AIMEE KEARNEY

Aimee Kearney is a 22-year-old soprano currently studying vocal performance with Virginia Kerr and Andrew Synnott in The Royal Irish Academy of Music. Aimee is a frequent competition winner; most notably the 2021 Irene Sandford Award for singers and the best aria prize in the same competition. She was awarded the Ruth Beare Perpetual Cup, the Lieder Prize and the Mignon Rumbold Memorial Cup in Newpark Festival of Music and first prize in the Plunkett Greene in the Feis Ceol this year. Aimee has performed as a soloist in many concerts and recitals, including the Newpark Festival Gala Concert and the Feis Ceol concert series in the Kevin Barry room of the National Concert Hall and Stars of the Future recital in the Charles Wood Festival of Music. She has been a guest soloist with the Army Band, Nós na Rí singers, The Revenue Choir and the Plurabelle singers. She performed in the First Presbyterian Church lunchtime series ‘Stars of the Future’ in Belfast in July 2022. Aimee had her opera debut in RIAM’s performance of King Arthur by Purcell in the Samuel Beckett Theatre. She has performed operatic roles including ‘Suor Genovieffa’ in Puccini’s Suor Angelica with Berlin Opera Academy and the title role in the Irish premiere of Elisabeth Maconchy’s The Sofa as Prince Dominic in January 2023.

AURA STONE

A scholarship student with Thomas Martin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Aura joined the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and was subsequently appointed sub-principal double bass, a position she held until 2016. She now enjoys a varied and diverse career, touring and performing with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Camerata Ireland, RTE Concert Orchestra, Irish National Opera and Wexford Festival Opera. An experienced recording artist, Aura has participated in hundreds of live broadcasts, film sessions, CD and TV recordings. In 2013, Aura co-founded classicalkids, a chamber music concert series for babies and adults. Beginning in Dublin, it rapidly expanded to include venues throughout the country. Partnering with such institutions as the National Concert Hall, Music Generation DLR and Castletown House, classicalkids' mission is to make chamber music accessible to young children and adults. Aura was appointed to the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2021. She plays a double bass made for her by Thomas Martin.

carol mcgonnell

CHAMBER CHOIR IRELAND

Chamber Choir Ireland is the country’s national chamber choir and flagship choral ensemble, under the Artistic Direction of multi-award-winning conductor, Paul Hillier. Recognised for its eclectic and creative commissioning, programming, and recording, CCI’s programmes span from early renaissance to cutting edge commissions. Their performances have been described as having a tone which is ‘liquid in its power and purity’ with a ‘strong vocal flexibility of style’ (Belfast Telegraph). The choir has previously recorded for the Harmonia Mundi and RTÉ Lyric FM labels, and their most recent release, Letters, on the Naxos label (November 2020) garnered a 5-star review in the Irish Times and a New Music Scotland award. Letters included A Letter of Rights by Tarik O’Regan & Alice Goodman, and the CCI commission, Triptych by David Fennessy. Chamber Choir Ireland receives principal funding & support from the Arts Council/an Chomhairle Ealaíon, with support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland National Lottery Funding. CCI is a resident ensemble at the National Concert Hall of Ireland, Associate Artists to Dublin City University, and a member of TENSO – the network of professional chamber choirs in Europe.

Dermot Dunne

diane daly

DIEGO CHENNA

Diego Chenna studied with V. Menghini at the Turin Music Conservatoire and with  Sergio Azzolini at the MHS in Stuttgart. In those same years, he played with the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester and the  European Union Youth Orchestra directed by Claudio Abbado, who has invited him to play in Lucerne Festival Orchestra and to cooperate with Orchestra Mozart, as a teacher, first bassoon and soloist. In 1998 he won the first prize at the “Fernand Gillet International Competition” in U.S.A.  and as a first bassoon player, he cooperated with The Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the World Orchestra for Peace directed by Valery Gergiev. His ceaseless search in the music field often leads him to move on beyond the classical repertoire of his instrument, onto innovative grounds: the rediscovery of forgotten music, the development of new execution techniques, the utilization of live electronics and the creation of a new repertoire nowadays represent his main interest.  Presently he’s bassoon and chamber music professor at the Musikhochschule Freiburg I. B.

