Eclectic Classical
Music and Trad. Programme at Boyle Arts Festival
By Brendan McGee
Showcasing the
finest performers from the world of Classical and Traditional Music has always
been one of the cornerstones on which the Boyle Arts Festival is firmly established
and the 2015 Festival, which will start on July 23rd, is no
different.
This year,
audiences can look forward to some very special appearances from some of the
country’s finest performers in both the Classical and Traditional music genres.
The Classical
music programme will begin with a coffee concert performance by pianist Peter Regan in King House on Sat. July
25th. Admission includes coffee and the performance will start at
11am. Described by Michael Dervan of the Irish Times as a “major talent who
plays with real musical maturity and easy command”, Peter is a multiple
prizewinner having collected numereous trophies at both Feis Ceoil and the
R.I.A.M. He was also one of six pianists to compete in the Dublin International
Piano Competition.
‘An evening with Niall O’Sullivan and Friends’ showcases the trumpeter’s
versatility performing in a variety of styles, from classical to jazz and
musical theatre to tangos. Niall, who appeared at last year’s Festival will also
be joined on stage by singing sensation, Shóna
Henneberry, who performs musical theatre, traditional Irish and jazz. As a
soloist, Shóna has performed in London, the Olympia Theatre & the National
Concert Hall, Dublin. This concert will take place in King House on Sunday July
26th at 8pm.
Harpist, Fiona Gryson enjoys performing a variety of different genres
including classical, traditional Irish, South American, contemporary and
popular music. She will perform a lunchtime concert on Monday July 27th
in King House. Her programme will include music on both Concert and Irish harp
by Bernard Andres, Alphonse Hasselmans, Benjamin Britten, Louis Spohr and
Marcel Samuel-Rousseau. Fiona is a Concert harpist from County Meath who is
studying in DIT.
21-year-old pianist Sean Rooney
was this year's Brennan Prize winner at the 2015 Dublin International Piano
Competition. He currently studies under Professor Christopher Elton at the
Royal Academy of Music in London and has previously studied under John O'Connor,
Peter Tuite and Colma Brioscu at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin.
This summer he has been invited to give a recital at the 2015 World Piano
Teacher's Conference in Serbia and is also engaged to make his debut with the
RTE National Symphony Orchestra. Sean will perform a concert in King House on
Monday July 27th at 8pm.
Tuesday July 28th
will see a lunchtime performance in King House, by the Cue Saxophone Quartet - a talented and ambitious new chamber group
composing, arranging and performing music in contemporary, classical, jazz and
popular genres. At 8pm on the same evening in King House, there’s a chance to
hear renowned tenor Julian Hubbard perform
the songs of Schubert. Julian has performed at many major international opera
houses including English National Opera, Scottish Opera, La Monnaie Brussels
and international festivals including the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh festivals.
The lunchtime concert programme in King House continues with
performances by Violinist, Patrick Rafter
who will perform there on
Wednesday July 29th. Pianist, Adam
McDonagh will
take the stage on Thursday July 30th and perform works by J.S. Bach,
Beethoven, Chopin and Debussey. Young musicians Liam and Alana McManus will perform at a lunchtime concert on
Friday July 31st. Brother and
sister, they have won numerous awards
and have performed on both guitar and piano in many national venues, including
the National Concert Hall, Dublin.
The Classical
programme concludes with an 11am coffee Concert on August 1st with
tenor, David Lynn and soprano, Lynsey
Curtin accompanied by pianist Mary
Scarlett. David Lynn has performed at many operas in Ireland, including the
Lyric Opera, OTC and the NI Opera while Dublin born Soprano, Lynsey Curtin,
graduated from the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama with an honours bachelor
degree in music in 2012. She recently appeared as guest soprano with ‘Queen
Classical’ at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre.
The Traditional
music programme will begin with a free performance by the band Rakish in the grounds of King House
during the opening of Boyle Arts Festival on Thursday July 23rd
The centrepiece of this year’s Trad. programme will be a very
special performance by Frankie Gavin and
De Dannan in the Church of Ireland on Friday, July 24th. For many years traditional super group De
Dannan were the forerunners in the Irish traditional music world but after a
number of changes to the line-up, original founding member and world famous
fiddle player Frankie Gavin unleashed a new De Dannan which in his own words
"will reflect a De Dannan of the 21st century.” Frankie Gavin is the most celebrated Irish fiddle player of all
time and has performed and recorded with rock legends The Rolling Stones, Jazz
Legend Stephane Grappelli and world renowned violinist Sir Yehudi Menuhin
amongst many others. The superb current line-up includes the beautiful vocal
talents of local singer, Bernadine
Casserly. The concert will start at 8pm.
Colin Beggan will be joined by a group of friends for an evening of Bluegrass
music in Mattimoe’s bar on Monday July 27th. Admission is free.
On Thursday July 30th,
the always popular Singer’s Night
will take place in Dodd’s Crescent bar at 10pm. This event will be preceded by
a workshop in singing, conducted by Niamh
Parsons who has come to be known as one of the most distinctive voices in
Irish music. Born in Dublin, her music loving parents took herself and her
sister to the local folk club, where the young girls were exposed to songs and
singing from the likes of The Johnstons, Emmet Spice, Danny Doyle and many
others.
Booking is
advisable for all events and this can be done at the Festival office, next door
to Marian’s, Bridge St. Boyle. Drop in to pick up a programme or to find out
about the other exciting events. The office will be open every day (excluding
Sundays) from Friday July 17th until August 1st. Online booking is
available for selected events at www.eventbrite.com For more information, see our
full programme or go to www.boylearts.com Tel. 071 9663085. Email info@boylearts.com or follow us on Facebook, www.twitter.com/boyle_arts and Google+
Boyle Arts
Festival is supported by the Arts Council and Fáilte Ireland
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