Welcome to Barbara Dunne
Piano School
Barbara Dunne Piano School was first established in 2015 at Maynooth co. Kildare, where Barbara attended university. Her students have excelled in grades and competitions like the Feis Ceoil and various international competitions. Because of her love of Connemara, Barbara opened a piano school in Leenane in 2022 and teaches there one day a week.
Our Teachers
Meet
Barbara Dunne
Barbara Is an Experienced Teacher, Performer and Owner of the School. She Studied Music to MA Level at Maynooth University and Holds an LTCL in Performance. She Is Also an Examiner for the Royal Irish Academy of Music. And Holds a Diploma in Teaching From the RIAM. She Is Passionate About Teaching and Encourages All Her Students to Perform. She Has Won Many Awards Including the Prichard Cup for Performance, Dun Laoghaire Song Contest, Clonmel Song Contest and Medals for Composition to Name but a Few
Meet
Zane Lidaka
Zane is a musician and performs in various venues and festivals in Dublin, Bray and West Cork. Zane has several years of teaching experience and has prepared students for ABRSM and RIAM Piano Exams. Zane started to study classical piano at a young age in a well established music school in Sigulda, Latvia, where she received her Diploma in piano performance. Later on she
continued studies in Music and Drama School Ridze and was involved in organising international music festival Rigas Ritmi, having workshops with Grammy award winning musicians. Zane was also one of the Reykjavik Music Division FIH Scholarship recipients awarded by the Nordic Council of Minister’s Office in 2005. After moving to Ireland Zane studied jazz improvisation at Newpark School of Music and continued music studies under the mentorship of Johnny Taylor (piano), David Mooney (rhythm section) and Daniel Soro (harmony and improvisation). Zane currently plays in her own piano trio as well as playing and recording regularly with groups of several musicians (Jazzabelles, Hummingbird, Proteus, RRT Project etc.) Zane is a strong advocate for music and wellbeing and has recently finished the Berklee College of Music course on Music for Wellness. Promoting creativity is another of Zane’s passions. She is a graduate of Innovation Academy, UCD encouraging creative thinking and improvisation within the community by teaching piano and organising jam sessions in Valclusa gardens, Wicklow.
Meet
Andrii Stepanov
Andrii Stepanov was born and raised in a musical family. His father Alexander was a cello teacher, and his mother Ekaterina was a music teacher (violin, guitar), violinist, soloist of the orchestra of the Odessa Vodiany Musical Comedy Theater. In 2003, graduated from the Stolyarsky College of Music with a degree in clarinet and saxophone. After that, continued music education in the saxophone class at the Odessa National Music Academy named after Nezhdanova (class of Associate Professor M. V. Krupey.), where in 2008 received a master of arts degree in such fields as saxophone, saxophone teaching, wind orchestra conductor, musical ensemble. After graduating from the music Academy, engaged in creative activity in the Odessa municipal wind orchestra named after Salik, where worked for 4 years as a soloist of a saxophone group. Also, he became the winner of the 1st prize of such international competitions and festivals as "Zvezdochka" in Odessa (Ukraine) and "Majowa Nutka" in Czestochowa (Poland). From 2008 to 2023, worked as a teacher of saxophone, piano, guitar and musical ensemble at the Southern Ukrainian National Pedagogical University K. D. Ushinsky and the Odessa City Council Music School #8. The students successfully performed in city events both solo and as part of the “OdesSax” ensemble, which was created and directed by Andriy Stepanov. In 2023, after moving to Ireland, continued to work as a teacher at the Grow Music School (Dundalk), and Maestro Music Academy (Dublin). Has already successfully played two solo concerts in Dublin with the famous pianist Yuri Levkovich (Odessa-Chisinău).
Meet
Lucyna Palzewicz
Lucyna is a musician and pianist with experience in both performing and teaching.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Instrumental Studies with specialization in Piano Performance from The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and a Master’s Degree in English Philology from the University of Warsaw. Lucyna began her piano studies at age five. From an early age she began playing in a duo and other ensembles with her brother cellist Michal Palzewicz, thus creating a lifelong passion for ensemble playing. As an accomplished collaborative pianist she has performed regularly with instrumentalists and singers. In 1994 she won a prize for accompaniment at the XX Century Music Competition for Young Performers in Warsaw. Lucyna’s interest in chamber music resulted in many interesting collaborations, among these a series of concerts with the Palzewicz Ensemble in Oregon, USA. Lucyna is passionate about music education and creating a positive learning environment to enhance students’ learning ability as well as their wellbeing. She draws from a broad teaching experience. In
addition to teaching piano, she has taught music theory, choir, yoga and English as a Foreign Language. She has attended several pedagogy and musicianship courses organised by the Kodály Society of Ireland. Lucyna enjoys inspiring creativity and sharing her passion for music with students of all ages.
