RTÉ Concert Orchestra May and June 2022: Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Cork

Tuesday, 19 Apr 2022 17:41

>>>Deliverance

As part of New Music Dublin | Sunday 1 May, 7.30pm | National Concert Hall

RTÉ Concert Orchestra | Gavin Maloney conductor | Michael McHale piano

Garrett Sholdice Prelude No. 12 – world premiere

Stephen Gardner Deliverance – world premiere

Ailís Ní Ríain Flower Scar Road – world premiere

Andrew Synnott Waiting for Elvira – live premiere

‘… and with one bound, they were free!’

The orchestral premieres in tonight’s concert were conceived and commissioned either before or during lockdown, and all have waited, patiently, until they could be let free tonight! They test the virtuosity of the orchestra – the ability of this astonishing musical creature, made of so many different people, to think as though with one mind, and to move as one, and yet retain their individuality and self-expression.

Before we let the orchestral works out in to the world we suspend time for the simple, haunting single line of Garrett Sholdice’s Piano Prelude No. 12, played by Michael McHale, before he launches into Andrew Synnott’s sparkling Waiting for Elvira with the orchestra.

Four wonderful Irish compositional voices – radical and complex in their own ways – expressing and releasing their own lockdown thoughts and feelings.

Tickets €12 | Booking: 01 417 0000/www.nch.ie | As part of New Music Dublin 2022

>>>May the Fourth Be With You

Wednesday 4 May, 8pm | National Concert Hall

RTÉ Concert Orchestra | Stephen Bell conductor | Aedín Gormley presenter

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra under its Principal Guest Conductor Stephen Bell presents an epic Star Wars night featuring music from every single one of the films right up to The Rise of Skywalker. This remarkable achievement by John Williams spanning five decades makes for a suitable salute in this, his 90th birthday year. Aedín Gormley of RTÉ lyric fm will introduce classic themes including Flag Parade, Duel of the Fates, Across the Stars, Princess Leia’s Theme, the Imperial March, Yoda’s Theme, Rey’s Theme and The Throne Room. The force is strong with this one!

Tickets: €15–€42.50 | Booking: 01 417 0000/www.nch.ie | Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

>>>A Woman’s Heart Orchestrated

Sunday 8 May, 8pm | Bord Gáis Energy Theatre

RTÉ Concert Orchestra | Gavin Murphy conductor

It’s one of the most successful Irish albums of all time, selling more than 750,000 copies in Ireland alone, and was a huge success as a series of live concerts in 2020. Get ready for a very special event as Eleanor McEvoy, Maura O’Connell and Wallis Bird come together again to perform this iconic album live.

Tickets from €49.50 from www.ticketmaster.ie | Presented by Singular Artists and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

>>>CELLISSIMO Concerto Gala

Wednesday 11 May, 8pm | Leisureland, Galway

Bill Whelan Fragments

Gerald Barry Cello Concerto – world premiere

Julia Wolfe Wind in My Hair – Irish premiere

Edward Elgar Cello Concerto

Three cello concertos in one concert! Music for Galway’s CELLISSIMO Concerto Gala, a legacy event from MfG’s Galway 2020 programme, presents the RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by David Brophy in concert with three international cello soloists, performing three very different works.

‘We could not be more excited about this concert,’ says Finghin Collins, Artistic Director of CELLISSIMO. ‘Ever since witnessing the premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Wind in My Hair in October 2018, we have been eagerly awaiting this moment. What a treat to have Leisureland finally come alive to the sound of the cello and orchestra! We are preparing for CELLISSIMO 2024 and this will give Galway audiences the chance to hear the magic of this instrument in its full glory.’

Before all that, this extraordinary evening opens with Co. Galway native and Florence resident Naomi Berrill’s performance of a further MfG CELLISSIMO commission, Bill Whelan’s Fragments for solo cello and voice.

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra will then perform with the three cello soloists for the three-concerto bonanza. MfG has co-commissioned two new cello concertos with the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. The first, Julia Wolfe’s Wind in my Hair, received its premiere at the CBA 2018 and we are proud to present its second performance as part of CELLISSIMO. Swedish star cellist Jakob Koranyi, an avid campaigner for the environment, is travelling green from Sweden to Galway in order to perform this piece. Gerald Barry’s Cello Concerto receives its world premiere at this concert featuring Galway’s own Adrian Mantu. This work will have a second performance at the CBA in the future. BBC Young Musician Competition winner Laura van der Heijden finishes off this remarkable concert with the Elgar Cello Concerto, a favourite in the repertoire.

