Concorde Contemporary music ensemble continues its 35th year celebrations with a successful series of free afternoon performances at the Contemporary Music Centre between 2pm – 5pm on 10 March 2012.

Each Up Close with Music event features a newly commissioned work from an Irish composer, and the upcoming one focuses on the music of Elaine Agnew. Paul Roe, Concorde’s clarinetist, will perform a new piece by the composer inspired by Kennan’s Engineering Works, former residents of 19 Fishamble Street. In addition to the premiere, the ensemble will also perform a number of earlier pieces by Agnew, including the song cycle In the Adriatic, an evocative and poignant setting of Chris Agee’s poetry, and the live premiere of Music Box, a 2002 Galway Arts Festival Soundscape commission for clarinet and recorded voices.   Also included in the programmes are some miniature gems from American composer Elliott Carter, whose work is included in each of the six Up Close with Music events, as well as music by Brian Keegan, Gráinne Mulvey, Jane O’Leary, James Wilson, and Jacob ter Veldhuis.

Three previous events have taken place in the Up Close with Music series – one at the Contemporary Music Centre and two at the Rubicon Gallery, featuring premieres from Irish composers, a retrospective of works previously performed and commissioned by Concorde and international works from Concorde’s project ‘Global Connections’. The series continues on 1 July at the Gallery of Photography with commissioned composer, Raymond Deane; and 22 July also at the Gallery of Photography with commissioned composer, David Fennessy.

Admission is free but seating is limited and advance booking is strongly recommended. To book contact Karen Hennessy, CMC Promotion Manager, khennessy@cmc.ie or tel 01 673 1922.

The Up Close with Music Series is supported by a Music Project Award from the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.

Up Close with Music
2pm – 5pm, 10 March 2012, ADMISSION FREE
The Contemporary Music Centre – Platform for Performance Space
19 Fishamble Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 8

Concorde
Tine Verbeke, soprano
Paul Roe, clarinet/bass clarinet
David James, cello
Dermot Dunne, accordion

2:00 pm
Elliot Carter – Uno, from Tempo e Tempi soprano and cello  (1998-99)
Jane O’Leary – Awakening recorded sounds (2002)
Brian Keegan – Poltergeist (premiere) soprano and cello (2011)
James Wilson – Donizetti Variations accordion solo (1969)
Elaine Agnew – hhmmmm (premiere) bass clarinet solo (2012) commissioned by Concorde

3:00 pm
Elaine Agnew – Music Box clarinet and recorded voices (2001/12)
Grainne Mulvey – Duo bass clarinet and accordion (2004)
Elaine Agnew – In the Adriatic soprano, clarinet/bass clarinet, cello, accordion (2006) text by Chris Agee, commissioned by Concorde

4:00 pm
Elliott Carter – Una Columba, from Tempo e Tempi soprano and clarinet (1998-99)
Jacob ter Veldhuis - Night and Day bass clarinet and accordion (1992)
Grainne Mulvey – Sonic Study II (Clay) recorded sounds (2002)
Elaine Agnew – hhmmmm bass clarinet solo  (2012) commissioned by Concorde

The primary purpose of this award is to facilitate creative partnerships between a range of commissioners and artists. The process must lead to some form of outcome or conclusion. This might be a public performance, a process of engagement with a community of place or interest or some other form of dissemination or presentation of the commissioned work in Ireland or abroad.

The award is open to individuals or organisations including artists, arts professionals, ensembles, local authorities and other agencies. Applications can only be made by the commissioner and not by the artist to be commissioned.

The award guidelines for the Music Commissions Award can be downloaded from the available funding section of the Arts Council’s website.

Applications for the Music Commissions Award must be made through the Arts Council’s online services website.

Before you will be able to make an online application the commissioner and the artist/s to be commissioned will have to separately register with the online services site. It may take up to five working days for your registrations to be confirmed so it is very important that you register as early as possible.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 5.30pm Thursday 15 March 2012.

An eclectic mix of new instrumental, electroacoustic/acousmatic, mixed-media and live electronic pieces will feature in several concerts programmed throughout the day. The concerts are programmed by Glen Austin, composer and PhD candidate at DIT and Dr Kerry Houston, Head of Department of Academic Studies, DIT, and will feature composition and performance students from, among others, the University of Ulster, Magee (Derry); Trinity College Dublin (TCD); NUI Maynooth; University of Limerick (UL); and the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. A panel discussion on developing relationships between composers and performers will also take place as part of the day.

CMC has been organising the annual student new music marathon since 2006 and it is now firmly established as an important day in the calendar of composition and performance students, not only for the performance opportunity that it offers but also for the opportunity for students from all around the Island of Ireland to meet and discuss their work.

CMC will document the marathon throughout the day with video coverage, and a special video feature will be available on the Centre’s web site shortly after the event.

Admission to all concerts during the day is free and open to the public.

CMC would like to acknowledge the support of the Dublin Institute of Technology Conservatory of Music and Drama for hosting this year’s marathon.

