About
Molly grew up just west of Cleveland and played the violin throughout grade school, riding her bicycle to private lessons before she was old enough to drive. She performed classical music in school and at recitals, but was drawn to the rhythms of Cape-Breton, Scottish and Irish music.
Before college, she had the opportunity to travel to Ireland and meet with John ‘the Tae’ Gallagher of Ardara, County Donegal. John taught Molly her first few traditional tunes, and she returned to Donegal in 2001 to attend the Donegal Fiddle Summer School in Gleann Cholm Cille, studying with Ronan Gavin.
Molly performed with rock/alternative bands in college and continued to practice her Irish music. When she moved to Pittsburgh in 2008 she began to meet other Irish musicians, expand her tune archive and perform locally at festivals, pubs and ceili dances.
Away from the music, she works independently as a Certified Medical Illustrator, creating images for scientific journals, hospitals and other healthcare communications. She serves as the Exhibition Committee Co-Chair for the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators and is a professional member of the Association of Medical Illustrators.
Note: The violin is the same instrument as the fiddle. The difference is in the musical style being played. There is also some variation in the posture and hand positions of the player, the type of strings used, and sometimes in the shape of the bridge on the instrument.
Donegal fiddling uses double stops, octave playing and short bow strokes. It has similarities to Cape-Breton fiddling and strong ties to traditional Scottish music. There are many types of tunes played in Donegal, and some (such as barn dances, highlands and mazurkas) further distinguish the region’s music from southern styles of playing.