Elaine Kelly – Violin & Orchestra
Elaine Kelly began teaching violin in the Kinsale Music Academy upon its foundation in 2011 and also conducts the KMA Junior Orchestra since 2013. She graduated from the CIT Cork School of Music with an Honours BMus degree in 2011, having studied violin with Colette O’Brien and Adrian Petcu. On the violin, Elaine has performed in numerous orchestras including the Cork School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Cork Operatic Society Ensemble, City of Cork Symphony Orchestra, as well as string quartets and continues to perform for weddings, funerals and corporate events.
Elaine is also an award-winning choral and orchestral conductor. She continued her studies in CSM, achieving a First Class Honours Masters Degree in conducting under the tutelage of Alan Cutts in 2013. Since then, she has undertaken masterclasses from renowned conductors such as John Farrer, Denise Ham, Robert Houlihan, George Hurst,Toby Purser, Rodolfo Saglimbeni and Neil Thomson.
She has been accepted to participate in numerous orchestral conducting courses including the IAYO Conducting Workshop in Dublin, the Sherborne Summer School of Music (formerly Canford) Conductor’s Course in the UK and the London Conducting Workshop,based in Paris. In concert, Elaine has conducted the CSM Symphony Orchestra, Fleischmann Choir, CSM Baroque Ensemble, CSM Chamber Ensemble, CSM Project
Orchestra amongst others and was assistant conductor to the City of Cork Symphony Orchestra for their concert with violinist Nicola Benedetti in City Hall, Cork in 2011. She is the musical director of Cantate Choir, Barony Choir and the Bon Secours Workplace Choir, as well as being a line coach with the 160-member Fleischmann Choir.
Elaine won first prize in the inaugural ESB Feis Ceoil Orchestral Conducting Competition in 2014 – the highest ranking competition of its kind in the country – resulting in her professional conducting debut with Ireland’s RTÉ Concert Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Dublin as part of their Lunchtime Concert Series.
In 2015 Elaine was offered the position of assistant conductor to Jonathan Cohen with the Irish Youth Opera in their production of Handel’s Agrippina. This featured an all-star cast performing with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and was widely received with high acclaim on its national tour.
