SECRET FESTIVAL 2010-2012 MUSIC EXPERIMENT ON THE ISLAND OF ÖLAND SWEDEN
The Secret Festival in Sweden are seeking songwriters from five different countries to travel to the Island of Öland to participate in a unique festival concept. The residency is for a week with flights, accommodation and a 500 euro fee taken care of by the Festival organisers. Two songwriters from Ireland are now being sought to take part from the 25th of June to the 2rd of July 2011. It is an open submission for original songwriters and musicians in the genres of trad, Singer/songwriter or instrumentalist.
IMRO members interested in participating can email their info and website details directly to hemligfestival@nullgmail.com with a short note on why they would like to be part of Secret Festival. Further information on the project is located at: www.hemligfestival.se
Yellowbox in Sättra becomes a place where songwriters come together for four days to work together to find new musical arrangements. Participating songwriters are introduced to the specific surroundings in order to be partly inspired by the place and also be informed about its unique qualities. Songwriters from the region meet songwriters from different nationalities and backgrounds. The group lives and works together over the four days.
MAKO signals the re-emergence of Declan O’Shea and Christian Montagne, both former members of acclaimed band Cyclefly, onto the music scene. During their time with the alternative rock band Cyclefly, Declan (vox) and Christian (bass guitar) toured throughout America and Europe with bands such as Linkin Park, Iggy Pop, Live, and Bush. The band also garnered places on the ‘Best New Artist’ lists of NME, Rock Sound, and Kerrang!. For the past two years Declan, a singer-songwriter from East Cork, and Christian, a songwriter-guitarist from Antibes, have concentrated all their energies on MAKO.
While their new project retains the slightly edgy alt-rock sound that gathered so many fans for Cyclefly, it also possesses a more mellow maturity reflecting Declan and Christian’s growth as songwriters and musicians. Declan’s voice, which has been compared to people such as Bowie, Richard Butler (Psychedelic furs), and Annie Lennox, permeates MAKO’S unforgettable lyrics in a charismatic and evocative manner. For the recording of their debut album, the band returned to Christian’s native Antibes on the Côte D’Azur. Mako flawlessly encapsulates the musical development of the two artists who have combined Raw talent with past experience .
The album “Living On Air” is out now. And The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences placed Mako on the Official Ballot for the 2011 Grammy Awards in the following categories:
West Cork Chamber Music Festival
in partnership with Contemporary Music Centre and supported by Irish Music Rights Organisation
Composition Competition for Young Irish Composers 2011
West Cork Music invites Irish composers under 30 years of age on 1st January 2011 to submit works for string quartet (violin, violin, viola, cello) or piano trio (violin, cello, piano) of between 5-8 minutes duration for workshopping and performance at the 2011 West Cork Chamber Music Festival.
Three works will be selected. The composer of each selected work will receive a prize of €800 and will be asked to attend a workshop at the Festival on Sunday 26th June 2011 where the piece will be played through by a group on the Festival’s masterclass programme. This will be followed by an informal public workshop between composer and performers led by Festival Composer-in-Residence, Brett Dean. The premieres will take place during the Festival in the Town Concert series on 29 and 30 June and 1 July
Rules/ conditions:
1. Entrants must be of Irish nationality, born in Northern Ireland or resident on the island of Ireland
2. Entrants must be under the age of 30 on 1st January 2011
3. Entrants may submit only one work
4. Entrants should state date of birth and give full contact details including postal address.
5. Prize-winners and entrants from previous competitions run by West Cork Music are welcome to submit new scores.
6. Works must be between 5 and 8 minutes in length and may not involve any form of electronics or pre-recorded sounds
7. Works may not have been performed in concert before a ticket-buying public audience prior to the Festival.
8. Scores must be received by 31 March 2011. Scores can be submitted electronically. It is recommended but not compulsory for a midi realisation or other audio mock-up to be submitted with scores.
9. Compositions will be assessed by an adjudicator chosen by West Cork Music
10. Works will be assessed anonymously, please do not mark or sign scores or CDs.
11. Selected compositions will be announced on www.westcorkmusic.ie by 15th April 2011. Selected composers will be notified by email.
