FEIS App is delighted to bring you the news that we have extended our Irish dance musician family yet again, and what an addition we have made this time! Katie Grennan is her name and performing Irish dance music on the ‘fiddle’ is her game. This incredibly talented young lady is a regular feature side stage at major North American feiseanna, and with her uniquely rich and passionate playing style the demand for Katie’s music is going from strength to strength. But for those of us who are not already aware, who is Katie? Where has she come from? And how did she become such a force in the Irish dancing world?
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she grew up dancing for the Burke School under the direction of legendary instructor Tessie Burke. Throughout her competitive dancing career, she achieved many accolades including placing in the top 10 at multiple North American Irish Dance Championships and achieving top 5 at the Mid America Oireachtas.
Upon retiring from the competitive Irish dance world, Katie turned her passion for Irish music and dance into a multifaceted, full-time career. She passed the TCRG exam in 2010 and has since taught at both the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance in Chicago and the Burke-Conroy School of Irish Dance in Pittsburgh.
In her early 20s she toured as a dancer with a variety of shows including Busch Garden's Celtic Fyre and Magic of the Dance. Shortly thereafter, she focused her attention on her other great passion: playing the music she loved to dance to.
Katie began playing the violin at age 4 and throughout her childhood and teenage years was mostly involved in the classical genre, playing in various state, school, and city orchestras. However, as an Irish dancer she always felt connected to Irish music and its melodies and rhythms. In her early adult years, guided by her innate love for the music, Katie morphed her classical violin into a fiddle by a combination of self taught techniques and mentorship from some of the best Irish musicians in the world, including Liz Carroll, Maurice Lennon, Brian Conway, John Williams, Kathleen Keane and Kell Chole.
It wasn’t long before Katie began playing the feiseanna and Oireachtas circuit, and to date she has recorded a number of dance albums including Between Worlds, The Second Story, and Foot Notes Vol 1. and 2.. Katie cites Feis App developers Anton and Sully and Sean O'Brien as major musical influences for her dance tracks. As a dance teacher herself, she loved using their music in class because of their catchy tune selections, arrangements, and various release ideas (such as Championship Length albums as well as Sean O'Brien’s extended length tracks). Katie is honored for her music to be included on the app among many of the tracks that so inspired her.
Katie is currently the fiddle player with popular Celtic band "Gaelic Storm" (featured in the movie "The Titanic"), which tours over 100 days a year and headlines major festivals. Other career highlights include playing for the Trinity Irish Dance Company throughout their US and Japan tours, Hammerstep of America's Got Talent, and Irish tenor Michael Londra, as well as making guest appearances with popular groups such as the Chieftains and Cherish the Ladies.
FEIS App is delighted to have Katie Grennan as part of the FEIS App Team. We cannot wait to be the only platform to house her incredible music. For all things Katie Grennan moving forward, it has to be FEIS App!