Heralded as a ‘supergroup within new music circles in Ireland’ by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Stone Drawn Circles inhabits a new space in Irish contemporary music. This performance offers a trip through various genres and forms of contemporary sound art, featuring works by Irish composers Úna Monaghan, Karen Power and Brian Irvine, as well as Australian and Canadian composers Cat Hope and Nicole Lizée.

'In Formation' and 'Landay Sequenza' were created with the financial assistance of a Commission Award, funded by the Arts Council/An Chomhaírle Ealaíon. Brian Irvine's 'A Call to Arms' was commissioned by the Contemporary Music Centre for Stone Drawn Circles with funds from PRS Foundation Beyond Borders. Stone Drawn Circles are supported by the Arts Council of Ireland. The Stone Drawn Circles: In Formation tour is project-managed by the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland, supported by PRS Foundation Beyond Borders funding.

Stone Drawn Circles take their programme ‘In Formation’ to Scotland’s Sound Festival.

Heralded as a “supergroup within new music circles in Ireland” by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Stone Drawn Circles inhabits a new space in Irish contemporary music. In their relatively short existence as a group, the ensemble’s debut performance season includes performances at prestigious festivals including HCMF, New Music Dublin and a PRS Beyond Borders tour of the UK.

Fearless interpreters of new music, ‘Stone Drawn Circles’ are newcomers to the burgeoning Irish contemporary music scene. The group brings together 6 trailblazing artists who hold exploratory music at the heart of their practice. Each member is fervently active in the performance and dissemination of new music. Artist-led, the ensemble features players from groups including Eighth Blackbird, stargaze, Crash Ensemble and Ergodos Musicians. Equally at ease with complexity as they are in graphic scoring and improvisation, Stone Drawn Circles are a collective of risk-takers and sonic explorers.

Programme

Úna Monaghan In Formation

Karen Power Can you hear me now???

Brian Irvine A Call to Arms

Cat Hope Landay Sequenza

Nicole Lizée Peril Earrings

All works are Scottish premieres

'In Formation' and 'Landay Sequenza' were created with the financial assistance of a Commission Award, funded by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.

Brian Irvine's 'A Call to Arms' was commissioned by the Contemporary Music Centre for Stone Drawn Circles with funds from PRS Foundation Beyond Borders.

Stone Drawn Circles are supported by the Arts Council of Ireland. The Stone Drawn Circles: In Formation tour is project-managed by the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland, supported by PRS Foundation Beyond Borders funding.

Necromancer by Ian Wilson

Lina Andonovska - flutes

Dario Calderone- double bass

Cathal Roche -saxophones

Alex Petcu- percussion

Justine Cooper -choreography/dancer

Necromancer is a bold new interdisciplinary performance work, created by six leading artists in music and movement. Conceived as a musical ‘exorcism’, the piece responds to a series of haunting photographs taken during the Troubles in Northern Ireland by Japanese photojournalist Akihiko Okamura, who settled south of Dublin in the late 1960s. Blending composed and improvised music with physical performance, Necromancer channels a collective ritual of memory, witness and transformation.

Ian Wilson is one of Ireland’s most distinctive contemporary composers, whose emotionally resonant and structurally daring works explore life, loss, the limits of listening, and a borderless approach to musical language.

Dario Calderone is an acclaimed Italian double bassist known for his compelling solo performances, technical command, and visionary interpretations of the most demanding contemporary repertoire.

Lina Andonovska is a fearless Australian flautist whose genre-crossing virtuosity and deep commitment to new music have made her a leading voice on stages from the Sydney Opera House to experimental spaces across Europe and the USA.

Cathal Roche is a boundary-pushing Irish saxophonist and composer whose work fuses improvisation, electronics and text with an instinctive sensitivity to space and narrative.

Alex Petcu is a dynamic Irish percussionist whose expressive precision and adventurous programming have made him a key figure in Ireland’s contemporary music scene and a sought-after collaborator for new and experimental work.

Justine Cooper is a Dublin-based choreographer whose multidisciplinary practice draws on movement, sound and visual art to create atmospherically charged performance works with powerful emotional and political resonance.

Necromancer is a powerful new performance work exploring trauma, memory and transformation through music and movement — inspired by photographs from the Troubles by Japanese photojournalist Akihiko Okamura.

Six extraordinary artists. One collective exorcism.
#NecromancerProject #ContemporaryMusic #PerformanceArt #NewMusic #AkihikoOkamura

*please be advised that there are stairs up to this venue and limited disabled access please contact the organiser if you require wheelchair access.

Eighth Blackbird perform Viet Cuong’s ‘Vital Sines’ Concerto with Des Moines Symphony Orchestra for their Season Debut Concert.

Shostakovich’s shining Festive Overture, filled with triumphant brass fanfares and woodwind virtuosity, opens the season. Eighth Blackbird, America’s groundbreaking sextet, explores the rhythmic vitality and color of Viet Cuong’s Vital Sines. Tchaikovsky’s lush and expressive Symphony No. 5, with its unforgettable “fate” motif, brings the Season Debut to a triumphant close.

