Lily Neill
“…is harp in its fullest, harp at its best.”
Jamie O’Brien, Irish Edition

Lily Neill has performed around the world in cities as diverse as Dublin, Helsinki, Kazan, London, Moscow, New York City, Paris, Saint Petersburg, Vilnius and Washington, D.C. She has had the honour of performing for the former U.S. President Bill Clinton and for Ireland's President Mary McAleese. Lily's repertoire is a combination of original compositions and music from folk traditions and her appearances, from performances in concert halls and arts centres to shows at clubs and festivals, have allowed her to bring the harp to new audiences. Irish Music Magazine writes of Lily's repertoire, "Lily Neill's musical compass remains eclectic. While she courts the old manuscripts and composers, her Sat Nav is placed firmly leftfield. That sphere includes plentiful original compositions which form the backbone of her live and recorded programme so far. One of the most challenging and provocative musicians of her time - Lily Neill's daredevil approach works wonders". Lily's foundation in Irish traditional music, coupled with her eclectic tastes and classical piano training, has enabled her to expand the voice of the harp through her arrangements of music and in her original compositions. Her experiences working with artists from different genres and backgrounds, from folk to classical as well as rock n' roll, have also played a major part in shaping and continuing to shape Lily's music.

Lily was a prize-winner at the All-Ireland Harp competition and has won numerous awards, honours and scholarships for her technical and artistic abilities as well as her original compositions. In 2006, she was named LiveIreland.com's "New Female Artist of the Year". Lily began her career at a very young age. At age fifteen she performed alongside The Chieftains and the late Derek Bell at the Concert Hall at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, returning the next year for another show with the super-group. Lily has since gone on to perform at such venues as Wolftrap Center for the Performing Arts, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the University of Limerick Concert Hall and London's Royal National Theatre and Glór Irish Music Centre, among others. In February 2007, she was honoured to be Artist in Residence at Strathmore Hall in the United States. Strathmore commissioned a new work from Lily, which she wrote for harp and Japanese koto and premiered at the end of her residency. She has performed numerous times for Ambasáid na hÉireann in the United States, Finland, Lithuania and Russia.

Among the festivals at which Lily has performed are Brittany's renowned Festival Interceltique de Lorient, The Potomac Celtic Festival, Festival Les Irlandays in Paris, Celtic Fest Chicago, the Irish Festival of Oulu, Washington Irish Festival and the Irish Arts Festival in conjunction with the Embassy of Ireland. Lily's harp playing is also featured in the short film, "Holler", directed by Cassius Matthias and she is one of the featured guests in a documentary about Phil Murphy and his musical legacy in County Wexford, Ireland.

In 2004, Lily released her debut solo album, "Without Words", which garnered an impressive array of reviews and notice. In an interview with "The Irish Echo", The Chieftain's Paddy Moloney said, "I got a copy and was just amazed [...] I knew she had tremendous promise". Lily released her follow-up solo album, "The Habit of a Foreign Sky", in 2011 to strong acclaim. fRoots called the album, "[...] a sparkling and delightful album of superb music from start to finish and well worth seeking out", and Celtic Beat wrote, "If ever a harper made a harp dance it is Lily Neill. Seldom have I heard such a sprightly get up and dance kind of album produced with harp [...] Lily Neill establishes beyond a doubt from the start on this CD that she is her own woman and a versatile one as a composer [...] Lily Neill is one of the most exciting artists today by virtue of the music that she both composes and performs"!

Lily Neill completed her degree with 1st Class Honours at the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick, Ireland. She also spent a semester studying music at the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, where she is completing her master of music degree. Additionally, Lily has lived in Vilnius, Lithuania and her work with Nordic and Baltic musicians has enriched her style, further enhancing her ability to adapt to an array of musical dialects. In addition to her performances and studio work, Lily has given master-classes and lectures on the harp's musical potential and historical background and teaches regularly when off the road. She continues to perform, teach and record in the United States and Europe.

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