Melanie O’Reilly is from Dublin—Ireland, that is, as opposed to Dublin/Pleasanton, she explains with a quick smile.

Internationally known for her unique and haunting blend of Celtic jazz, O’Reilly has recorded six albums, including House of Dolphins, which was nominated in the Best Contemporary Album category in the Irish Music Awards. Her most recent album, released this year, is Thieves of Time.

Immersed in music and the arts from an early age, O’Reilly won multiple awards as a teenager in Feis Ceoil vocal competitions. (The prestigious competition draws over 4,000 entrants each year from across Ireland.) As a performer, she has toured extensively in Europe and the United States.

Currently, O’Reilly is a faculty member of the New World Music Academy and also teaches at The Jazzschool in Berkeley as part of the World Music Program. Last fall, the singer and recording artist began accepting vocal students three days a week at Starland Music in Alameda.

What was it like growing up in Ireland? I come from a family of artists and musicians. My uncle, who was also my godfather, was the founder of the Dublin Theatre Festival. He and my aunt ran a performing arts academy in Dublin, which I attended from the age of 11. My mother was an actress with the Abbey Theatre, which is the national theater of Ireland. My father frequently brought us to concerts and the theater.

What were your musical influences? I grew up listening to a broad spectrum of music—the Big Band jazz of the '40s, which my parents danced to, Irish folk music, rock, blues, pop from abroad. I heard world music —which didn’t have that name at the time. My older sister Clodagh worked in a record store and brought home records of all the jazz greats like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie. She also brought me to live jazz sessions where I got to hear Irish musicians playing the American art form. It was an amazing cultural life.

Then I did a degree in Arts at University College Dublin and threw myself into the drama society. I started doing musicals in a big way—musical theater, rock opera. But I still loved jazz.

After spending your early years immersed in music, you took what seemed like a detour into nursing. Why was that? It was a strange departure. I did a nursing degree in Edinburgh to get my feet on the ground. I thought I might eventually do music therapy.

What drew you back to music? During a general psychiatry course, I met these consultant psychiatrists who were really good jazz musicians. I started singing with the Jazz Doctors. Not very much imagination to the name, but it was great fun!

Then when I was working in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, I picked up the guitar and started singing for the patients. One evening, I looked up after singing and there was a huge crowd of patients all around. I knew then I had something. Music and the arts were such a big part of me—I felt pulled back.

When did you start to create your own unique blend of jazz and Irish music? My own creative coming together of jazz and Celtic music happened while I was living in Scotland, which is also very Celtic. I loved poetry, so I read a lot of Irish poetry. I began to put melodies to old Irish poems and then I got together with a Scottish musician, Dave Milligan. So that began the journey that became Celtic jazz. And I’m still doing it.

Listening to one of your songs, there’s one part that sounds so much like scat — but in Gaelic. That’s lilting. Lilting is a form of Irish mouth music, which is a folk tradition of singing without words. What I do when I improvise is bring together my jazz scat, the Irish lilting and the Irish influences and inflections.

Where in the world has your music taken you? I’ve performed in the British circuit in Scotland and Britain. Early on, I was introduced to the Cork Festival in Ireland, one of the biggest jazz festivals around. I’ve performed in France an awful lot and Norway. Later on, I started performing in the States—in New York at Lincoln Center and Cooper Union. Now I have gigs all over the States.

What brought you to California? I became a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Celtic Study Department in 2003. I was there five years researching Irish American history. I had a wonderful time there—my colleagues were wonderful, welcoming, supportive people.

Where do ideas for your songs come from? When I was doing my research, I was fascinated by Ellis Island. The first person to officially walk through the door when Ellis Island was opened in 1892 was an Irish girl. So I wrote the song "Annie Moore," which appears on my first album of original material called Oilean Draoichta (Enchanted Island). 

When and why did you begin teaching in Alameda? Performing is my main thing. It’s what I do best in this world. Having said that, I get tired of being on the road. Now teaching is a huge part of what I want to do in my life. I’m beginning to find the balance between the two.

What do you like about teaching? I love teaching music and passing it on. I love when people get a kick out of learning about their voices and when they practice and see improvements and accomplishments. I love seeing that.

That’s the reward of a teacher. I know how I felt when I was learning. And how I still feel when I’m singing and performing. There’s that joy. It’s like nothing else. It’s a relationship with yourself that you cherish. So it’s rewarding to guide students to explore that in themselves.

Voice is so intimate. Yes, it’s a very intimate instrument. And when you think about it, there’s nothing to hide behind.

What levels do you teach? I teach all levels and all ages. I have some students who are absolute beginners, while others just want to improve their technique. I was coached in Scotland with a classical teacher, which enabled me to know the technique of the voice. And my nursing informs me about how it all works physically. I want to pass on to my students how to take care of their voices. It’s your instrument. Your body is your instrument, so you’ve got to look after it.

Do you have any upcoming performances in the Bay Area? I have two gigs coming up. I’ll be at The Jazzschool in Berkeley on Feb. 12 with my trio. The show will be a tribute to Anita O’Day, who was a huge name in jazz in the '50s and '60s. And I will be singing Celtic jazz and joined by various guest artists at Berkeley's Freight and Salvage on March 12, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

What are your impressions of Alameda? I love Alameda! People are very friendly and are very proud of their community. I love the feeling of going across the bridge and being on an island something exotic yet nearby. The Victorian architecture is very interesting. Park Street is humming, with a lot going on. And I feel very at home at Starland. You walk in and there’s music all around.