Desmond Earley is an honours graduate in Music and Politics of University College Dublin, where he took the BA and B.Mus respectively. An award-recipient, he has studied organ and piano with Peter Sweeney, Charles Pearson and Eoin Garrett in Dublin, and with Prof. Gordon Murray at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Wien (Austria) . Desmond is currently in his final year of the D.Mus in Performance Studies degree in historical performance on the harpsichord at the Royal Irish Academy of Music under Dr. David Adams. He has attended masterclasses given by Skip Sempé (Paris), Malcolm Proud (Kilkenny), Carole Cerasi (London), Klaus Eichhorn (Bremen) and Emer Buckley (Lille).

Desmond has played harpsichord with ensembles such as the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Ensemble eX, The Earley Musik Ensemble and the European Union Chamber Orchestra. He has worked with musicians such as Konrad Junghaenel, Christopher Hogwood, Sir James Galway, and with the late Dr. Bernadette Greevy as Chorus-Master of the Anna Livia International Opera Festival. Recent solo appearances in Ireland include a solo recital entitled Musique de Clavesin (January 2011) in Dublin, a concerto performance with The Earley Musicke Ensemble of Concerto in D Major for harpsichord BWV 1054 by Johann Sebastian Bach, and a recital series in Ireland’s Georgian country houses.

A Lecturer in Performance at UCD School of Music, Desmond has been Artistic Director of UCD Choral Scholars since its foundation in 1998.

As an arranger Desmond has worked on projects for The Gate Theatre, on orchestral arrangements for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and on choral arrangements of popular songs for UCD Choral Scholars.