ED CREEDON

Ed Creedon enjoys a varied career as a viola player, performing chamber music, in recitals and as an orchestral musician.  Recent performances include the National Concert Hall Chamber Music Gathering, tours throughout Ireland with the Lir String Quartet, tours to Finland, France, Spain and India with Camerata Ireland as well as solo performances with Camerata Ireland and Barry Douglas. Since 2016, he has performed regularly with The Vanbrugh. Other chamber music highlights include appearances with the Ficino Ensemble in Dublin, the Piatti Quartet in the U.K., at the Ortús Festival in Cork, and repeat invitations to the Clandeboye Festival in Northern Ireland.  Recent projects include a national tour with the Solas Quartet, recording an album of contemporary chamber music works with Crash Ensemble and performances in Ireland and Scotland with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

Far flung trio

FLORIAN DONDERER

Violinist Florian Donderer is a highly valued chamber musician, soloist, concertmaster and conductor, collaborating with distinguished musicians such as Paavo Järvi, Viktoria Mullova, Steven Isserlis, Lars Vogt, Tanja Tetzlaff and Christian Tetzlaff.  He leads the Signum Quartet, playing in venues such as Berlin‘s Boulez-Saal, London’s Wigmore Hall and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Future engagements include the quartet’s debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2023. Florian Donderer was the longstanding concertmaster of Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen,  and was instrumental in defining what has become one of the orchestra’s hallmarks – playing without a conductor. He frequently works as director/soloist with ensembles  including the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Sinfonietta Riga and Camerata Bern. With his wife, Tanja Tetzlaff he is curating a chamber music series at Sendesaal Bremen. He plays a violin built by German Violinmaker Peter Greiner in 2003 and bows by Nico Plog from Antwerp.

GUY JOHNSTON

Guy Johnston is one of the most exciting cellists of his generation. Early successes included the BBC Young Musician of the Year, Suggia Gift, and Classic Brit Award. He has performed with the BBC, Hallé, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, and Aurora Orchestras, with conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Daniele Gatti, Mark Wigglesworth, and Robin Ticciati. A chamber music advocate, he performs with instrumentalists such as Brett Dean, Lawrence Power, Mishka Rushdie Momen, and Sheku Kanneh-Mason. He is Artistic Director of Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival. Recordings include Dobrinka Tabakova’s Cello Concerto (Hallé), Rebecca Dale’s ‘Night Seasons’ (Philharmonia), and Matthew Kaner’s Solo Suite. Premières include Charlotte Bray’s ‘Falling in the Fire’ (2016) and Joseph Phibbs’ Cello Concerto (2024). Guy is Associate Professor at Eastman School of Music and Guest Professor at the Royal Academy of Music. He plays the 1692 Stradivari cello “Segelman, ex Hart”, on loan from a generous patron.

HANNAH MILLER

Horn player Hannah Miller grew up in Ireland, attained her Bachelor degree at Finland’s Sibelius Academy and graduated with a Master’s degree from New York’s Juilliard School. Since 2020 she has been based in Wexford and is living a dual-life as a musician and farmer, splitting her time between the opera and silage pits. Hannah is currently Principal Horn with the Irish National Opera Orchestra and a Trialist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She also performs with the RTE Concert Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra and Irish Chamber Orchestra, and is a former member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland and the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra in Finland. As a member of the experimental Kirkos Ensemble, she has been featured in many of their concerts and series performing a wide range of new and contemporary works. Hannah’s dedication to new music also includes performances with Crash Ensemble, Le Concert Impromptu and Ulysses Ensemble in recent years. Hannah is the Festival Director and founder of ‘FuddleFest’, a family-run music festival based at her home in Fuddletown, Wexford which first took place in August 2020 and is looking forward to hosting it again in August 2023.

hugh tinney

Hugh Tinney first came to international recognition by winning first-prize in two international competitions: the 1983 Pozzoli in Italy and the 1984 Paloma O’Shea in Spain, and since then he has performed in more than 35 countries throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia.  A prize in the 1987 Leeds Piano Competition also led to a busy career in the UK. Hugh has made a major contribution to Irish concert life for over forty years, in multiple solo recital series, chamber music series, and frequent concerto appearances. He has played chamber music with many distinguished musicians; he and violinist Catherine Leonard collaborated as a duo for many years. In 2018, Hugh’s engagements including a 12-stop recital tour of Ireland & Northern Ireland, and a performance of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the RTÉ NSO to a sold-out National Concert Hall in Dublin. In late 2019 and early 2020 he curated and played in a 6-concert chamber series at NCH, ‘Beethoven - his Predecessors and Successors’. In 2022, Hugh performed Mozart’s great C minor Concerto K. 491 with the NSO under their Principal Conductor Jaime Martín at the NCH in Dublin.

