Feis Ceoil, Ireland’s leading national classical music festival, is welcoming many of Ireland’s most talented young musicians back to live performance for judges and audiences in 2022 (28 March to 8th April, 2022, RDS Dublin)
One of the first large events to be cancelled early in the pandemic in March 2020, followed by a full online festival in 2021, all solo and ensemble competitions will be performed live in 2022, while Choir and Orchestra competitions will continue online.
Thousands of young Irish musicians have had more time to practice than they ever imagined, as live performances around the world came to a close. But as the world opens up again, the Feis Ceoil is committed to holding many events in the 126-year-old Festival in person, to allow young musicians the opportunity to perform live.
“While we are very happy to be providing a live performance platform for our competitors in 2022, we are also committed to retaining some of the online elements that worked so well in 2021, said CEO of Feis Ceoil Association Laura Gilsenan. “Reaching such a broad online audience last year was hugely important, given the circumstances, so we want to build on that alongside the live experience.”
Introducing Percussion – a new competition for 2022
Feis Ceoil have introduced a Percussion competition for the first time in 2022. In an exciting new partnership with TU Dublin Conservatoire, these competitions will be held in their their state-of-the-art facilities at their new Grangegorman campus.
New initiatives
-Online adjudications
One of the most popular aspects of Virtual Feis 2021 was the availability of recorded adjudications and the announcement of winners on the website. This feature will be maintained, with all adjudications recorded on the day of the competition and made available online the following day. This will enable competitors and the public to hear the adjudicator’s thoughts on the competitions and their choice of winners.
-Videoed competitions
With some people still hesitant around attending live events, Feis Ceoil will engage their online audience by recording a selection of the most popular competitions, and posting them online the following day. This will give viewers a good overview of the Feis and the incredibly high standard of performance of our competitors from wherever suits them best.
-‘Virtual Choir Day’ and ‘Virtual Orchestra Day’
For one more year, until large numbers can be managed safely, Feis Ceoil are inviting Choir and Orchestra competitors to submit their entries by video recording. These will be posted on the Feis Ceol website on Tuesday March 29th (Choirs) and Tuesday April 5th (Orchestras) respectively. Winners will be announced the following day.
2022 Festival Highlights:
Monday March 28 – opening day of competitions
Senior Piano; Vocal duet and solo competitions.
Tuesday March 29th – Virtual Choir Day
Choir competition videos will be available online
Wednesday March 30th
Senior piano concerto; Junior vocal competitions.
Friday April 1st
Dramatic Cup and €5,000 Margaret & Tony Quigley Awards. Senior singers performing operatic arias, in character with full costumes; Harps; String ensembles
Saturday April 2nd
Aileen Gore Cup and RTE Lyric FM €1,500 Award for Senior Strings; Junior Piano under 9; Cello; Mixed Strings
Tuesday April 5th – Virtual Orchestra Day
Orchestra competition videos will be available online
Wednesday April 6th
Musical Theatre competitions
Thursday April 7th
Junior piano concerto; Classical Guitar; Morris Grant €2,500 Bursary for senior piano finalists
Friday April 8th – final day of competitions
The Gervase Elwes Cup for senior vocal finalists; McCullough Cup & RTÉ lyric fm €1,500 award for woodwind concerto
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