DONNA LONG was born in Los Angeles, California. When she was five years old, she began taking piano lessons
with her father; a jazz/classical pianist who instilled in
Donna a
love for music. In 1978, she moved to the Baltimore/Washington,
DC area and heard fiddler, Brendan Mulvihill playing Irish
music.
He inspired her to pick up the fiddle and gave her a
solid foundation
in style and playing. She then began to accompany him on the
piano and
now Donna is considered one of the finest pianists playing
Irish music.
Along with Brendan Mulvihill, they recorded two duet albums
together;
The Steeplechase and The Morning Dew. Donna has now passed
her
music on to her son Jesse Smith and helped produce his first
solo
recording entitled "The Hurricane." She can also be heard
as a
guest artist on the motion picture soundtrack "Out of Ireland."
Last year, the Smithsonian Institution asked Donna to represent
Irish Music in the series, "Piano Traditions" celebrating
300 years of the piano.