Further information
– Karen Hennessy, Promotion Manager, CMC, tel 01 673 1922, email khennessy@cmc.ie
– Glen Austin, DIT, mobile: 087 298 7706, email glenaustin1@hotmail.com

New Music Marathon Schedule
Please note that this is subject to change

9 March 2012

10:30am – 11:00am:       Registration and Coffee/Tea
11:00pm – 1:00pm:        Concert Programmes
1:00pm – 2:00pm:         Lunch
2:00pm – 3:00pm:         Panel discussion
3:00pm – 5:30pm:         Concert Programmes with coffee break
5:30pm – 6:30pm:         Concluding remarks and wine reception

The Heart of Truth is a new musical by Vincent Kennedy commissioned under the percent for art scheme by Gorey Educate Together School. The work will be performed on 8-9 March at Gorey Educate Together School Hall, Co. Wexford.

As part of the commission, the composer has been working in the school for the past year to write and develop the musical, and has written an original story with Gwen Brennan. The artistic team for the project also includes the director and playwright Declan O’Brien, musical director Ronan Dooney, visual artist Niamh Murphy and choreographer Edel McDevitt, who is also a teacher in the school. The pupils of the school helped to shape the whole production with their suggestions, resulting in a collaborative enterprise with the artistic team. The musical encompasses the ethos of the Educate Together school philosophy. As part of the process the primary school pupils received singing, musical, drama and comic acting lessons. The musical score comprises 11 new songs and additional musical interludes scored for a professional band of piano, synthesiser, percussion and saxophone.

National Chamber Choir

The National Chamber Choir of Ireland begin their 2012 season with concerts in Dublin and Carlingford, Co. Louth on 24, 25 and 26 February 2012. The choir will perform a selection of works by Irish and International composers, including works by Enda Bates, Frank Corcoran and Brian Boydell.

Works performed include Two Madrigals by Brian Boydell; Enda Bates’ RTÉ lyric fm commissioned work, Pauper’s Lament / A Stealing Sadness, based on arrangements of traditional texts by Thomas Davis and Thomas Moore; and Caoine [Lamento] by Frank Corcoran, a setting of text from 1975 by well known Irish poet and translator Gabriel Rosenstock. The concert also features a performance of Elegies, the motet composed by English composer Herbert Howells commemorating the death of the U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, and works by Britten and Finzi.

The first concert on 24 February takes the form of an open rehearsal at The Helix in Dublin, followed by a concert on Saturday, 25 February in Carlingford, Co. Louth, and finishes with a performance at St. Anne’s Church in Dublin on Sunday, 26 February 2012. The choir will be conducted by the company’s artistic director and principal conductor, Paul Hillier.

The performances take place ahead of the choir’s national tour, which will take place in April 2012. The NCC will also be choir-in-residence at the 2012 Cork International Choral Festival in May 2012.

The National Chamber Choir of Ireland are funded and supported by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Dublin City Council and Dublin City University.

Concert Programme
Benjamin Britten – Five Flower Songs
Herbert Howells – Take him, earth, for cherishing
Gerald Finzi – Three Short Elegies
Brian Boydell – Two Madrigals
Enda Bates – Pauper’s Lament / A Stealing Sadness
Frank Corcoran – Caoine [Lamento]

Booking and Listings Information
Friday 24 February, 1pm
Open Rehearsal
Mahony Hall, The Helix, DCU, Dublin 9
Admission: Free

Saturday 25 February, 8pm
Carlingford Heritage Centre, Carlingford, Co Louth
Admission: €10/€8
Reservations: 042 9373454/888
Sunday 26 February, 3.30pm

St Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, Dublin
Admission €15/€12
Reservations: www.ctb.ie / 0818 205 205

Andrew Hamilton has worked and studied with such composers as Kevin Volans, Roger Marsh, Anthony Gilbert and Louis Andriessen. His works have been performed by groups such as the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the BBC Singers, the Hilliard Ensemble, Crash Ensemble, the National Chamber Choir of Ireland, de ereprijs, Concorde, [rout], Ixion, Orkest de Volharding and the Allegri String Quartet. His works have also featured in major festivals including the Gaudeamus, Huddersfield, Ultraschall Berlin, and RTÉ Living Music festivals, and the Brighton and New Music Days in Hoxton, London.

The recently established Music Composition Centre at Trinity College, Dublin, is providing a new platform to produce active, practical composers equipped for the emerging music of the 21st century. For more information on their work and upcoming events, visit www.tcd.ie/music-composition.

The talk takes place on Thursday, 23 February 2012, from 6-8pm in The Boydell Room, House 5, TCD. Tickets are FREE, but must be reserved by emailing Claire Hefferon at compcent@tcd.ie.

Further information
- www.tcd.ie/music-composition/news
- Facebook

Andrew Hamilton will perform his own piece Product #1. The Berlin-based composer wrote this work in 2009 for the MATA Festival New York where it was premiered by The Knights Chamber Orchestra. The work is scored for ad-hoc ensemble and can be performed in any combination. The composer was influenced by the Sacred Harp tradition of singing at the time of writing the work and describes the work as “an attempt to give a cold, clinical title to what is essentially a slightly sentimental love song.” The composer will perform the work in a version for voice and violin.

