Maria McGarry

Hailed by the Irish Times for her ‘passionate intensity’ and ‘spine-tingling rapture’, Maria McGarry is a pianist much noted for her interpretative vision and depth of musicianship.

Maria enjoys a deeply enriching career as a soloist, chamber musician and educator. Her acclaimed solo career has spanned Europe, North America and Asia where recitals have included Wigmore Hall, Geneva’s Palais de Nations, Warsaw Philharmonie, Aspen Music Festival, Tel Aviv Museum of Modern Art and the NCH, Dublin. She has performed at notable festivals such as West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Galway Arts Festival, European Music Festival, Warsaw and the Aspen Music Festival. As concerto soloist, she has worked with conductors such as Alexander Anisimov, Robert Houlihan, Gavin Moloney and Fergus Sheil amongst others, performing frequently with orchestras such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and the RTE Concert Orchestra. 

Numerous awards received include prizes at the Dublin International Piano Competition, the Ulster Bank Music Foundation and scholarships from the Juilliard School and Fulbright Commission, Bank of Ireland Millenium Scholars Trust and the Arts Council of Ireland. As a young pianist, she won every major music award and competition in Ireland. She went on to receive the Artist Diploma, the highest performance award from The Juilliard School. 

Maria performs a wide-ranging repertoire from Bach to new music.  She has premiered works by several composers and worked closely with Romanian composer, Horatiu Radulescu. She received a bursary to specialise in the music of Olivier Messaien, which she studied with acclaimed interpreter, Peter Hill and gave highly praised performances of the complete cycle of ‘Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jesus’ in Ireland and the UK.  Her discography ranges from Mozart concerti to late romantic repertoire and she has recorded for Lyric FM and Polish National Radio.   

Maria studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and at the Juilliard School. Her teachers and mentors include Yoheved Kaplinsky, John O’Conor, Pnina Salzmann, Therese Fahy, Stuart O’Sullivan and Christopher Elton. She studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and the Juilliard School.  Maria is passionate about her role as an educator and brings to her teaching an effortless approach to technique alongside insightful musical vision. Maria currently serves as professor on the keyboard faculty at her Alma Mater, the Royal Irish Academy of Music.