12. Winning entrants must submit instrumental parts by 1st May 2011. CMC operate a grant scheme to assist with copying costs. See www.cmc.ie. All copying costs are the responsibility of entrants.
13. There will be three selected compositions. The composer of each selected composition will be awarded a prize of €800.
14. West Cork Music reserves the right not to award prizes.
15. It is a condition of entry that composers agree to attend the workshop in Bantry on Sunday 26th June 2011 at 14.00. Prizes will be withheld in the event of non-attendance. All expenses incurred in attendance are the responsibility of the winning composers.
16. West Cork Music reserves the right to alter dates and times of the workshop and subsequent performances.
Address for submission:
Contemporary Music Centre
19 Fishamble St
Temple Bar
Dublin 8
The Contemporary Music Centre collaborates with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra to present Composers in Conversation in RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Horizons 2011.
The Contemporary Music Centre, in association with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, presents a new format pre-concert talk entitled Composers in Conversation as part of the RTÉ NSO's lunchtime Horizons Contemporary Music Series 2011. All concerts are free of charge.
Composers in Conversation features each of the five composers of the Horizons Contemporary Music Series in conversation with Evonne Ferguson, Director, The Contemporary Music Centre.
Kevin O’Connell (11 January), David Fennessy (18 January), Piers Hellawell (22 February); Philip Hammond (10 May) and Jerome de Bromhead (17 May) are the five featured composers. Each Composer in Conversation event will take place at 12.30pm in the John Field Room, prior to each concert starting at 1.05pm in the main auditorium.
“The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Horizons Contemporary Music Series has always been a very welcome start to the New Year for me and I am delighted this year to have the opportunity to converse with the five featured composers on their exciting programmes and work” says Evonne Ferguson, Director, The Contemporary Music Centre.
A total of 15 works by seven different composers will be performed over the five concerts taking place between January and May. Two world premieres, by Kevin O’Connell and Jerome de Bromhead, feature as well as a 60th birthday tribute to Philip Hammond. Conductors include Gavin Maloney, Fergus Sheil, Garry Walker and Colman Pearce. Admission is free to all Composers in Conversation events and all concerts.
Born in Derry, now based in Dublin, composer Kevin O’Connell is a member of Aosdána, the Irish affiliation of creative artists and teaches composition in the Royal Academy of Music. The prestigious Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award was recently awarded to David Fennessy, who born in Kildare is now based in Glasgow. Professor of Composition at Queen’s University, Piers Hellawell was recently awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship in 2010. Philip Hammond, born and living in Belfast, retired from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in 2009 and is now active as a writer as well as a composer. Jerome de Bromhead, born and living in Waterford, a member of Aosdána, has had all but one of his orchestral works premiered by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra.
For detailed biographies and further details on all composers please visit www.cmc.ie
The Contemporary Music Centre is Ireland’s national archive and resource centre for new music supporting and developing the work of composers throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland. It is used on a national and international basis by performers, composers, promoters and members of the public interested in finding out more about music in Ireland.
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Horizons Contemporary Music Series 2011 Concert and programme details
12.30pm: Composers in Conversation with Evonne Ferguson, Director, Contemporary Music Centre.
1.05 – 2pm: Concerts
Tuesday 11 January – Featured composer: Kevin O’Connell
Symphony (world première)
Gavin Maloney conductor
Tuesday 18 January – Featured composer: David Fennessy
BODIES
David Fennessy
…as others see us… James MacMillan
Fergus Sheil conductor
Tuesday 22 February – Featured composer: Piers Hellawell
Degrees of Separation for orchestra
Memorial Cairns
Degrees of Separation for string ensemble
Agricolas
Robert Plane clarinet Garry Walker conductor
Tuesday 10 May – Featured composer: Philip Hammond
Waterfront Fanfares
Die ersten Blumen
Concertino for Flute and Strings
‘…while the sun shines’ (in memoriam H.H.H.)
‘…the starry dynamo in the machinery of night…’
Roy Holmes piano Gavin Maloney conductor
Tuesday 17 May – Featured composer: Jerome de Bromhead
Venti Eventi
Jerome de Bromhead
Campane in Aria John Buckley
Violin Concerto (world première) Jerome de Bromhead
Alan Smale violin Colman Pearce conductor
Tickets and booking: Admission free to all events. Events are ticketed. Tickets available through the NCH box office in advance. Booking: 01 417 0000.