Eighth Blackbird perform Viet Cuong’s ‘Vital Sines’ Concerto with Des Moines Symphony Orchestra for their Season Debut Concert.

Shostakovich’s shining Festive Overture, filled with triumphant brass fanfares and woodwind virtuosity, opens the season. Eighth Blackbird, America’s groundbreaking sextet, explores the rhythmic vitality and color of Viet Cuong’s Vital Sines. Tchaikovsky’s lush and expressive Symphony No. 5, with its unforgettable “fate” motif, brings the Season Debut to a triumphant close.

Experience the four-time GRAMMY Award®-winning sextet that redefines chamber music through bold innovation and theatrical flair. With a legacy of groundbreaking premieres and a passion for living composers, Eighth Blackbird brings a dynamic performance to the Artist Series you won’t want to miss.

Dana Sipos coaxes silkworms out of their cocoons and spins them into song. She inhabited the far north before going nomad and her captivatingly nuanced songs are filled with a wild wind and a haunting surrealism. She now resides among the old growth of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

A consummate performer, Sipos has brought her unique brand of cosmic “moon-folk to living rooms, concert halls and festivals stages across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. She has received acclaim from CBC, The Bluegrass Situation, Penguin Eggs, Folk Roots Radio (UK) and No Depression.

She is joined by cellist Justin Wright and flautist Lina Andonovska for shows on her UK tour.

Dana Sipos coaxes silkworms out of their cocoons and spins them into song. She inhabited the far north before going nomad and her captivatingly nuanced songs are filled with a wild wind and a haunting surrealism. She now resides among the old growth of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

A consummate performer, Sipos has brought her unique brand of cosmic “moon-folk to living rooms, concert halls and festivals stages across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. She has received acclaim from CBC, The Bluegrass Situation, Penguin Eggs, Folk Roots Radio (UK) and No Depression.

She is joined by cellist Justin Wright and flautist Lina Andonovska for shows on her UK tour.

RSVP HERE

Dana Sipos coaxes silkworms out of their cocoons and spins them into song. She inhabited the far north before going nomad and her captivatingly nuanced songs are filled with a wild wind and a haunting surrealism. She now resides among the old growth of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

A consummate performer, Sipos has brought her unique brand of cosmic “moon-folk to living rooms, concert halls and festivals stages across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. She has received acclaim from CBC, The Bluegrass Situation, Penguin Eggs, Folk Roots Radio (UK) and No Depression.

She is joined by cellist Justin Wright and flautist Lina Andonovska for shows on her UK tour.

Dana Sipos coaxes silkworms out of their cocoons and spins them into song. She inhabited the far north before going nomad and her captivatingly nuanced songs are filled with a wild wind and a haunting surrealism. She now resides among the old growth of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

A consummate performer, Sipos has brought her unique brand of cosmic “moon-folk to living rooms, concert halls and festivals stages across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. She has received acclaim from CBC, The Bluegrass Situation, Penguin Eggs, Folk Roots Radio (UK) and No Depression.

She is joined by cellist Justin Wright and flautist Lina Andonovska for shows on her UK tour.

Irish National Opera’s new production of L’elisir d’amore has all the ingredients of a perfect romantic comedy, a young man in love, a dubious elixir, heartache, and plenty of obstacles. Donizetti’s score takes audiences from tender heartfelt serenades like "Una furtiva lagrima" to exuberant energetic ensembles. All brought to life by star soprano Claudia Boyle as Adina, US tenor Duke Kim (Faust 2023 ) as Nemorino and John Molloy as the outlandish rogue “doctor” Dulcamara. Baritone Gianluca Margheri (Bajazet 2022) is Belcore and soprano Deirdre Higgins is Adina’s friend Giannetta.

L’elisir d’amore is conducted by Erina Yashima and directed by Cal McCrystal with set and costume design by Sarah Bacon and features the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus.

Running time is 2 hours 30 mins including one interval.

Irish National Opera’s new production of L’elisir d’amore has all the ingredients of a perfect romantic comedy, a young man in love, a dubious elixir, heartache, and plenty of obstacles. Donizetti’s score takes audiences from tender heartfelt serenades like "Una furtiva lagrima" to exuberant energetic ensembles. All brought to life by star soprano Claudia Boyle as Adina, US tenor Duke Kim (Faust 2023 ) as Nemorino and John Molloy as the outlandish rogue “doctor” Dulcamara. Baritone Gianluca Margheri (Bajazet 2022) is Belcore and soprano Deirdre Higgins is Adina’s friend Giannetta.

L’elisir d’amore is conducted by Erina Yashima and directed by Cal McCrystal with set and costume design by Sarah Bacon and features the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus.

Running time is 2 hours 30 mins including one interval.

