Talented young musicians


This page detaila soloists who have worked with the London Irish Symphony Orchestra. If you are interested in booking one of our soloists for your event, please write to us us using the contact form. More information will be added when it becomes available.

Stephen Nicholls
Stephen was born in Cork, Ireland in 1985. He started playing the horn at the age of 11 at the Cork School of Music under Sean Clinch. While there he was winner of all age groups at the Feis Maithu and Feis Ceol competitions. He was principal horn of both Junior and Senior National Youth Orchestras of Ireland and played 1st Wagner Tuba in Wagner’s Ring Cycle in 2002.

In 2003 Stephen joined the Guildhall under Jeff Bryant and later under Hugh Seenen, Andrew Clarke and Richard Bissil.
In 2005 he became a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra. Recently, Stephen has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, South Bank Symphonia, Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, Surrey Opera and EMFEB Orchestra.

As a soloist he has performed Simon Will’s; Horn Concerto in the Barbican Hall, in Lismore Castle in Cork, Notre Dame de France in London, St. James’ Picadilly, London, Stephen has recorded Mozart’s Third Horn Concerto with the LISO Orchestra. This month he performed Schumann’s Conzertstuck in City Hall, Cork.



Niamh Lavery
Niamh Lavery is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow where she held the Mary D Adams Scholarship for singing. She is currently studying singing under the direction of Stephen Robertson. Prior to moving to Glasgow, Niamh studied with the late Professor Irene Sandford at the Royal IrishAcademy in Dublin. She enjoyed taking part in the chorus of Castleward productions of Madame Butterfly and Marta and the RSAMD productions of L’enfant et Sortilege and Riders to the Sea. At the annual Haddo Opera in Aberdeenshire Niamh took part in La Traviata.

She performed original compositions by Charles McCree with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Contemporary Music Festival in Huddersfield. In last year’s Downpatrick Fringe, Niamh took one of the main roles in the opera Peace and Reconciliation which subsequently toured Northern Ireland. Niamh’s recent roles include: Juliet in Tosini’s production of A Boy in the City, ‘first boy’ in Castleward’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Cis in Albet Herring by Benjamin Britten and the soprano solos in Handel’s Messiah.

In March 2006, Niamh performed Mozart's Exsultate, Jubilate with the London Irish Symphony Orchestra - having worked with Marion Wood in a December performance of Handel's Messiah with Bon Accord in Belfast. Niamh is a native of Lurgan, County Armagh.


Niall Webb

Alison Murphy
Dee Nic Sitric
Sadbh Dennedy

Sadhbh Dennedy is a graduate from the Royal College of Music, London, with Lillian Watson, and from the D.I.T. Conservatory of Music and Drama, Dublin, with Mary Brennan. 

Opera roles include ‘Nausicaa’ in the commissioned world premier of ‘Odysseus Unwound’ by Julian Grant, (Tête-à-Tête Productions, London), ‘Soprano’  in the world premiere of George Higgs’ Hongongalongalo, (Dublin Fringe Festival), ‘Shepard Boy’ in Puccini’s Tosca, (Lyric Opera, Dublin), ‘Elsie Maynard’ in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Yeomen of the Guard, (Rathmines & Rathgar Productions, Dublin), Nanetta, in opera scenes from Verdi’s Falstaff, (Royal College of Music, (RCM), London),
‘1st niece’ in opera scenes from Britten’s Peter Grimes, (RCM),  ‘Rosina’ in opera scenes from Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, (D.I.T, Dublin), ‘Susanna’ in a staged production of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, (D.I.T. associated with Opera Ireland., Dublin), , ‘The Countess’ in opera scenes from Le Nozze di Figaro, (D.I.T, NCH).  Sadhbh also sang in the Chorus in Opera Ireland’s productions of Janáček’s Jenufa and Puccini’s Tosca.

Other performances include the Soprano solo in Bach’s B minor Mass, Portsmouth, England, Bach’s St. John Passion, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Mozart’s Requiem, Dorking, England.  Sadhbh was one of the performers in the fundraising concert for the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, Kilruddy House, Ireland.  She was the soprano soloist in the world premiere of Eibhlis Farrell’s original composition Setanta, (D.K.I.T, Proinncias O’Doinn). Radio performances include the ‘Tonight with Vincent Brown Show,’ (Ireland), and ‘In Tune’.  Television performances include ‘The Late Late Show,’ (Ireland).

Sadhbh is a Feis Ceoil prize-winner, (Soprano Solo), a Ballymena Festival prize-winner (Soprano solo and overall Bursary), and has won numerous competitions in D.I.T Conservatory of Music. She also received the Michael MacNamara medal along with her degree for the highest mark in her year for her recital.