Director - Noel Rice

Founder and dean of the Academy is Noel Rice, an Irish flute player who immigrated to America from Tullamore. He has been teaching traditional music to hundreds of young Chicago students for over 30 years. He is a founder of Francis O’Neill CCE branch in Chicago and is past president of the Irish Musician Association, a member of the Celtic Fest Chicago Advisory Committee and a member of the Irish American Heritage Center-Cultural Committee.

Noel has been performing with the innovative Irish ensemble, Baal Tinne since 1985. His students have consistently won honors at annual Fleidheanna and Feiseanna around the world.

His flute playing is included on 3 Baal tinne CD’s “The Haunting”, “About Time” and “The Dawn”. He also plays on the“Light Through The Leaves”, “Irish Music in Chicago” and with Baal Tinne, in the flute anthology “Wooden Flute Obsession”.