Patrick Dexter is a globally-renowned cellist from Ireland. Though Patrick spent much of his youth in Dublin, he now makes music in a tiny stone cottage in County Mayo, surrounded by immense amounts of nature. The remoteness provided both solace from the business of city life and excellent fodder for writing music.
During the Coronavirus lockdown, Patrick developed a habit of practicing the cello outside. One day, he posted a video of himself online, and the Internet took the wheel (as it tends to do).
His performances started to rack up tens of millions of views, and messages from people all over the world who had taken comfort in his rich, expansive playing flooded in. He was invited to do a talk on the healing power of music for TEDX Stormont, and his virtuosic arrangements of classical, traditional Irish folk and contemporary pop music saw him skyrocket to international notoriety, all while he wasn’t allowed more than 5 kilometres from his front door.
Patrick released his debut album, Solace, in 2022. Exploring themes of home, the natural world, and the dichotomy of despair and joy found in both the landscape of the west of Ireland and the sonic depth of the cello (one of classical music’s most arresting instruments), Solace weaves through a complex and fascinating history of traditional Irish music, as well as Patrick's own personal history. It's a vast, accomplished, and incredibly life-affirming body of work that comes during one of the darkest moments in human history, from an artist who has much more to offer.