Aoife Nic Athlaoich is a postgraduate student at the RCM where she holds the Stanley Picker scholarship and studies with Melissa Phelps. Aoife began her musical studies at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, where she studied with the late Nora Gilleece. She spent a year studying in Italy with author and cellist Elizabeth Wilson (a former student of Rostropovitch) before beginning her studies at the RCM. Aoife has participated in masterclasses with Steven Doane, Frans Helmerson, Marcio Carneiro, Johannes Goritzki, Moray Welsh, Ralph Kirshbaum, Phyliss Young, Bernard Greenhouse, Andres Diaz and Natalia Gutman.
During her time studying at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Aoife won annual scholarships, and prizes both within the RIAM and at annual Feis Ceoil competitions. She was the overall winner of Sutton Park Young Musician in 1996, and was a prizewinner at the Belfast Classical Music Bursaries in 2005. Recently, Aoife's keen interest and talent for contemporary music lead to her taking part in a major concert celebrating the chamber music of Helmut Lachenmann at the Royal College of Music.
Aoife's keen interest in chamber music has led to her involvement in festivals run by Dr. Hugh Maguire both in Ireland and abroad. In 2004 and 2006 she performed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and was invited to take part in Barry Douglas' Clandeboye Festival in 2006 and 2007. She has performed for BBC radio, Lyric FM and Irish television. Aoife's future concert engagements include a performance of Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Penzance Orchestral Society in November 2007. Aoife's devoted interest in promoting classical music has lead to her being invited to attend both the IAMA (International Artist Managers' Association) International conference in London and the Music Network Ireland “Making Overtures” conference in Dublin.
Aoife plays a cello by Joseph Hill cello made in London in 1771.