Brendan Hearn

Brendan Hearn

Brendan Hearn has been playing cello since he was seven years old, when his mother took him to Potter’s Violins to choose an instrument to try. He chose cello mainly because “it was bigger and louder than his sister’s violin.” He was classically trained but soon fell in love with Irish, Scottish, and American folk traditional music.

He and his siblings started attending weekly Irish sessions at the Royal Mile Pub in Wheaton, MD. Those Sunday afternoons spent deciphering how to fluidly accompany traditional Irish tunes on the cello would be the start of Brendan’s passion for cello in traditional music.

Brendan and his siblings formed the band TriHearn, and in 2015 recorded an album displaying their years of experience in many different traditional styles. Brendan has since performed with dozens of groups across the United States as a freelance cellist. Brendan currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he enjoys joining other NY-based musicians in Prospect Park to jam, and frequently travels up and down the East Coast for various gigs, recording projects, and workshops.