TRIBUTES have been flooding in following the sudden death in America of world-renowned Belfast musician Derek Bell. Described by friends in the business as a ''musical genius", 68-year-old Mr. Bell was an accomplished musician who mastered a staggering number of instruments. A member of the legendary Chieftains group, Mr Bell received an MBE in 2000 for more than 30 years of devotion to his beloved traditional music. The Chieftains, of which Mr Bell was the only member from Northern Ireland, yesterday said his passing would leave a silence than could never be filled. Derek Bell was a classically trained musician, composer and professor who was also a much loved "bubbly character" in the field of traditional Irish music. A native of Belfast, Mr Bell lived in Bangor with his wife Stephanie but had been in America when he died, following a concert there. "Apart from his renown as a traditional musician and long-standing member of The Chieftains, Derek was enormously respected in the world of classical music. Derek made many guest appearances with the Chieftains before joining them full-time in 1974, featuring on four of their best-selling albums. A child prodigy who wrote his first concerto at the age of 12, Derek was a classically trained musician, being the pupil of such internationally renowned teachers as Leon Goossens and Madam Rosina Lhevinne. He studied at the Royal College of Music and at a number of the finest colleges throughout Europe and America. Best known for his skill on the harp, Derek only took up the instrument in his 30s when he took his first lessons with Sheila Larchet-Cuthbert, using a harp borrowed from a local arts council. His flair for the instrument was immense, catapulting him to the prestigious role as professor of harp with the Belfast Academy of Music. But he could also turn his hand effortlessly to the oboe, horn, cor anglais, hammered dulcimer and keyboards. His talents on the oboe and keyboards formed part of the trademark sound of the Chieftains, while his skills on the hammered dulcimer has lead to the recreation of the ancient Irish instrument, the tiompan. Among his list of appearances with the world's musical elite, Derek played with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the symphony orchestras of Moscow, Budapest, London and Pittsburgh. Throughout his life, he played with the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra, composed piano sonatas and a symphony in E-flat for orchestras and received the Manns Prize from the Royal College of Music for his musical talents. Sir James Galway, a friend of Mr Bell since they were students together at the Royal College of Music, said he occupied "a unique position in the music world". Excerpts, published reports 18/10/2002