Music
Jo Cresswell plays from her heart across her instruments: concertina, piano and improvisational step dance. Traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, France & Scandinavia is the music she loves the best.
Concert repertoire and collaborators
Her concert repertoire has come to the fore in duos with guitarist Dave O’Neill ; Cellist Rita Woolhouse, US flautist Kris Willits; instrumentalist Ben Stephenson & fiddler Sarah Davies.
Camps and musical projects
Jo is co-founder and Director of the Charlotte Pass Celtic Music Camp. She’s committed to creating musical projects that are human scale, sustainable and encourage education and connection.
Arts leadership and festivals
As an arts administrator she has managed numerous festivals, events, conferences, workshops and residential retreats. Jo was central to establishing the National Folk Festival in Canberra, as Assistant Director and an early Artistic Director. Jo and Dave O’Neill returned to the National Folk Festival as co-Artistic Directors in 2023 to deliver an artistic program widely regarded as having the festival ‘reclaim its soul’.
Residential singing events
Jo currently hosts residential singing events with Australia’s leading choir directors including, Moya Simpson, OAM, Nicole Murray, Stephen Taberner & Kristian Olsen.
Jo’s Album
Elysium is Jo’s 2012 album of music from the Scottish diaspora, with a few originals, featuring Jo Cresswell (piano), Rita Woolhouse (cello), Lachlan Green (fiddle) and Dave O’Neill (guitar).
“Elysium is quite exquisite… rich, beautiful.” Caroline Griffin, Program Administrator, National Folk Festival, Australia
Buy options – (Buying direct supports Jo the most)
Read more about Jo’s Duos