Meet
Martin Fahy
Martin is a lecturer, piano teacher and music therapist. A native of Dublin, he attended the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where he studied piano with John O'Conor. Martin graduated with a BMusEd from Trinity and subsequently an MA in musicology and performance (piano) from Maynooth University. After teaching music in Clongowes, Martin qualified as a music therapist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He has taught music at all levels of the Irish education system. Since 1997, Martin has been a lecturer and piano teacher in Maynooth University. Having worked as a music therapist in hospice, dementia care and with children has given Martin an appreciation of the power of music. This gives him a passion to share music with his students in his professional life.
Meet
Aleksandr Milinevsky
Aleksandr Milinevsky is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer, based in Ireland. Having had a keen interest in piano improvisation from an early age, he developed his expertise in music theory, piano and guitar, studied composition for three years, and completed a piano-to-organ conversion course at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Aleksandr studied with outstanding pedagogues from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ukraine and Ireland. Additionally, he consistently secured first prizes at the international Jugend Musiziert competition. In recent years he regularly performs concerts in Belfast and Dublin. Aleksandr also takes part in weekly services as a tenor at the Trinity College Chapel Choir, travelling internationally for concerts around Europe. In 2025, Aleksandr was honoured to have the choir perform his compositions.
Meet
Damian Morrissey
Damian comes from the No 1 Army Band where he was Sergeant instrumentalist for 36 years. Damian held the principal chair on Clarinet, Saxophone and Bass Clarinet.Damian was also the conductor and woodwind teacher of the Tempelogue college concert band from 2002 -2010. Damian is passionate about teaching and sharing his love for music and shaping the future generations of musicians to come.
Meet
Evin O'Brien
Evin holds a BA (Hons) in Jazz Performance from Newpark Music Centre where he studied under guitarist Tommy Halferty. He studied classical and flamenco guitar under Leslie Cassidy at DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. Evin obtained a Higher Certificate in Music Production for Video Games and subsequently a Higher Diploma in Scoring for Film, TV & Interactive Media, awarded by Griffith/Pulse College. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Music Composition at the University of Malta.Evin is a regular contributor to the live music scene in Dublin. He enjoys playing with his jazz ensemble Tenters Quintet and performing music across a wide variety of genres.As a teacher, Evin hopes to inspire a love of music in his students. Each student requires a personalized approach, tailor made to fit his or her unique tastes and goals.Evin specializes in providing tuition in the following styles: jazz, classical, flamenco, rock, pop, funk, country, traditional Irish and fingerstyle.
Meet
Anne Connaghan
A native of Drogheda, Anne studied Music and Ancient Greek in NUI Maynooth, followed by a Higher Diploma in Education, and subsequently, a Master’s Degree. Anne also studied Piano with Mr. James Tynan in DIT , and subsequently with Mr. Brian Beckett in the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where she gained several diplomas on Pianoforte from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Trinity College of Music London, and the Guildhall School of Music, London. Anne currently teaches Music in Clongowes Wood College, and acts as Examiner of Music for the State Exams Commission at the practical and written examinations. Anne has accompanied various Feiseanna across the country, including Dublin Feis Ceoil and Sligo Feis Ceoil and she has worked as rehearsal pianist with several Choral Societies, including Carlow Choral Society and Longford County Choir. Anne is married to Fergus, a professional oboist, and they have two adult children.
Meet
Eduardo Ramonde
Eduardo is a Spanish guitar player, composer and educator, with more than 7 years of teachingexperience. His musical experience and interest encompasses from jazz, to blues, metal, rockand pop.He started performing with various blues and R&B ensembles, before engaging with severalrock and metal projects, which gave him the opportunity to tour extensively around Spain,sharing the stage with internationally famous bands in the heavier side of rock music.He moved to Ireland to pursue a career in jazz music, where he completed a Bachelor Degreein Jazz and Contemporary Music at DCU, studying under the guidance of some of the finestmusicians in Ireland. He participates on jams regularly and has side music projects.Eduardo encourages his students to learn through the tunes that inspire them the most,applying all the concepts and basic foundations of the music in a practical way, with the aim tokeep the student always involved and motivated.
See what some of our current and past students have to say
"Our two boys have been learning with Barbara for quite some years and they are extremely
happy. We also highly appreciate the thoughtful plan that Barbara made for each of them for
their skill development that is tailored to their individual character. They all progress very
quickly just after a very short time. If you are looking for a piano teacher, you don't need to
look elsewhere."
- Nam Le Tran
“Barbara is an excellent piano teacher-patient, supportive and able to work with students no
matter what genre interests them. I’ve made huge progress thanks to Barbara”