For many years, Jackie Daly (accordion) and Matt Cranitch (fiddle) have been among the foremost interpreters of the rich Sliabh Luachra tradition of instrumental music. The unique cultural area on the borders of northwest Cork and east Kerry provides a special repertoire of tunes as well as a very distinctive style of playing, and has long been a source of inspiration for both Jackie and Matt. Through their respective performances over many years, they have established enviable individual reputations in the world of Irish traditional music. Together however, the vibrant music that they create displays an additional collaborative dimension.
Their new CD, The Living Stream, draws very much from the Sliabh Luachra tradition, and features fourteen tracks, mostly unaccompanied. However, on a number of selections, accompaniment is provided by Paul De Grae (guitar) and Bríd Cranitch (piano). This recording attests in a very comprehensive manner to the continuing relevance of the ‘living stream’ of traditional music in Ireland today. In the booklet accompanying the album, Jackie Small of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, states the following:
On this CD, two of the most prestigious performers of Irish traditional music, Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daly, join together to celebrate their common musical heritage – the Sliabh Luachra tradition. Each in his own right has had a long and distinguished career in Irish music; each has left a lasting influence on that tradition.”
We hear sparkling dance tunes in all the favourite rhythms of Sliabh Luachra – polkas, jigs, slides, hornpipes and reels. An integral part of the Sliabh Luachra tradition was a wonderfully rich culture of playing slow airs, and both the musicians on this CD are acknowledged masters of the slow air. This CD contains a superb example of slow-air playing from each of them.
Jackie Daly (accordion)
The words ‘Button Accordion’ and ‘Jackie Daly’ are synonymous in the world of Irish traditional music. Described in the New York Times as “probably the best accordionist in Ireland”, Jackie was born in Kanturk, Co. Cork, where he grew up surrounded by the rich music tradition of Sliabh Luachra. One of the greatest influences on his early musical development was Ballydesmond fiddle-player, Jim Keeffe, a pupil of the renowned Sliabh Luachra fiddle-master, Pádraig O’Keeffe. Over the years, Jackie’s lifelong affinity with fiddle-music has resulted in highly-acclaimed albums featuring fiddle and accordion – with the late Cork-based musician Séamus Creagh, with Kevin Burke, and now with Matt Cranitch. Jackie was a central figure in some of the most dominant groups playing Irish music in recent times. His performances with bands such as De Danann, Patrick Street, Buttons and Bows, Arcady, Reel Union and Kinvara all attest to his wonderful music and versatility. However, it is the style and repertoire of the Sliabh Luachra tradition that has made the most significant impression on his accordion-playing, a fact well exemplified through his performances and recordings. He has toured extensively and has also taught. In 2005, he received the TG4 Gradam Ceoil (National Music Award), and, in 2009, the Kanturk Arts Festival Award.
Matt Cranitch (fiddle)
Matt Cranitch is renowned as a fiddle-player and teacher, both at home in Ireland and abroad. He has performed extensively at concerts and festivals, as well as on radio and television, and has presented lectures, master-classes and workshops on various aspects of Irish music. He has won All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles, as well as The Fiddler of Dooney and Oireachtas Crotty Cup. Author of The Irish Fiddle Book, first published in 1988 and now in its fourth edition, he has also contributed to other books on Irish traditional music. Currently, he plays with Sliabh Notes, with whom he has recorded three highly-praised albums. Among his other recordings is Éistigh Seal which consists entirely of slow airs. An authority on the Sliabh Luachra fiddle-style, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Limerick in 2006 for his study entitled ‘Pádraig O’Keeffe and The Sliabh Luachra Fiddle Tradition’. A long-time consultant for the Geantraí series on TG4, he is also an advisor to the Arts Council Deis scheme for the traditional arts, and has served on the board of the Irish Traditional Music Archive (2007–2010). In 2003, he received the ‘University College Cork Hall of Fame Award’ in recognition of his contribution to Irish traditional music.
