About Me
Accordionist, Composer and Producer Martin Tourish was born into a musical family in Co. Donegal and began playing from three years of age. His ancestors were collectors of Donegal fiddle music from the late 1800's and his cousin Ciaran Tourish is renowned for his playing with the band Altan.
Named as being in the top 3 piano accordionists in Irish music in The Rough Guide to Ireland, he has brought his instrument to a new level by being the first piano accordionist to win TG4's prestigious "Young Musician of the Year" in 2008, an accolade regarded by The Irish Times as being "the Irish Music equivalent of an Oscar". In the same year, he graduated from The Conservatory of Music and Drama achieving first class honors in classical performance and winning the Anne Leahy Medal for the highest academic mark for his dissertation "The James Tourish Collection: Its Stylistic Significance within Its Cultural Context". Within a month after completing his degree, he was offered the prestigious ABBEST scholarship from the Dublin Institute of Technology to complete a PhD entitled, "The development of complex stylistic identities by way of the musical catalyst theory as a basis for third level education in traditional music and creativity".
When his debut album Clan Ranald with bouzouki player Luke Ward was released, it was listed by music critic Earle Hitchner of the Irish Echo and Wall Street Journal, as being in the top 20 albums of 2005. That year also saw him make a guest appearance on the hit South African soap opera Isidingo, in which he both played and acted a small role.
Martin has been involved with many types of music, including Balkan, Klezmer, Rock, the music of Astor Piazzolla, and has shared the stage with acts as diverse as Altan, The Cafe Orchestra and Patti Smith, recorded with Nectar and Carmine Rojas (of David Bowie and Tina Turner fame) and in 2007 amongst other gigs in Europe, completed a three week German tour of the album as well as playing in Asia. In Ireland, he has taken part in the Facing North Tour which saw him share the stage with Danish duo Haugaard & Hoirup, played on the Trad Connections tour which combined elements of traditional, classical, jazz, and ethnic musical styles, and also was involved in the development of "Invoke" and "Real-Eyes" which saw the combination of trad, rap, and ariel dance.
He has played the major venues in Ireland such as Vicar St., The Irish National Events Centre and The National Concert Hall several times and has been asked by Ãras an Uachtaráin to perform for the President of Ireland, the Irish and foreign governments on three separate occasions in the last number of years. He has given interviews and played live on radio programs such as The Arts Show, The Bloom of Youth and Ceili House by RTE, as well as shows by Radio Na Gaeltachta and NewsTalk fm. He has also featured on television shows such as Ardan, Soisceal Phariac, Nuacht TG4, and the Gradam Ceoil by TG4 and has appeared on Nationwide and the Six One news by RTE, often giving interviews in both Irish and English. His work in television reached its apotheosis in 2008 when he was commissioned by TG4 to compose, produce, play and act in their new television and Cinema add campaign "The more you look, the more you see".
Martin is currently working on the publication of volume one of The James Tourish Collection and on his next Trad album "Exegesis"
Here's to the future!
