THE LIR QUARTET
Siobhán Doyle, violin
Sophie Williams, violin
Ed Creedon, viola
Killian White, cello

The Lir Quartet has established itself as one of Ireland’s most exciting and dynamc chamber music ensembles.

Formed at Barry Douglas’s Clandeboye Festival in 2016, the quartet has built up a busy schedule, embarking on several Irish tours each year. Recent highlights include performances at the National Concert Hall, Triskel Arts Centre and West Cork Music. In February 2019 the quartet performed at Aesynth; a festival of music, art and synaesthesia that was curated by violinist Siobhán Doyle and artist/synaesthete Jane Mackay. Passionate about exploring contemporary repertoire, the quartet has performed Sean Doherty’s ‘Devil’s Dream’ in a national tour as well as recently performing the Irish premieres of Harry O’ Connor’s ‘Summer Idyll’ throughout the country in October 2024. The quartet comprises of four of Ireland’s foremost string players, based in Ireland, The Netherlands and Scotland, with each player pursuing varied soloist, orchestral and chamber music activities.

Siobhán Doyle, violin

Siobhán Doyle is a versatile violinist who has performed both at home and on international stages as a soloist, chamber music and orchestral musician. A passionate chamber musician, Siobhán has enjoyed musical collaborations with Alexei Grynyuk and Mairéad Hickey as part of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, and has appeared at the Waterford Chamber Music Festival, Spotlight Chamber Music Series, NCH Chamber Music Gathering, Clandeboye Festival and Ortús Festival. As a soloist, Siobhán has performed Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins with the European Union Youth Orchestra in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, as well as performances with the Dublin Symphony Orchestra and Orlando Chamber Orchestra. Siobhán is a former member of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and also regularly performs with ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra as well as principal roles with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.

Siobhán completed her Bachelor’s degree with Leland Chen at the Royal Northern College of Music before furthering her studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart with Nurit Stark.

Sophie Williams, violin

Born in Scotland to a family of musicians from the UK and Korea, Sophie Williams is a passionate and versatile chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral player performing baroque to contemporary music extensively throughout Europe and beyond. Completing her undergraduate studies with high distinction at the Royal College of Music in London with Professor Gaby Lester, she continued her studies with Professor Nurit Stark at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart and is now currently pursuing a Master of Performance at the Musik Akademie Basel in the classes of Rainer Schmidt and Raphaël Oleg.

Sophie is an increasingly sought-after chamber musician, having appeared at festivals such as Yellow Barn (USA), Schiermonnikoog (NL), Podium Esslingen, Ponte Ulm (DE), Battements Par Musique (FR), Manchester and Chipping Campden International Music Festivals, as well as Mendelssohn on Mull and the Edinburgh Fringe. She has performed alongside renowned artists including Anthony Marwood, Dénes Várjon, and members of the Doric String Quartet. Additionally, she has participated in prestigious masterclasses, including IMS Prussia Cove with András Keller and the Barenboim-Said Akademie for chamber music with Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri Quartet.

In 2019, Sophie made her concerto debut performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerry Docherty. She also returned in 2024 to perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto.

Ed Creedon – Viola

One of Ireland’s foremost chamber musicians, violist Ed Creedon enjoys a dynamic career performing with leading ensembles and musicians.

Born in Cork City, Ed studied with Constantin Zanidache (Academica String Quartet) and Simon Aspell (Vanbrugh Quartet). He has performed extensively across Ireland and internationally, with appearances at the National Concert Hall Chamber Music Gathering and tours to Finland, France, Spain, India, and the United States with Camerata Ireland, including solo performances alongside Barry Douglas.

Since 2016, he has been a regular guest with the Vanbrugh Quartet and, from 2022, a touring member of Vanbrugh & Friends. His chamber music collaborations include performances with the Ficino Ensemble, Musici Ireland, and Evlana Ensemble, as well as appearances at New Music Dublin, Ortús Festival, Dublin International Chamber Music Festival, Clandeboye Festival, Music in Monkstown, Killaloe Festival of Chamber Music, and Waterford Chamber Music Festival.

Ed is the violist of the Lir String Quartet, which was formed at the Clandeboye Festival in 2016. The quartet presents multiple national tours each year, frequently performing to sold-out audiences at the National Concert Hall and championing contemporary music through numerous Irish premieres.

Recent highlights include a national tour with the Solas Quartet, performances in Ireland and Scotland with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, and recording albums of contemporary Irish chamber music with both Musici Ireland and Crash Ensemble. Upcoming projects feature tours with the Lir Quartet, Vanbrugh & Friends, and performances at the Clandeboye and Boyne chamber music festivals.

Killian White, cello

Killian White was the first cellist to be awarded the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) Music Bursary, the single largest annual classical music award in Ireland, and one of the largest in Europe. Born in 2000, Killian studied first with Martin Johnson, principal cellist with the NSOI, and then with Christopher Marwood at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.  He recently completed his bachelor’s degree at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, with Professor Frans Helmerson. 

He has played as soloist with many orchestras, including the Staatskapelle Halle, Camerata Ireland, the RTE Concert Orchestra, RTE Symphony Orchestra, Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, the Hibernian Orchestra, Dublin Symphony Orchestra, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, and the New York Concerti Sinfonietta at Carnegie Hall.

As a chamber musician he has performed in quartets throughout Europe and Ireland, including performances at the Bartok Memorial House, Budapest, the Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin, and at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. Killian’s life as an orchestral musician culminated this year in becoming a member of the prestigious Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) Academy, where he performs regularly as a part of the orchestra.

Not afraid to go beyond the boundaries of the classical genre, Killian has also recorded a full-length feature film score for solo cello and has composed and performed features on songs for several Dublin-based songwriters.