As part of the exciting programme of events taking place at the 2011 TradFest Festival, IMRO in association with Templebar Traders, will present a series of Master Classes in the New Theatre, Temple Bar, on Saturday 29th January.
Master Class with Brendan Power
DATE: Saturday 29th January from 11.00am − 1.00pm
Master Class with Tim Edey
DATE: Saturday 29th January from 2.00pm − 4.00pm
These master classes are FREE but due to limited capacity – booking is essential. Email: keith.johnson@nullimro.ie to reserve your seat now. (please indicate which seminar(s) you would like to attend)
BIOGS
BRENDAN POWER
UK-based New Zealander Brendan Power is acknowledged by many as one of the most creative, skilled & versatile harmonica players around today. Equally at ease on both the earthy Blues Harp as well as the sophisticated Chromatic Harmonica, he tunes them to his own scales to create a highly original style. He has recorded fifteen solo CDs to date, in a wide variety of musical genres.
Since he moved to Britain in 1992, Brendan’s eclectic skills and sympathetic ear have made him an in-demand session player, leading to live and recording work with artists such as Sting, Van Morrison, Kate Bush, James Galway, Paul Young, Shirley Bassey, John Williams, Mike Batt and many more. His playing is also heard on many Hollywood movie soundtracks (eg. the 2008 Oscar winning soundtrack for 'Atonement'), and BBC TV series. He’s featured on the internationally-syndicated Jools Holland Show and toured worldwide, performing in venues such as China’s Great Hall of the People and The Kremlin.
In addition to his Pop, Jazz & Blues skills, Brendan is an expert player of Irish traditional music (winning the 1993 All Ireland Title), and performed for three years as soloist in the Riverdance Show. He has recorded with well-known Irish songwriters and artists such as Donal Lunny, Altan, Paul Brady, Arkady, Artie McGlynn, Mary Black and others. A respected harmonica technician & customiser, Brendan is employed by Suzuki Musical Instruments Co. of Japan as their International Harmonica Specialist.
TIM EDEY
Tim Edey is one of the finest multi-instrumental players of his generation in the worldwide Celtic music scene. A virtuoso on both acoustic guitar and button accordion, Tim's incredible musical ear and total technical command allow him to play the most demanding instrumentals and improvise freely in any style you throw at him. His great gifts have been recognised by the top names in the Celtic music scene, and led to touring/recording with Sharon Shannon, Lunasa, Michael McGoldrick, Seamus Begley, Mary Black, Altan and Capercaillie – to name a few. Tim has released four solo albums and had his compositions recorded by Sharon Shannon and other respected Celtic artists.
The Music Industry Xplained course is designed for musicians looking to get ahead in the music industry.
Brought to you by Hot Press, the MIX course is now taking registrations for 2011 and IMRO members can avail of a discounted registration rate.
Now in its eighth year, MIX 2011 is aimed at musicians who want to maximise their income and learn more about the music industry, management, media, publicity, promotion, publishing, record labels and more.
The 13-week course provides the opportunity to learn from top professionals and presents an invaluable grounding in all areas relevant to a songwriter and recording artist.
There will lectures each week by top industry experts of the Irish and International music industry, including Willie O'Reilly (CEO, Today FM), Steve Averill (U2 Designer), Alan McEvoy and many more.
Speaking about the course, director Mark Hogan says, "The Music Industry Xplained course is designed to give musicians a comprehensive insight into all aspects of the business. The lecturers are among the leading professionals in their field and so participants have access to an extraordinary level of accumulated knowledge and experience."
Key subjects covered in the course include Music Online, Record Companies, Music Marketing, Publicity, Image Development, Record Production, Songwriting, Music Publishing, Working with the Media, Management, Finance, Touring and Distribution. The course is also suitable for those involved in management, PR, promotion, media, etc.
MIX 2011 will run in Dublin city centre every Tuesday at 7.30pm from February 1st.
Places are filling up fast. To secure your place and avail of the IMRO member offer of just €475, contact: Laura McDonnell at Hot Press on (01) 241 1500 / (085) 812 1066 or email laura@nullhotpress.ie
You'll also get a free Hot Press subscription for the duration of the course. Quote the Promo Code 'IMRO' to receive the special IMRO discount.
