Ruairi has created his own unique style of playing which draws from his passion for exploring different global musical traditions and his 5 years of study at the Royal College of Music. He has led a truly diverse career and performs across musical genres not limited to classical, jazz, folk, world, electronica, pop, Latin and experimental music. He has performed extensively in the UK including performances with John Williams at the Globe, for five thousand school children at the Royal Albert Hall and other prestigious venues such as Kings Place, The Sage, Ronnie Scotts, The Purcell Room,  and the BBC Proms (broadcast on BBC Radio 3). His folk group Tir Eolas were awarded a City Music Foundation grant to record their debut album Stories Sung, Truths Told was produced by Jim Moray and released in February 2015 and as a result the group was awarded an Aldeburgh Music Residency.

Since 2019, Ruairi appeared with the London cast of hit Broadway musical, Come From Away and has also worked and recorded with numerous artists including Evelyn Glennie, Roo Panes, DJ Yoda, folk duo Josienne Clark and Ben Walker, Multi-Story Orchestra, Maz O Connor, Sam Lee, Laura Snowden, Alison Arnopp, Emanuelle Sejourne,The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Mishaped Pearls, Trans Siberian March Band, Britten Pears Baroque and Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to his work as a performer, Ruairi has also established a distinctive voice as a composer drawing on his eclectic musical background and flair for different musical traditions from around the world. He composes music for his group Tir Eolas who are regularly heard on both concert stage and radio.

Ruairi is particularly inspired in the process of collaborative composition, and has facilitated workshops to develop new music with a variety of different groups, from school children, young people on the autistic spectrum, refugee groups to adults living with dementia. In 2015 he was commissioned by English Touring Opera and Turtle Key Arts to create a new song cycle with people living with dementia to be premiered in Fairfield Halls, Croyden. Ruairi has composed and music directed a number of productions for Chickenshed Theatre Company including We Are All Born Free, a collaborative project with Amnesty International, the title song of which was performed for the Dali Lama's visit to London in October 2015. Ruairi regularly presents live orchestral concerts which feature his own orchestrations and arrangements of classical repertoire, often condensed for smaller groups of musicians and featuring participatory elements. 

Ruairi released his first documentary, Hidden Drummers of Iran in 2019. The film made the official selection at SoundTrack Cologne and the San Francisco Iranian film festival and won the jury prize at Italy’s Sonic Scene Festival. In 2022 the film was acquired for broadcast by SVT has also been featured on BBC News and CNN’s Inside the Middle East. Ruairi’s next documentary project Hidden Drummers of India was released in 2020 independently and to date has over 800,000 view on YouTube. The series and was featured in the Irish Examiner, Times of India and Cerys Matthews on BBC Radio 6 Music.

Ruairi specialises in presenting fun, innovative and interactive concert experiences for a variety of organisations including the BBC, LSO Discovery, Southbank Centre, Live Music Now and The Royal College of Music. Passionate about Inclusion and opening up concert experience to a wider audience, in August 2017, he developed and presented the very first Relaxed Concert for the Ulster Orchestra in partnership with Autism Northern Ireland.

During the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 BBC Proms, Ruairi has presented the Proms Family Introduction sessions which explore music from the evening's concert allongside musicians from the BBC's performing groups. He has introduced and uncovered a wide range of music from composers including Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Saint-Saens, Bridge, Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Korngold and new pieces by Joby Talbot Paul Desenne Lauma Skride and Anders Hilborg. Ruairi has presented Journey Through Music talks at the Barbican and interviewed Judith Weir, Sally Beamissh, John Pickard and Dai Fujikura in advance of the world premier of Pictured Within, a new piece commissioned by the BBC Proms inspired by Elgars Enigma Variations. Ruairi has also been a contributor on the new series of  " How to Stay Young" alongside Dr Chris van Tulleken and apperared on BBC News Persian to talk about his documentary series, Hidden Drummers.

In March 2020 Ruairi was invited to present as part of the Royal Geographical Society’s annual microlecture series with his talk Rhythm Revolution: Exploring Iran through Music

Since September 2016, Ruairi has developed and presented Music Matters at the Horniman Museum which is a weekly session where participants  listen to music and learn about musical traditions inspired by the Horniman's vast collection of musical instruments and objects. The sessions encompass a wide variety of musical traditions from around the world and find new ways to explore and analyse music.

Ruairi has also presented training  sessions for Sound Connections Challenging Circumstances Conference, the Tri Borough Music Hub Music Education conference, and regularly gives talks for the Royal College of Music Creative Careers Centre. Ruairi was Artistic Directer for the RCM's Junior Gala 2015 ' Raise the Roof' and presented the culmination of the day's participatory activities in the Britten Theatre alongside the RCM Big Band and Charlie Siem.

Ruairi has worked with a diverse range of organisations and clients to offer bespoke drumming workshop experiences that are both fun and productive. Music is conducive to creating an inclusive culture in the workplace and inspiring employees to connect, create and collaborate through focussing on real life experience and reflecting on relationships using analogies drawn from the musical process.

Through focusing on empowering participants and building confidence quickly, Ruairi's workshops breakdown the barriers restricting teams and individuals resulting in a happy, healthy, wealthy and empowered workforce.

Workshops are bespoke and designed to meet client needs and Ruairi has delivered programmes in schools, prisons, hospitals, care centres, museums, hotels, universities, orchestras and for organisations such as Disney, EMI, Virgin, Sony and Paramount Pictures. 

Creative drumming sessions are an ideal way to empower your workforce, develop teams or break the ice as a conference activity and brings people together in a way incomparable to anything else... you just have to experience it!

Team Building and Personal development

There is something about getting the drums out and having a play which brings something positive out in people.... a sense of confidence, an openness to connect and contribute to the people around them and their community.  Group drumming is a fantastic way to overcome obstacles. Rhythm is a universal language that is accessible to all and in the right hands can be a powerful tool for bringing people together and boosting individual and shared sense of awareness. Employee engagement and happiness is rightly one of the topics du jour for modern management and the future of work and drumming is the ideal way to boost morale and empower teams.

Health and wellbeing

An increasing number of developmental and neuro-imaging studies show that rhythmical activities such as drumming can have hugely positive impact on primal brain structures that influence the 'stress response'. This means drumming is a proven means to helping people regulate their emotions, reduce anxiety, and reduce stress levels whilst increasing a sense of connection and wellbeing. Moreover, drumming promotes synchronous brain activity, where left and right sides of the brain are stimulated at the same time and is clinicaly proven to produce a deeper sense of self awareness. Ruairi has contributed to numerous research projects at the Royal College of Music, Roehampton University and was recently featured on BBC's 'How to Stay Young' alongside Dr Chris Van Tulleken.

Leadership Development

Inspiring confidence and self belief is key to developing effective leaders in the workforce and Ruairi's leadership workshops are a fun, fast paced and effective way of exploring roles within social groups, and how to find your voice as an effective and authentic leader. Instruments are optional in workshops around this theme as participants are encouraged to use their voices and bodies practically to communicate and express themselves authentically. Participants will explore creativity, character, and risk taking through various musical activities in a safe and open environment. Ruairi's sessions on leadership are fresh and uplifting and offer a unique perspective on interpersonal dynamics.