Bio

Over the last 10 years, Cormac has built a formidable reputation as a keyboardist and arranger, both domestically in Ireland and on the international stage, having performed on 5 platinum selling no. 1 albums, 2 of which as orchestral arranger as well [Keyboardist: Cathy Davey – Tales of Silversleeve (2007), The Nameless (2010); Keyboardist and Arranger: Villagers – Becoming a Jackal (2010), {Awayland} (2013); Additional Arrangements: Villagers – Darling Arithmetic (2015)]. 

Additional accolades include 3 Mercury Prize nominations (2010, 2013 and 2015, the latter for performing on SOAK’s debut album), 4 Choice Music nominations, winning in 2014 with Villagers, an Ivor Novello (Villagers), and many more internationally renowned awards and honours.  The extensive list of artists that he has worked with include John Grant, Villagers, Lisa Hannigan, SOAK, Cathy Davey and more.  

Recently he recorded a cover of 'Danny Boy' with Lisa Hannigan for the hit TV show Fargo (Season 2, episode 7) and recorded & arranged Oh! You Pretty Things with Lisa for FX's Legion (Season 1, Episode 6). In September 2016 he earned a first class honour for a Masters in Scoring for Visual Media (Pulse College, Dublin).

As a concert composer, Cormac draws heavily from his experience working in contemporary pop, rock, folk and indie music, coupled with his passion for the film music of Bernard Herrmann, John Carpenter, John Barry and Ennio Morricone, fermented with the avant-garde minimalism of Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Adams and Arvo Pärt, and the romantic 19th century greats such as Brahms, Dvořák, Liszt and Debussy.  In January 2016, two of his pieces, 'Large Red Man Reading' and 'Minor Issues a Major Problem', were included in the program for the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra's tour of China.