Ciara O’Connor
Artist
Ciara studied the Vocals stream of our BA (Hons) Commercial Modern Music degree at BIMM Insitute Dublin. Session vocalist and songwriter Ciara O’Connor has worked as a backing vocalist for Dermot Kennedy, Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue, James Vincent McMorrow, among many others. Her work over the past three years has primarily been touring and performing with Dua Lipa.
Ciara has toured stadiums throughout Europe, America, and Asia. She’s also made appearances on a selection of prime-time television programs such as; Jools Holland, Graham Norton, Good Morning America, The American Music Awards (AMA’s), Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and many more. She has also done shows for Amazon, Adidas, Cartier, Spotify, Warner Records, Deezer, Yves Saint Laurent, Formula 1 Grand Prix, and Chanel.
Whilst growing up in London and Dublin, Ciara worked professionally as both an actress and a dancer, landing the female lead in the ITV series ‘The Fugitives’ and becoming ‘The Voice of Anne Frank’ for the International Anne Frank Trust. She worked closely with Dance Theatre of Ireland as an assistant choreographer and trained in Pineapple Studios London and City Dance San Francisco CA, whilst also appearing in television and theatre with Ponydance Theatre Company.
When not touring, Ciara loves to teach, which she started at the age of sixteen, leading dance classes at The Dance Theatre of Ireland. She worked as a vocal and performance coach at The Gaiety School of Acting for four years during her time at BIMM Music Institute Dublin. Ciara then became a certified B.A.S.T. singing teacher. As a part of this community, she stays up to date with the most recent research in voice science for contemporary singing teaching.
Here’s what Ciara added about her time at BIMM Music Institute:
“BIMM made being a full-time musician a reality for me by opening me up to all the different jobs a vocalist can do. Along with my original band being comprised of people I met through BIMM, even a year after graduating, 90% of my cover gigs, studio sessions, teaching and backing vocal jobs can all be traced back to a recommendation or contact from BIMM.
BIMM also provided a safe performance environment for me to try new things and test out new ideas that, otherwise, I’d be hesitant within ‘real life’ scenarios. This really allowed me to strengthen my confidence, self-awareness and diversity as a singer, qualities that I think helped me in terms of discovering my identity as a musician and also in finding work.”
Ciara is currently writing for her debut release as a solo artist and is touring extensively with Dua Lipa.
Keep up to date with Ciara’s touring life at @ciaraeoconnor
