music School

Catherine Marafino Brice - Dance, Group Instructor

Catherine Marafino Brice is an Irish step dancer living in Annapolis, MD. She specializes in sean nós dance, old-style Irish step dancing, and has studied American tap dance and flatfooting. Fusing these influences together, she has created her own style of improvised percussive dance that is lively and unique.

Catherine began Irish step dancing and tap dancing as a child, and as a teenager learned from Emily Oleson and Matthew Olwell of Good Foot Dance Company. During college, she built a small repertoire of American flat-footing and clogging steps, and learned a handful of Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island patterns from Helen Bergeron. She also learned many of Dan Furey's set dances from Michael Tubridy. Catherine has a long love-affair with traditional steps, but she is most impressive for her ability to improvise them. Among dancers in Washington and Baltimore, she is highly regarded for her aptness to devise new dances that are musically and choreographically entertaining.

Catherine enjoys ceili dancing and has started calling dances in the Annapolis, Baltimore, and DC region. She is a regular caller at the monthly Baltimore Family Ceili and the Annapolis Crabtown Ceili. She founded the Annapolis Ceili Club in 2023, which is a club for people to learn basic ceili dances and popular set dances in a fun and stress-free environment.

Catherine O’Kelly - Traditional singing, group instructor

Catherine O’Kelly is an Irish Traditional singer and fiddler from Tappan, NY. Catherine often sings unaccompanied through the sean nós style of singing utilizing ornamentation and emotion to tell a story through songs that are centuries old. Catherine has won competitions, taught, and sung on stages up and down the East coast, including the Maryland Irish Festival, the Blarney Star Music series in New York City, and the Baltimore Irish Trad Fest.

Catrióna Fee - Concertina, Group instructor

Catrióna Fee is a concertina player from Cold Spring, New York, who is currently based in Washington, D.C. Raised in a family of set and step dancers, including her two sisters, Angela and Mairead Fee, playing in groups and for dancers was always a central part of of Catrióna’s musical upbringing. She grew up playing ceilis alongside her father, Michael Fee, in the Catskills and other parts of the New York area. Catrióna is a multiple Mid Atlantic Fleadh champion on the concertina and has competed several times in the All Ireland Fleadh. As a youth she played in ceili band and grupa cheoil competitions in the US and Ireland with the Pearl River School of Irish Music.

Catrióna has taught concertina at the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Baltimore Trad Fest, and and to individuals of all ages. She also had the privilege of teaching the concertina to and recording with Steve Martin for the first season of the hit TV show 'Only Murders in the Building.'

Cushla Srour - Tin Whistle, Group Instructor

Cushla Srour is originally from Southland, New Zealand, where she trained and worked as a school teacher specializing in traditional and folk music. After moving to the USA, Cushla studied under one of Ireland’s premier whistle players, Mary Bergin.

Cushla’s focus as a whistle teacher is on teaching her students the Mary Bergin method, and her private students regularly qualify for the All-Ireland and on the tin whistle. She performs with several groups, including her long-time band Irish Blessing and her trio Cas Ceol. Cushla has also been involved in the organization of many local Irish music festivals.

Joanna Clare - Fiddle, Group Instructor

Joanna Clare is a well-respected Irish fiddler and violinist who began with the Suzuki method of learning the violin before studying with Sligo fiddle master, Brian Conway. She is certified to teach violin with the Suzuki Association of the Americas after training with David Strom. Joanna has taught roughly 20 private students since 2020. She teaches Suzuki violin and Irish fiddle lessons both in person and virtually to children and adults ages 3+. She also assists in teaching The Great Groove Band, a children’s pick-up band at the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

As a teacher, Joanna prioritizes physical technique to direct her students’ playing and emphasizes “what to do,” but more importantly, “how to do it.” She encourages beginning children who are interested in fiddle to start with Suzuki and ease into the Irish fiddling style.

Fiona O’Brien - Tin Whistle, Flute, Group Instructor

Fiona O’Brien is a flute and whistle player from New York currently living in Washington, DC. Fiona grew up attending the Woodlawn House, an award-winning Irish music school outside of New York City, and brings her experience from that program to the Baltimore Irish Music School. Fiona teaches private and group flute lessons and also coaches and prepares ceili bands for competition.

Matthew Mulqueen - B/C Button Accordion, Piano

Matt Mulqueen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, into a musical family. His older brothers played button accordion and fiddle, and his sister became a champion step-dancer. This environment instilled in Matt an irresistible desire to learn and play Irish traditional music. His first music instruction came in the second grade when he joined the boys choir at his elementary school. At age nine, Matt asked his parents if he could learn to play the piano. He began with group piano lessons at a local community college. From there, he progressed to private lessons in Irish and Classical music with Donna Long, who has been the greatest influence on Matt's playing.

Listening to the host of traditional musicians who haunt Irish pubs and to innumerable recordings allowed Matt to forge his own compelling style of accompanying Irish music.

Richard Osban - Guitar, Tenor Banjo

Richard Osban is a driving and dynamic guitarist based in Baltimore, Maryland. He cut his teeth on Irish music while living in Europe, and toured internationally with several Irish and Scottish music projects before returning to the US. Most recently, he has performed with Scottish trad duo Jocelyn Pettit and Ellen Gira, and also tours actively with his trio the East Coasters.

Richard has instructed at several international workshops, including Folksounds Elmstein, Celtic Folk Weekend Regensburg, and the annual Irish weekend in Ismaning. He is also director of the Baltimore Irish Music School and, organizer of the Baltimore Irish Tenor Banjo Summit, and assistant director of the Baltimore Irish Trad Fest.

Tess Hartis - Fiddle, Group instructor

Tess Hartis is an Irish fiddler and classical violinist originally from South Carolina. She began her musical training at the age of eight and discovered her love of Irish traditional music in college. She has performed extensively with the South Carolina Philharmonic, Hup! Traditional Irish Band, Istanpitta Early Music Ensemble, and has made guest appearances with musical groups in various genres including Irish, Scottish, classical, old time, and more.

Tess received her degrees in Violin Performance and Music Education from the University of South Carolina, where she studied with Dr. William Terwilliger and taught at the USC String Project under the direction of Dr. Gail Barnes. From 2019-2022, Tess was the head director in a prestigious public school orchestra program in Houston, Texas, where she also maintained a private studio of fiddle and violin students. She has taught workshops in various styles of playing, and was most recently on the faculty of the 2023 O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat in Midlothian, Texas. Now living in Baltimore, Maryland, she is enjoying teaching and performing around the DMV area.

Tess cherishes the joy and community that Irish traditional music brings and strives to share this joy with her students of all ages. Her goal is to empower students by giving them a nurturing space to build skills, technique, and confidence that will allow them to enjoy Irish music to the fullest.

Meet the teachers