Tickets: €25 / €22.50 | Students (full-time) €10 | MfG Friends €21

Booking: www.musicforgalway.ie / 091 705962

Presented by Music for Galway and Galway 2020 in association with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and with support from KPMG

>>>The RTÉ Concert Orchestra Celebrates Emily Dickinson

Wednesday 25 May, 8pm | National Concert Hall

Gavin Maloney conductor | Featuring Stephen Rea, Naomi Louisa O’Connell, Susannah de Wrixon and Ryan O’Shaughnessy

Victoria Kennefick presenter

Brian Connor Artistic Associate

The legacy of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and the music it inspired is explored in a performance by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and special guests. With readings and performances by Stephen Rea, Naomi Louisa O’Connell, Susannah de Wrixon and Ryan O’Shaughnessy, all presented by one of Ireland’s most exciting and vibrant poets Victoria Kennefick.

Music includes Ronald Perera’s Five Summer Songs on Poems of Emily Dickinson, Billie Eilish’s ‘Bury a Friend’, Damien Rice’s ‘It Takes a Lot to Know a Man’,‘Because I Could Not Stop for Death’ by Irish songwriter Susan McKeown, Carla Bruni’s ‘I Went To Heaven’ and ‘I Felt My Life With Both My Hands’ and music by Stephen Foster and John Cage. The RTÉ CO will also perform Copland’s Appalachian Spring.

Victoria Kennefick, recently nominated for the T.S. Eliot Prize, herself has a great devotion to Dickinson, offers contributions on Dickinson’s life, career and influence on modern culture.

Tickets: €15–€42.50 | Booking: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie | Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

>>>Seán Keane and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

Thursday 2 June, 8pm | National Concert Hall

David Brophy conductor

After a hugely successful concert together in 2018, Seán Keane, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and conductor David Brophy are coming together again for a very special night. Featuring a beautiful mix of new and old songs, originals and covers, including He Ain’t Heavy, Piper to the End and Angel, and gorgeous orchestral arrangements of Shenandoah, One More Hour, Lullaby and Nature’s Little Symphony.

Tickets: €15–€42.50 | Booking: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie | Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

>>>The RTÉ Concert Orchestra Celebrates The Beatles

Saturday 18 June, 8pm | The Helix | RTÉ Concert Orchestra & special guests

David Brophy conductor

As Paul McCartney turns 80, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, David Brophy and guests tip the hat with a very special Beatles night. From one of the most extraordinary of all songwriting catalogues, and one of the most iconic of all groups, enjoy a concert packed with classic songs. Eleanor Rigby, Yesterday, The Long and Winding Road, Hey Jude, Penny Lane, The Fool on the Hill, In My Life, All You Need is Love, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day in the Life and lots more. The RTÉ CO has won rave reviews, awards and packed houses for its concerts celebrating great popular artists of our time including Leonard Cohen and David Bowie. Join them live as they add to this list of memorable nights with a salute to one of the all-time great musical partnerships.

Tickets: €15–€42.50 | Booking: 01 700 7000 / www.thehelix.ie | Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

>>>2FM Live with Jenny Greene and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

Live at the Docklands, Limerick, 3 June

Live at the Marquee, Cork, 24 June

Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, 30 June

Starting out as a one-off performance in Rankins Wood at Electric Picnic 2016, the collaboration of 2FM’s Jenny Greene and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra went on to sell out festivals and venues across Ireland in the following years.

It is very much a project of nostalgia with reimagined dance classics played by a 48-piece live orchestra, featuring main vocalist Gemma Sugrue.

2FM’s Jenny Greene and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by Gavin Murphy will return to play Live at the Docklands, Limerick on 3 June, Live at the Marquee, Cork on 24 June and Iveagh Gardens, Dublin on 30 June.

This hugely successful collaboration with RTÉ 2FM and Jenny Greene won the IMRO Outstanding Achievement Award 2018.

3 June: Presented by Dolan’s

24 and 30 June: Presented by Aiken Promotions

Booking: www.ticketmaster.ie