Described by the Journal of Music as 'one of Ireland's most renowned improvisers', Colm O'Hara draws from many styles and genres in his approach to New and Improvised music. O'Hara performs regularly with some of Ireland's leading Jazz groups such as The Dirty Jazz Club and Redivider, World music group Yurodny, New music group Crash Ensemble and has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, RTE Concert Orchestra, Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra, and Irish National Opera. As an ensemble leader in his own right, The Colm O'Hara 10tet, a group containing 10 of Ireland's leading improvising musicians, closed The New Music Dublin festival 2022 in the National Concert Hall to critical acclaim.

As a composer O'Hara's works have premiered in the UK, Germany and Dublin, and his 'Piece for Improvising Youth Orchestra' came 7th in the Keuris International Composers competition 2014. 

Also heavily involved in music education in Ireland, O'Hara is Musical Director of Manor Kilbride Music School, Lecturer in Aural Development and Composition Techniques Royal Irish Academy of Music, Lecturer in Brass at DCU, and Artistic creator for Commonground, a community arts project working in Dublin 8. Recorded on over 30 albums, including Lisa O'Neills 'All of This is Chance', The Villagers 'The Art of Learning to Swim', O'Hara released his own debut "Unruly Behaviour" in 2018.

Selected Discography:

2024

John Francis Flynn - Look Over the Wall, See the Sky

2023

Lisa O’Neill - All of This is Chance

2022

Dirty Jazz Club - A Shorter Perspective

Neil O’Lochlanns Cuar - Umhaill

2020

Redivider - Mere Nation

2018

The Troupe - Unruly Behaviour

The Villagers - The Art of Pretending to Swim

2016

Yurodny - Haivka

2015

Laura Jurd Septet - Human Spirit

2014

Delorentos - Night Becomes Light

Martin Tourish - Under a Red Sky Night

2013

Redivider - Meets I dig Monk, Tuned

Ensemble Eriu - Ensemble Eriu

2012

Thought Fox - My Guess

Redivider - Never Odd or Even

2010

Marc Lohr’s Gerat7 - Stick no bill

2008

Yurodny - Oddset

2006

Kai Bigband - Projections