Photo Credit: Jed Niezgoda
Timothy Doyle has been announced as this year’s winner of the prestigious Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition. The annual competition celebrates new works from Irish composers and is held in collaboration with the Cork International Choral Festival and Chamber Choir Ireland. Timothy Doyle’s winning composition, ‘Points and Lines’, will have its world premiere performance at Cathedral of St Mary & St Anne (North Cathedral), Cork on Friday, May 1st, at 7.30pm.
On receiving the news of his win, Timothy said, “I am delighted and honoured to be chosen as the winner of the Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition this year. My piece ‘Points and Line’s sets a poem of the same name by Aldous Huxley to music and is dedicated to my newborn nephew, Matteo. It is a real privilege to join the list of outstanding composers who have received this award and to be part of the Cork International Choral Festival’s vibrant musical tradition. I am especially excited to hear the piece premiered by the incredible Chamber Choir Ireland.”
The inaugural performance of ‘Points and Lines’ will be part of the Cork International Choral Festival’s annual collaborative concert with choir-in-residence, Chamber Choir Ireland and led by their Artistic Director Gabriel Crouch. This promises to be a night of exceptional musical talent.
The Seán Ó Riada competition, which has been running for over 50 years, provides a platform for Irish composers to have their work judged and rewarded solely on its own merits. Submissions are made under pseudonyms, ensuring anonymity until after the judges’ decision has been made. The competition aims to present Irish choirs with fresh, authentic material for their programs and has attracted renowned composers throughout its history.
Chamber Choir Ireland member and composer Eoghan Desmond, and Artistic Director of Chamber Choir Ireland, Gabriel Crouch, who evaluated Doyle’s winning piece, summarised their reaction, stating, ‘Points and Lines’ gives an assured, well-structured and highly attractive response to Aldous Huxley’s enigmatic poem about the nature of human perception.
The composer uses precise articulation to paint the ’small sharp stars of the opening, contrasting with a sense of infinite time as these stars are transformed to a ‘long fine thread’ at the end, with the sopranos sustaining a pedal tone while the lower parts weave sinuous harmonies beneath. Just as there is with the text, there is a beautiful sense of uncertainty in the music, with each promised resolution compromised by the distraction of a new question.
With more than 270 compositions being submitted in the past 10 years of the new format, the Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition illustrates the number of composers now working and living in Ireland and further demonstrates the Cork International Choral Festival’s continuing commitment to encourage the composition and performance of contemporary music. Past winners include Solfa Carlisle, Rhona Clarke, Patrick Connolly, Frank Corcoran, Séamas de Barra, Eoghan Desmond, Michael Holohan, Marian Ingoldsby, Donal MacErlaine, Simon MacHale, Kevin O’Connell, Amanda Feery, Criostóir Ó Loingsigh, Donal Sarsfield, James May, Peter Leavy, Norah Constance Walsh, Darragh Black Hynes, Laura Heneghan, Anselm McDonnell and last year’s winner Donnchadh Mac Aodha.
This year’s Cork International Choral Festival which is set to bring Cork to life with song takes place from 29th April – 3rd May 2026. For more see www.corkchoral.ie