JJ McNamara is 16 years old and currently attends Sutton Park Secondary School, Sutton, Dublin on a full Music Scholarship where he is a 4th year student. JJ learned the piano from the age of 5 and was born into a very musical family. At the age of 11 he toured Ireland with his parents and siblings on the McNamara family tour playing 13 venues in which he performed some Beethoven and Chopin. In 2011 at the age of 12 in the Newpark Music Festival JJ received the highest ever mark of 97 in the Concerto Cup and was the youngest ever winner of the award for his performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto (1st movt). At Newpark Music Festival in 2013 JJ won under 16 solo piano competition with his performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Study No. 8 Wilde Jagd.On April 10th 2014, JJ McNamara won first prize in The Junior Piano Concerto Competition in the Feis Ceoil - JJ performed Concerto No. 2, 3rd movement by Shostakovich and Dad Frank played the orchestra part on 2nd piano. In March 2014 JJ won the overall prize for most promising performer in the Piano Academy National Music Festival 2014. In the Sligo Feis 2014 JJ won the Maeve Flynn Cup for under 16 repertoire and the overall junior instrumentalist prize for most promising performer which included the Mai O'Connor Bursary and the Margaret Barker Cup. At the Arklow Feis March 2014, JJ received first prize in the advanced playing competition, winning The Wicklow Cup and at Newpark Music Festival JJ won 1st prize in the under 16 Junior Repertoire competition. In February, 2015 JJ won the under 18’s solo competition and the Clive Gouldson Shield and bursary for the most promising performer in the Piano Academy National Music festival for the second year in a row. In March he won 1st prize in the under 18’s Junior Repertoire competition and the Liszt Prize for the best performance of a Liszt piece in the DIT Music festival. Also in March he won the John Swan Cup for under 18’s Junior Repertoire plus bursary in the Arklow Music festival. On April 2nd JJ performed the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 live on the John Murray Show RTE Radio 1 and followed it up with his debut at the Convention Centre, Dublin with a solo lunch-time concert for the Dublin International Video Games Festival. On April 4th JJ was a soloist on the main stage in the Video Games Live Concert performing his own arrangement of video game themes in a mash up with Mephisto waltz, Wilde Jagd and the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt. On April 7th JJ won first prize and the Murray Cup in the Sligo Feis. At Newpark Music Festival in May, JJ won 1st prize in the Under 18 solo competition with Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt. CHETHAMS SCHOOL OF MUSIC: JJ spent a week in August 2013 and August 2014 in the prestigious summer school of music in Manchester where he had the privilege of working with eminent pianists in one on one master classes. He was offered an opportunity to engage in full time studies at the school on a scholarship basis. THE LATE LATE SHOW: JJ has performed twice on Ireland’s longest running chat show - The Late Late show in piano duets with his father Frank McNamara (Musical Director of the Late Late Show for 20 years). He first performed “The Rakes of Mozart” an arrangement by JJ and his dad of “The Rakes of Mallow” and Mozart’s “Rondo Alla Turca” on February 19th 2010 and on January 14th 2011 he appeared on The Late Late show with his whole family on a musical performance which included JJ and his dad performing Chopin’s “Fantasie impromptu” as a duet. You can see JJ’s performance on Youtube search “McNamara family Late Late Show”. JJ is a student of Padhraic O Cuinneagain at DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and has just been accepted as a participant in the Clandeboye Music Festival August 17th - 22nd 2015.