A master of the Irish flute, tin whistle, and uilleann pipes, Seán Gavin is a leading performer, teacher, and advocate of traditional Irish music. His recordings include The Boys of 25, Music From the Lost Continent, and Home Away from Home, and he has performed and toured extensively with Bua, Téada, and Séamus Begley. He also leads the touring concert series Shore to Shore, which has featured James Kelly, Colm Gannon, Caoimhín Ó Fearghail, and Johnny B. Connolly.
Seán is the founder and director of the Irish Music Institute, a nonprofit music school based in Southeast Michigan, and coordinates Celtic Week at the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina. He has lectured on Irish music at institutions around the world including the University of Chicago, St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, and Na Píobairí Uilleann in Dublin. He was Musical Director for the PBS program I Am Ireland and the long-running Atlantic Steps, and is the author of a widely used tin whistle book published by Hal Leonard.
Growing up in Detroit in a musical family, Seán was encouraged in music by his father, Clare fiddler Mick Gavin, and his brother Michael, a multi-instrumentalist. He began playing uilleann pipes at age 12 with the late Al Purcell, a former pupil of Leo Rowsome. After years of performing and studying in Chicago and Minnesota, Seán returned to his native Detroit, where he continues to perform, teach, and mentor the next generation of Irish musicians.
