Photo: Laura Sheeran

Hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “a most persuasive exponent” of the Twenty Piano Études by Philip Glass, Máire Carroll is a pianist, composer, collaborator and teacher who has performed throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Venues include Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, St.Regis in Singapore, National Opera House in Tallinn, Liszt Academy in Budapest, the Princess Grace Library in Monaco, the Barbican, Royal Over-Seas League, St. John’s Smith Square in London and the National Concert Hall Dublin. As the first pianist in Ireland to be awarded the prestigious RDS Music Bursary, Máire maintains a diverse wide-ranging programme of solo and collaborative work, from baroque to twenty-first-century works. Her passion and creativity for new music helps to inform her interpretation of earlier periods. Máire has performed with several orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine and many others. 

Her acclaimed album Máire Carroll: The Complete Piano Études of Philip Glass was released on Delphian Records in 2024 and was chosen by The Scotsman as one of the top five classical music records of 2024, “..She does everything Glass asks for, then applies the expert pianist’s touch”. BBC Music Magazine describes the record as “..a testament to her achievement, in performances that also always stay true to the spirit of the composer” while International Piano Magazine states ‘the best playing on this well-engineered album serves Glass’s aesthetic with sincere and mastery integrity’. Her ongoing piano étude research led to her Étude Extravaganza performances as part of the 2024 NCH Chamber Music Series. The recitals featured several premiere performances of piano études by female composers including Hélène de Montgeroult and Unsuk Chin

Collaboration is at the core of Máire’s artistic output. A partnership with Italian-Colombian composer Caterina Schembri resulted in the release of Máire’s recording of Schembri’s solo piano suite, A birch forest seen, imagined, and remembered, on the Ergodos record label in early 2026. Exciting partnerships include an ongoing project of song and literature recitals at Blackwater Valley Opera Festival alongside actor Barry McGovern. Recent performances include Jennifer Walshe’ MARS with Irish National Opera at Galway International Arts Festival and the Abbey Theatre, as well an Irish tour with Crash Ensemble of Andrew Hamilton’s Dancehall. In 2024, Máire gave a complete performance of the Ros Tapestry Suite alongside pianist Finghin Collins at Kilkenny Arts Festival as well as a solo recital of Philip Glass piano études. Máire was commissioned by the National Gallery of Ireland to compose Lavinia Fontana in celebration of their exhibition, Lavinia Fontana: Trailblazer, Rulebreaker in 2023.

Committed to championing the music of today and as winner of the Bank of Ireland Begin Together Fund, Máire will release Sudden Changes, an album of solo piano commissioned works, by composers David Coonan, Amanda Feery, Anna Murray, Sam Perkin and Nick Roth. As an ensemble performer, Máire regularly performs and records with Ireland’s leading contemporary ensemble Crash Ensemble, and features on recordings including Metamold, CrashWorks, Wingform, Grey Area and CrashLands. She has worked with the London Sinfonietta and has performed at various festivals including Huddersfield Festival UK, Gaida Contemporary Festival Lithuania and the Homecoming Festival, Ohio and she is a former fellow at Bang on a Can festival, at Mass MoCa, USA.

Máire is the Artistic Director of Hidden Pianos, which she launched in 2018 with the aim of sharing classical and contemporary music in site-specific locations. Hidden Pianos is an intimate performance experience bringing the piano to exciting venues and has been featured on RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ Lyric FM, RTÉ Culture and The Irish Times. Venues have included Dublin Port, Waterways Ireland, 14 Henrietta Street, Lighthouse Cinema, MoLI and the National Gallery of Ireland. In 2020 Máire was delighted to take part in a residency at the Banff Centre of the Arts, Canada for Hidden Pianos.

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music London, for undergraduate and postgraduate studies, Máire studied on scholarship with Christopher Elton and was awarded the 2016 Franz Reizenstein Award for outstanding achievement. Máire completed her Doctoral studies at Trinity College Dublin and RIAM, where her area of research focused on twentieth- and twenty-first-century piano études. Her teachers include Hugh Tinney, Dr John O’Conor, Ray Keary and Gillian Smith. In 2025, Máire gave a lecture recital at The Doctors in Performance Festival Conference at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland.

Máire is a fierce advocate for music education. Having been awarded an LRAM (Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music) from RAM London, Máire coaches and accompanies third-level students at RIAM, where she has also worked as a piano teacher. Máire regularly coaches, records and performs alongside Ireland’s finest young musicians. Her students have been the recipients of awards both internationally and nationally. A passionate teacher, Máire maintains a private teaching and accompaniment studio in Dublin where she nurtures the next generation of musicians.