The acclaimed duo, Maya Homburger on Baroque violin and Barry Guy on double bass, will perform Guy’s own work for solo double bass, Tales of Enchantment and will also perform H.I.F. Biber’s Mystery Sonata X – Crucifixion.

Kaleidoscope co-curator and cellist, Kate Ellis will perform a new work specially written for her by Niall Vallely. The piece, Sondas, explores ‘the interaction of the sounds of the pre-recorded cellos and the live instrument’, according to Vallely, who is best known as one of Ireland’s most celebrated concertina players.

The performance takes place at The Odessa Club, 13 Dame Court, Dublin 2, on Wednesday, 7 March 2012. Doors open at 8.30pm and tickets are available for €10 (including €2 booking fee) from the Odessa Club, tel 01 6703080.

Programme

Maya Homburger (Baroque violin) / Barry Guy (double bass) – H.I.F Biber: Mystery Sonata X “Crucifixion”

Kate Ellis (cello) – Niall Vallely: Sondas

Andrew Hamilton (violin and voice) – Andrew Hamilton: Product #1

Juliet Welchman (cello), Malachy Robinson (double bass) – G.A. Rossini: Duo for Cello and Double Bass in D Major

Maya Homburger (Baroque violin), Barry Guy (double bass) – Barry Guy: Tales of Enchantment

Steve Kelly, James Dunne (percussion) – Wayne Siegel: 42nd Street Rondo
- Steve Reich: Clapping Music

Through creative partnerships with many individuals and organisations, CMC was able to deliver exciting seminars, performances, launches, interviews, projects and more, reflecting the vibrant world of new Irish music. Highlights for 2011 are too numerous to mention!

We have produced a booklet which summarises this activity and outlines our different programming strands of:

• CMC Supporting New Music
• CMC’s Platform for Performance Space
• CMC’s Continuous Professional Development Programme
• CMC’s new music::new Ireland Salon series
• CMC’s Outdoor Summer Programme
• CMC’s 25th Anniversary Programme

All of this would not be possible without our revenue funding support from the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and individual project support from Dublin City Council Events Unit; Dublin City Council Arts Office; Music Network Performance and Touring Award; Temple Bar Cultural Trust; An Foras Feasa Consortium; Arts Council Northern Lottery Fund and Culture Ireland.

Without our many Cultural Partners and collaborators the wide variety of work that we do would not be possible. The Board and Staff of The Contemporary Music Centre would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who helped us make 2011 such a successful year for new music from Ireland.

Download a PDF file of our 2011 Event Programme and Library Report

Brian Irvine

On Sunday, 4 March 2012 the Ulster Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra will perform together for the first time in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall. The concert will include the world premiere of a new BBC Radio 3 commission by Belfast-born composer, Brian Irvine. This new work for double orchestra and choir is entitled Praise Aloud the Trees and is a setting of Seamus Heaney’s poem, Sweeney Astray. The concert will be conducted by Jurjen Hempel, and will also feature the choir of Methodist College, Belfast.

The concert is part of the Music Nation programme which takes place across the UK on 3-4 March 2012. Organised by the BBC and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), Music Nation is a UK-wide programme of concerts, workshops and performances to mark the beginning of large-scale events to herald the arrival of the Olympic Games.

Tickets for the concert are FREE but due to the expected demand, there will be a random draw. Further information and booking is available from the BBC web site or by calling the BBC Ticket Line on +44 3709011227.

The concert begins at 1.00pm and will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and RTÉ lyric fm.

The Enigma of Frank Ryan

The Enigma of Frank Ryan is a sympathetic but searching exploration of the life of Frank Ryan (1902- 1944). Ryan was a teenage IRA volunteer, dissident republican and Spanish International Brigade volunteer, and ended his life working for the Nazis in wartime Berlin. The film, which draws on Ryan’s letters and journalism, uses archival images and dramatised sections to explore the story which centres on Ryan’s split loyalties.

Directed by Belfast-based director, Des Bell, the film uses a number of recordings by Irish composers, many of which are drawn from CMC’s Contemporary Music from Ireland CD series. Composers who feature are Deirdre McKay, Gareth Williams, Roger Doyle, David Fennessy, Dave Flynn, Scott McLaughlin, and Benjamin Dwyer.

The film is funded by TG4, Northern Ireland Screen, Broadcast Authority of Ireland, Leverhulme Trust, AHRC, and Commune de Lamalou Les Bains.

The screening takes place at the newly reopened Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield at 6:30pm on 18 February 2012. Tickets are available from the JDIFF web site.

Further information
- Online booking
- www.enigmafrankryan.com
- Jameson Dublin international film festival
- Lighthouse Cinema

Music used
Deirdre McKay – A Pale Yellow Sky; Secundum; Plunkett’s Last Words; Dieppe
Scott McLaughlin- Bifurcations
Dave Flynn – The Valley of the Lunatics
Gareth Williams – ’Ness (2nd / 3rd Movement)
Jennifer Walshe – My Extensive Relationship with Mr. Stephen Patrick M.
Roger Doyle – The Ninth Set (Sector 1)
David Fennessy – BIG LUNG
Benjamin Dwyer – Al Andalus