Troy is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist most known for his playing of Uilleann pipes. Having performed with many artists as a session player, He is a member of Nightwish and AURI and was a co-founding member of 'The Bad Shepherds' with his friend Adrian Edmondson. He was a long-time member of progressive band 'Iona' and has worked and recorded with many other artists such as Maddy Prior (co-producer of 4 albums) Barbara Dickson (producer of 6 albums), Midge Ure, Maire Brennan (Clannad), Roy Harper, Alan Stivell, Lesley Garrett, Status Quo, Del Amitri, Sonata Arctica, Kamelot, The Enid, Mostly Autumn and many, many more.
He was born in the North West of England in the coastal town of Workington, Cumberland. His parents had a semi-professional band called Travelling Country and at the age of 16 Troy joined them, playing classic country music on the so-called 'Working Mens Club' circuit in West Cumbria; which he described as "A baptism of fire". His father's record collection was broad, Inspiring his son with a love of rock, country, folk and classical music.
He is a multi-instrumentalist and master of the Uilleann pipes, The evocative and expressive sound of his playing on various instruments enabled the exploration of many different music genres; and collaborations with musicians all over the world.
In 1987 he formed his first professional band 'YouSlosh' which for 5 years played an unusual and exhilarating blend of progressive Celtic Rock, building a cult audience all over Europe. They recorded a live album 'Glorious Racket in 1989.
He went on to join the progressive rock band 'Iona' in 1995 and left in 2009.
Concurrently, he co-founded the Folk-Punk band 'The Bad Shepherds' in 2008 until 2016.
And then, In 2013, after years of guest appearances and recording, he officially joined Finnish-based Symphonic Metal band Nightwish.
Alongside Nightwish, he formed the Anglo-Finnish progressive ambient folk group 'Auri' in 2017 with his friends Tuomas Holopainen and Johanna Kurkela.
So far, he has released 4 Solo albums of highly original music, fusing Classical, Folk and progressive elements into a truly unique soundscape..
