Bow’s belle

There was a time when she had to keep the fact that she played traditional music hidden from her classical violin teachers, but the cat’s well out of the bag now. A couple of weeks ago, 21-year-old Zoë Conway released her eponymous debut album, and despite the classical training that shows up in her flawless technique (not to mention the presence of the Irish Film Orchestra on two tracks), it’s definitely a trad CD, full-blooded and swinging.

“People think you can’t play both,” Conway explains over the phone from her family home in Dundalk. “When I started, people said ‘You’ll have to decide which one you’re going to go for and follow it through. But now classical players think it’s great that you play traditional music.”

Conway was considered a late starter at nine years old. Luckily, violin teacher Sheila Thompson not only accepted Conway as a student but devoted extra time to bringing her up to scratch. Conway played in the Junior and Senior Youth Orchestras of Ireland and the Senior Orchestra of the Dublin Conservatory of Music & Drama; she was also leader of the Cross-Border Orchestra for three years.

One night in the Harcourt Hotel, she ran into Bill Whelan. Within a short time, she was recording in Whelan’s studio in Roundstone, and he was writing material with her in mind. In May 2000, at age 18, Conway performed at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center in the world première of Inishlacken, composed by Whelan for two violins and orchestra. “I was one violin, and Fionnuala Hunt was the other. It was brilliant – quite daunting, too!”

For those (including this writer) to whom the mere mention of the word Riverdance is anathema, Whelan’s production work on Conway’s recording comes as a pleasant surprise. Instead of the expected thundering bombast, the sound is refreshingly clean and uncluttered – something Conway insists was a joint decision. “We were very conscious that we didn’t want it to be over-produced,” she says, “because in traditional music that won’t work at all. We wanted it to have a live feel.” She credits guitar wizard Steve Cooney with inspiring her to try her hand at composition:

“I was down with Steve in his house in Dingle, and he was like, ‘So, you’ve never written anything?’ He said, ‘Okay, there you go, here’s a cup of tea, here’s a piece of paper – now go in and write me two slip jigs.’ I did, and he said, ‘That’s great, now go in and write a reel.’ And I’ve been writing constantly since then.

“It’s great just to be able to play – that’s where I get the most enjoyment, in playing to people. People get happy and smile back at you, and that’s a real buzz.”