David Kilgallon

Tell us about yourself & where you are based

I'm David Kilgallon, I'm a musician and a composer and also a producer and I live in the Isle of Man.

Tell us about yourself & where you are based?

I play the piano, I play the violin and fiddle and also the organ. I learned, started learning the piano and violin from the age of eight or nine and haven't really stopped since then. I picked up the organ later, around about the age of 16 properly and again I still play that today.

What made you get into the Manx music scene?

I was drawn to music from an early age, but once I realised that other people were also as passionate as I was about music, I began to meet new friends and hang out with like -minded people who would also enjoy performing music.

And the likes of a Cayley group, for instance, a Manx traditional group that I joined in school, school orchestras, Manx Youth Orchestra and the Manx Youth Choir, as well as other gaelic choirs as well.

And it was the friendship that drove me to start that. But before long, we were performing out of school, we were performing all over the island and off island, and actually earning a bit of money for it as well.

So that certainly kept me going and still does today.

Do you take part / produce any Manx music events?

I produce Manannan's Winterfest every year and that happens in December. It's a winter Christmas Manx event that happens in the Gaiety Theatre. And it helps to curate a number of performers, a collaboration of performers really on stage.

Musicians, anything from musicians, poets, dancers, singers and it's really just a sort of celebration of being Manx and just sort of celebrating a time that has always felt really festive to me. I also take part in many events and Yn Chruinnaght does one.

The Cooish is another Manx Language Festival here and I often get involved in various services and events across the Isle of Man.