MALACHY ROBINSON

Malachy’s performing career began at a very young age, as he sang principal roles in the Dublin Children’s Opera in the RDS in 1982 & 1983. Starting out in the Irish Youth Orchestra, Malachy blossomed into a wonderful musician and pursued his studies in London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and later at the University of London. A dedicated chamber musician, Robinson is a founding member of many renowned groups from the Crash Ensemble to the Irish Baroque Orchestra. Principal double-bass with the Irish Chamber Orchestra since ‘95, Malachy also has a plethora of solo accolades to his name. His album 'The Irish Double Bass' was released in 2021.

PEGGY NOLAN

Peggy enjoys a varied performance career playing with ensembles of all shapes and sizes. As cellist of the Eblana String Trio, she has performed widely since 2006 across Ireland and beyond. In 2021 the trio released their album, ‘The King’s Alchemist’ to critical acclaim. The album was selected as chamber CD of the month in a 5-star review in BBC Music magazine. Peggy plays regularly as a guest with Manchester Collective, Marsyas Trio, and contemporary music ensembles Psappha, Vonnegut Ensemble and the Crash Ensemble. She is the cellist of Amika, a string quartet who have collaborated with a diverse range of artists, performing at the Manchester, London and Cambridge Jazz festivals, as well as broadcasts from Abbey Road and Metropolis Studios. She is the Course Director of ConCorda Chamber Music course, and is studying for a PhD in Performance at the Royal Northern College of Music, researching performance practice in relation to the string quartets of Luigi Boccherini. Peggy plays on Tony Padday cello, the purchase of which was supported by Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme.

SEAMUS HICKEY

Irish violist Séamus Hickey studied with Marjolein Dispa and Nobuko Imai at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, graduating distinction cum laude. Until 2018, he studied with Simon Aspell, Adrian Petcu and Chris Marwood at the MTU Cork School of Music. In Febuary 2022, he recorded and performed as a soloist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. In 2019, Séamus was awarded second place in the Amsterdam National Viola Competition and the Vieuxtemps Prize. In the Aileen Gore Cup at Feis Ceoil, Dublin, he placed first and was awarded the RTÉ Lyric FM award. He is the winner of the 2020 RDS Jago Award. Séamus is the current violist of the Sonoro Quartet, one of Europe’s most promising young string quartets. Sonoro were multiple prize winners at the 2021 Bartok World Competition for String Quartets in Budapest, and enjoy regular international performances. Next season, they will tour Europe's leading concert venues as ECHO Rising Stars. Séamus has been guest principal violist with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Camerata Freden. He has performed in prestigious halls around Europe, including the Zeneakadémia, Budapest, TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and Bozar, Brussels.

ZOë CONWAY & John Mc intyre

With an exciting blend of eclectic fiddle and guitar music, Zoë Conway and John Mc Intyre bring to the stage sympathetic arrangements of traditional Irish music, compositions and songs, old and new.  The husband and wife folk duo possess a rare facility to draw pieces into their repertoire from other genres such as classical, jazz and world music and express this material in way which not only displays the sheer range and knowledge of both instrumentalists but also exhibits the wonderful versatility of their instruments. Zoë, no stranger to the stage, has performed with an impressive list of international artists including Riverdance, Damien Rice, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and Rodrigo y Gabriella. In contrast to this, she has been an important figure within classical music circles in Ireland and abroad, as her crossover discipline has allowed her the pleasure of appearing as soloist with acclaimed orchestras such as The Irish Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and German WDR Symphony Orchestra.

John grew up in the Cooley Mountains of north County Louth where he took up guitar at 8 years of age. He began his career as electric guitarist with the successful indie band, The Revs, with whom he performed on many famous stages and festivals including Oxygen, and Slane in Ireland, Reading and Leeds in the UK, and toured extensively in USA, Australia and Europe. He has worked alongside many world-renowned producers, and is now also producing and recording in many genres. John studied classical guitar and piano for many years, and from early childhood was immersed in the language, songs and traditional dance music of south west Donegal - his father's homeplace. The duo has recorded on major film soundtracks including Finding You (Red Sky Studio 2021) and Riverdance: The Animated Adventure (Universal 2021), and Zoë has recorded on award-winning Float Like A Butterfly (Samson Films 2018) and Artemis Fowl (Disney 2020) as soloist with a hand-picked symphony orchestra in George Martin's world-renowned AIR studios in London. The duo has released two recordings to date.