Riley Kirwan

John Riley Kirwan is entering his first year at Rock Hill High School. Originally from Matthews, North Carolina, Mr. Kirwan graduated from David W. Butler High School and attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from which he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Music Education.

Mr. Kirwan was a member of the UNC-Charlotte Wind Ensemble for all four years of his undergraduate schooling and was a student in the low brass studio of Dr. Jeremy Marks. While in school, he taught marching visual techniques and marching music for Mooresville High School for two years. Along with performing in college, Mr. Kirwan also performed with the Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps for five years (2015-2019) and served as horn sergeant for the corps his final year. Now he serves as part of the brass instructional team since aging out from the corps.

Before coming to Rock Hill, Kirwan completed his student teaching at Mooresville High School mentored by director of bands Joshua Stevenson. He then went on to begin his professional teaching career as the band director of South Rowan High School in China Grove, North Carolina. As director, he taught beginning, intermediate, and proficient level instrumental music through the pandemic-impacted school year of 2020-2021. Kirwan’s professional affiliations have included North Carolina Music Educators Association and the National Association for Music Education.