Seamus Egan: traditional flute playing with a little spice
Aug 8th, 2007 by Shardul
Seamus Egan is a talented multi instrumentalist who plays flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, tin whistle, low whistle, guitar and bodhran. He has won All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann titles on four of those instruments – flute, banjo, bodhran and mandolin. Born in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, and raised for a time in Foxford, County Mayo, Seamus has released three solo albums and is a founding member of the widely acclaimed Irish-American group Solas. He is widely respected as an outstanding player, who combines a deep understanding of the tradition with a progressive approach in his playing.
Seamus’ first album, Traditional Music of Ireland: Seamus Egan, was recorded when he was just sixteen. He also performed on a soundtrack tied to the 1995 Oscar winning movie Dead Man Walking and more recently wrote what Billboard’s Editor-in-Chief Timothy White described as a ‘crisply pulsative score’ for the Irish stage show Dancing on Dangerous Ground.
Seamus has also created an Irish Flute Tutorial that caters for all levels from the absolute beginner to advanced players. The tutorial includes a performance piece and an interview with the tutor. Here’s a video clip of Seamus Egan playing an unknown reel – at least it’s unknown to me. Perhaps if someone does know the name of the tune, they could kindly leave a comment below. Enjoy the music…
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... a web site dedicated to the simple system wooden flutes (aka 'Irish' flutes) that are so much a part of Irish traditional and Celtic music, and to the excellent wooden flutes produced by the Irish flute maker 
I believe the tune is Emily’s Reel. It’s played in a set with a slow air, Gan Ainm on an album he did a while back. I have it on my iPod from iTunes. It’s an amazing performance by him-you can’t even see him crann!
Hi Sean,
Sure is a lovely piece and so well played – thanks for letting us know about it. Here are links to Emily’s Reel and Gan Ainm on The Session – sheet music, ABC notation and other details about both tunes.
Cheers, Shardul.