Ivan Goff

Ivan Goff

Ivan Goff, originally from Dublin and now based in Brooklyn, plays the uilleann pipes (Irish bellows-blown pipes), Irish wooden flute, and pennywhistles. As a child,  he took lessons from the legendary Dan O’Dowd. When he was older,  Ivan turned to Mick O’Brien, his mentor and biggest musical influence, to study both pipes and pennywhistle. Apart from solo work, Ivan has toured with Irish traditional bands Dervish, Danú, Lúnasa, Téada, The Green Fields of America with Mick Moloney,  and is a former member of the Eileen Ivers Band. He has dueted with many traditional musicians over the years including Míchéal Ó Raghallaigh, Tony DeMarco, Tom Morrow, and Patrick Ourceau. Ivan is a member of recently formed Ghost Trio with Iarla Ó Lionáird and Cleek Schrey.

His work crosses and combines many musical genres. He has performed with jazz saxophonists, Paul Winter, Matt Darriau, and Ada Rovatti-Brecker, and his music has featured in work as diverse as acclaimed experimental art-film Cremaster 3 (dir. Matthew Barney), exhibited in the Guggenheim museum; in live accompaniment for 1922 silent film Come on Over, performed at MOMA in association with the Irish Film Institute; and in theatrical productions such as Peter and Wendy (Mabou Mines, dir. Lee Breuer). He has worked as soloist with composers throughout the world on various projects including a specially com- missioned concerto for uilleann pipes with the Albany Symphony Orchestra (comp. Robinson McLellan) and, more recently, a new-music piece with bass clarinet and 23-piece orchestra (comp. Elizabeth Hoffman). Ivan has also performed in well- known productions including extended engagements with Riverdance (U.S. tour and Broadway) and Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance.

Ivan Goff holds a BA in music from Maynooth University, an MA in Computer Composition and Music Technology from Queens University, Belfast, and an MA in Musicology from University College Dublin. He is currently a PhD candidate in music at New York University.