Everyone's favourite New Yorker with the big voice, Nell Bryden is excited to enter the New Year with the release of her 5th and final single from her current album 'What Does It Take?' Glory To The Day is released on January 3rd, 2011 through Cooking Vinyl. Nell’s new single is now the SIXTH single from her album that has been playlisted by BBC Radio 2!
This single contains a radio remix by Danny Kirsch (Charlotte Church, Katie Melua, Freemasons, Happy Mondays, Andy Abraham), and also beautiful acoustic and instrumental versions, plus the original album version.
Bryden is fast becoming one of the most talked about and sought after new artists, building the buzz the old-fashioned way with word-of-mouth endorsements of her live shows. With four international tours (and 500+ shows) in the last 2 years under her belt, including sharing the stage with KT Tunstall, The Counting Crows, Imelda May & JLS. Going from strength to strength, her self-released debut UK single, What Does It Take, spent 7 weeks on the BBC R2 A-list (Second Time Around spent over 2 months on the RTE Radio1 playlist and was Song of the Week on Today FM)- she is definitely one to watch. Bryden also appeared on RTE TV’s the Late Late show on her first Irish single release; Second Time Around.
24th January 2011| 8.30pm (pre-concert talk 8pm) |
Kevin Barry Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin 2
For their first concert of 2011 the Irish Composers’ Collective will be joined by the contemporary music ensemble Concorde performing new compositions by Glen Austin, Hugh Boyle, Piaras Hoban, Donal Mac Erlaine, Emma O’Halloran and Donal Rafferty in the Kevin Barry Room of the National Concert Hall.
Concorde was founded in 1976 to promote the regular performance of new music and continues to nurture the creation of new work, commissioning and premiering over one hundred compositions since its inception.
Having toured regularly in Europe and the USA, Concorde recently performed at festivals in Spain and Slovenia. In June 2008 Concorde presented a programme of new Irish music to the delegates of the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Dublin.
Concorde, together with bass clarinetist Harry Sparnaay, launched their newest recording, Reflections, on the Navona label earlier this month. They are currently working with violist and composer Garth Knox and composers Jane O’Leary, Ed Bennett, Judith Ring and Brian Keegan and are Ensemble-in-Residence at DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama.
The Irish Composers’ Collective was founded in 2003 and is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing Irish composers with a community for information, education and the pooling of resources in order to create concerts of their music with professional musicians.
In particular, the Irish Composers' Collective strives to further the professional development of their members at an early stage in their careers and it has over 40 members from backgrounds as diverse as jazz, electronica and traditional music. This event is in association with the National Concert Hall and is supported by the Arts Council.
Tickets €10 / €5 may be purchased from the National Concert Hall Box Office online at www.nch.ie , in person or by telephone +353 (0)1 4170000
Evil Uncle has just released his highly anticipated debut album 'Two Lights Not Broken'.
The album was recorded DIY style by Evil Uncle in the ruins of John Lennon's apartment in the derelict Maharishi’s Ashram in Northern India. It was mastered by none other than Aidan Foley (Van Morrison, U2, Foo Fighters and The Frames). A one-man musical feast, Evil Uncle’s combination of quirky themes and upbeat, instantly catchy tunes has earned him a strong following in Ireland, the UK and beyond. Whisps of Wilco, Jarvis and Grandaddy can be felt floating about like ghosts and he has certainly picked up a storytelling trick or two from the eloquent Ray Davies.
The album was launched at a sold out Sugar Club on 16th November and a full Irish tour followed including dates at Roisin Dubh, The Roundy, Cork, St John’s Theatre, Kerry, Cleere’s Theatre, Kilkenny and The John Hewitt, Belfast as well as a host of accompanying university gigs.
Tracks from 'Two Lights Not Broken' have earned increasing airplay on 2FM and Today FM as well as a spot as New Artist of the Week on i102-104. "If this is a taste of things to come we’re in for a treat." – Elbo Magazine. Evil is the new good!
'Two Lights Not Broken' is available in record stores nationwide as well as online at www.EVILUNCLE.eu, iTunes, CD baby and Amazon.
