Drawing on the diverse musical backgrounds of its band members, RUNA brings a contemporary and refreshing experience to traditional and more recently composed Celtic material. Through their repertoire of both highly energetic and graceful acoustic melodies, along with their fusion of music from Ireland, Scotland, Shetland Islands, Canada, and the United States, this vocal and instrumental ensemble give their traditional songs and tunes a fresh sound. Shannon Lambert-Ryan, of Philadelphia, fronts the band with rich, vibrant vocals. She has performed as a vocalist with a number of artists, including Moya Brennan, Guy Mendilow, and John Flynn. With his innovative style of rhythmic playing, Dublin guitarist Fionán de Barra, of the Moya Brennan Band, Clannad, and Fiddler’s Bid, contributes new dynamics both to the band’s high-energy tunes and its captivating balla ds. Canadian percussionist, Cheryl Prashker, of Full Frontal Folk and Pat Wictor, brings a wide range of percussive styles to the music, increasing the versatility and color of the band’s arrangements.

Shannon Lambert-Ryan - Vocals
Coming from a variety of musical backgrounds including Celtic, folk, classical, and musical theatre, Shannon Lambert-Ryan, of Philadelphia, fronts Runa with rich, vibrant vocals, and gentle piano playing. As a musician, she spent three years as the lead female vocalist in Boston-based, world music ensemble, the Guy Mendilow Band, before forming, Runa, with husband and co-founder, Fionán de Barra. Together, they recorded and produced her solo album, Across the Pond, in 2008, and Runa’s new release, Jealousy, in 2009. Additionally, she has performed as a vocalist with a number of artists, including Moya Brennan, John Flynn, and Joe Jencks. Shannon also works as an actor in theatre and film.

Fionán de Barra -Guitar
Fionán started playing guitar professionally with Riverdance in the USA in 2001. Since then he has worked as musical director for Moya Brennan (of Clannad) and her band. He performed, co-wrote, arranged and recorded songs for her albums, Two Horizons (2003, nominated for a Grammy), An Irish Christmas (2005) and Signature (2006, which he also co-produced). He co-wrote music with her for the film To end all wars (2001). He has performed with Solas, Eileen Ivers, Camille O’Sullivan, Zoe Conway, Catriona McKay, Tommy Fleming, Francis Black, Damien Dempsey, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Galldubh. He now tours regularly with the internationally renowned Fiddlers Bid and Clannad. Fionán is also currently working with dancer Colin Dunne on his new show “Out of Time” as sound designer and live sound processing.

Cheryl Prashker - Percussion
Cheryl Prashker studied classical percussion at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she was born and raised. She has toured Canada, U.S. Europe and Russia. She spent many years in NY City where she honed her skills of playing anything from Rock and Roll, Klezmer, to Celtic as well as Middle Eastern music. She now uses her special style of percussion to enhance the music of such artists as Jonathan Edwards, Pat Wictor, Tracy Grammer, Full Frontal Folk and her new group Runa. Cheryl is currently a Board Member of NERFA (Northeastern Regional Folk Alliance).