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The Contemporary Music Centre December Newsletter
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Here's a brief summary of some of the happenings in the world of Irish contemporary music over the last month, as well as a preview of selected events for December!
CMC COMPOSERS SELECTED FOR CHORAL SKETCHES WORKSHOP WITH TARIK O'REGAN
In October,
Chamber Choir Ireland
and CMC sought expressions of interest for a new initiative,
Choral Sketches
with composer Tarik O'Regan. Choral Sketches presents a unique professional development opportunity for composers who wish to develop their skills in writing choral music, with one to one mentoring from renowned composer Tarik O'Regan, workshops with Paul Hillier, Librettist Alice Goodman and Chamber Choir Ireland, as well as performance opportunities for choral works produced during the project. CMC are delighted to announce that composers Amanda Feery, Michael Gallen and Seán Doherty have been selected to partake in Choral Sketches. CMC congratulates the selected composers and looks forward to following their progress and experience over the next few months on our website!
CMC NOVEMBER SALON SERIES WITH MARTIN AND ADELE JOHNSON
CMC celebrated its final Salon Series concert of 2016 on Thursday 17th November, with a very special programme of three new works for cello & viola by composers Amanda Feery, Jane' O Leary and Judith Ring, written especially for RTÉ Symphony Orchestra principal musicians Martin Johnson (cello) and Adele Johnson (viola). The concert took place in the suitably ambient Lutheran Hall, where the crowd enjoyed a wine reception. Composer Jonathan Nangle hosted the event, igniting some lively dialogue between the composers and performers on their individual collaborations together.
Listen to some of the pieces from the event here.
CMC would like to thank all of its 2016 Salon Series participants, including curator Linda Buckley and guest host Jonathan Nangle. We look forward to bringing you some exciting news about our new Salon Series format in 2017!
COMPOSER LAB 2017
Now in its second year,
Composer Lab is an initiative aimed at composers with limited experience in writing for professional symphony orchestra. Previous participants included Amanda Feery (whose Composer Lab work
Pushing Air
was one of the winning works in the International Alliance for Women in Music's 2016 Search for New Music Competition), Eric Skytterholm Egan and Scott McLoughlin. Taking a current work-in-progress as the starting point, the process will involve a one-to-one mentoring session with mentor composer, David Fennessy in early 2017, and a public workshop with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Gavin Maloney. These new pieces will receive a public performance in May 2017.
Full details of the April workshop and May performance will be announced at a later date, so watch this space for more!
JENNIFER WALSHE WINS PRIZE AT BRITISH COMPOSER AWARDS
Congratulations to Jennifer Walshe who was awarded a prize for innovation at the 2016 British Composer Awards held in London on 6 December.
NEW OPERA BY GERALD BARRY RECEIVES U.S AND U.K PREMIERES
Alice's Adventures Under Ground
is Gerald Barry's new opera. With a libretto based on texts of Lewis Carroll, the opera received its international premiere in Los Angeles on 22 November and its European premiere on 28 November in London.
Irish audiences will get a chance to hear a concert performance of the opera as part of the recently-announced
New Music Dublin festival next March
.
Listen to a feature on the opera, produced by the Barbican as well as a recent interview with Gerald Barry from The Guardian
here.
CHRISTMAS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MUSIC LOVERS: CHOIRLAND AND CMC'S CHRISTMAS CHORAL CATALOGUE
On the lookout for musical gifts this Christmas? Why not consider
Choirland
a special collection of 15 pieces by Irish composers for unaccompanied mixed choir, perfect for singers and contemporary music lovers alike. From arrangements of traditional melodies, new settings of familiar texts and strikingly original works, the selection encompasses a wide array of styles. Each piece is presented with performance notes designed to aid conductors and singers alike, and the book includes a CD recording of the music by Chamber Choir Ireland. Click here to purchase.
For festive repertoire suggestions, browse through our CMC Christmas Choral Catalogue curated by
Dr. Desmond Earley, which contains a selection of Christmas works by Irish composers drawn from CMC's extensive collection of choral works. The Christmas Choral Catalogue is
available
to download in a pdf format here and sheet music can be ordered here.
PAULINE OLIVEROS (1932-2016)
A short tribute from composers John Godfrey and Karen Power on American composer Pauline Oliveros, who died recently. Click
here.
Upcoming events in
December
CD LAUNCHES
I AM WIND ON SEA: CONTEMPORARY VOCAL MUSIC FROM IRELAND
9 December 2016, Royal Irish Academy of Music, 36-38 Westland Row, 6.30pm
I Am Wind On Sea: Contemporary Vocal Music from Ireland features works from CMC composers John Buckley, Rhona Clarke, Ina Boyle, Seoirse Bodley, Elaine Agnew and Anne Marie O' Farrell, performed by mezzo-soprano
Aylish Kerrigan and pianist
Dearbhla Collins. The official launch of this CD will include a short performance of the works featured as well as a talk by Dr John Buckley, Dr Ita Beausang and Dr Kerry Houstan. For RSVP details,
click here.
SEA TO THE WEST: ELIZABETH HILLIARD
12 December 2016, Music Room of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin 8, 6.30pm
Sea to the West
is soprano Elizabeth Hilliard's debut solo CD.
It is an album of works for solo soprano, some with electronics, produced by English composer Christopher Fox, and two of his works feature. The album also contains pieces by Irish composers Gráinne Mulvey, Linda Buckley and David Bremner.
Dr Orla McDonagh (Head of the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama) will speak at the launch and t
here will be a short performance by Elizabeth Hilliard, which will be followed by drinks and finger food. For RSVP details, click here.
ELAINE AGNEW'S CHRISTMAS CAROLS AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD
CMC are pleased to announce that Elaine Agnew's Christmas Carols will be available for free download on our website during the Christmas period. Child Within is her latest Carol, a single line melody equally beautiful sung by children as it is by adults, especially commissioned by RTÉ lyric fm in 2015. Curoo Curoo (2008) was also commissioned by RTÉ. These fun and festive pieces are suitable for children's choirs of all levels and can be downloaded for free here.
Forthcoming performances of the Carols include Friday 9th December in St Anne's Church Dawson Street, Dublin with RTÉ Cór Na nÓg.
Other Selected December Events:
Date: Sunday 11 December, 12 noon
Venue:
The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin
Date: Friday 16 December, 7.30pm
Venue: Harty Room, Queens University Belfast
Date: Thursday 5 January, 6pm
Venue: Limerick City Gallery of Art
From all at CMC, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
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