Irish National Opera’s new production of L’elisir d’amore has all the ingredients of a perfect romantic comedy, a young man in love, a dubious elixir, heartache, and plenty of obstacles. Donizetti’s score takes audiences from tender heartfelt serenades like "Una furtiva lagrima" to exuberant energetic ensembles. All brought to life by star soprano Claudia Boyle as Adina, US tenor Duke Kim (Faust 2023 ) as Nemorino and John Molloy as the outlandish rogue “doctor” Dulcamara. Baritone Gianluca Margheri (Bajazet 2022) is Belcore and soprano Deirdre Higgins is Adina’s friend Giannetta.

L’elisir d’amore is conducted by Erina Yashima and directed by Cal McCrystal with set and costume design by Sarah Bacon and features the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus.

Running time is 2 hours 30 mins including one interval.

Irish National Opera’s new production of L’elisir d’amore has all the ingredients of a perfect romantic comedy, a young man in love, a dubious elixir, heartache, and plenty of obstacles. Donizetti’s score takes audiences from tender heartfelt serenades like "Una furtiva lagrima" to exuberant energetic ensembles. All brought to life by star soprano Claudia Boyle as Adina, US tenor Duke Kim (Faust 2023 ) as Nemorino and John Molloy as the outlandish rogue “doctor” Dulcamara. Baritone Gianluca Margheri (Bajazet 2022) is Belcore and soprano Deirdre Higgins is Adina’s friend Giannetta.

L’elisir d’amore is conducted by Erina Yashima and directed by Cal McCrystal with set and costume design by Sarah Bacon and features the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus.

Running time is 2 hours 30 mins including one interval.

Irish National Opera’s new production of L’elisir d’amore has all the ingredients of a perfect romantic comedy, a young man in love, a dubious elixir, heartache, and plenty of obstacles. Donizetti’s score takes audiences from tender heartfelt serenades like "Una furtiva lagrima" to exuberant energetic ensembles. All brought to life by star soprano Claudia Boyle as Adina, US tenor Duke Kim (Faust 2023 ) as Nemorino and John Molloy as the outlandish rogue “doctor” Dulcamara. Baritone Gianluca Margheri (Bajazet 2022) is Belcore and soprano Deirdre Higgins is Adina’s friend Giannetta.

L’elisir d’amore is conducted by Erina Yashima and directed by Cal McCrystal with set and costume design by Sarah Bacon and features the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus.

Running time is 2 hours 30 mins including one interval.

Irish National Opera’s new production of L’elisir d’amore has all the ingredients of a perfect romantic comedy, a young man in love, a dubious elixir, heartache, and plenty of obstacles. Donizetti’s score takes audiences from tender heartfelt serenades like "Una furtiva lagrima" to exuberant energetic ensembles. All brought to life by star soprano Claudia Boyle as Adina, US tenor Duke Kim (Faust 2023 ) as Nemorino and John Molloy as the outlandish rogue “doctor” Dulcamara. Baritone Gianluca Margheri (Bajazet 2022) is Belcore and soprano Deirdre Higgins is Adina’s friend Giannetta.

L’elisir d’amore is conducted by Erina Yashima and directed by Cal McCrystal with set and costume design by Sarah Bacon and features the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus.

Running time is 2 hours 30 mins including one interval.

John Butcher Dublin Fixations

John Butcher, saxophones, pre-recordings, composition

Angharad Davies, violin

Dieb13, turntables

Ståle Liavik Solberg, drums

Sophie Agnel, piano

Lina Andonovska, flutes

Colm O’Hara, trombone

Aonghus McEvoy, guitar

Alan Niblock, double bass

David Lacey, drums and percussion

David Donohoe, synthesiser

Isabelle Duthois, voice and clarinet

In John Butcher’s Dublin Fixations, the musicians bring their own, very personal languages into a composition based on what Butcher calls psychological orchestration: a process of imagining how particular musicians might respond to particular directives, in this work combining precise notation, text, imagery, instructions and pre-recordings. The latter are new pieces that use ‘close-miking’ to manipulate some of the ‘hidden’ sound possibilities of the saxophone. These are then cut to vinyl and manipulated live by turntablist Dieb13.

Fluid Fixations was commissioned by the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival for a performance in 2021. Dublin Fixations is a new version of this multifaceted composition for improvisers, featuring six members of John Butcher’s original group and six Irish musicians new to the work.
Dublin Fixations naturally moves between small-scale, highly individual combinations and the orchestral totality of these collective forces, aiming to create a coherent structure and sense of unity that still encourages improvisation, so that the musicians engage with the mystery of the work’s internal logic in the spontaneity of the moment.

Described by The Irish Times as a “genre-blind mini festival” and the “capital’s premiere salon series”, Kaleidoscope has long been acclaimed as a hugely important pillar of Dublin musical life. Founded in 2009 by violinist Cliodhna Ryan and cellist Kate Ellis, the series sought to take classical music out of its typical setting and transplant it into an informal and intimate alternative.

What happened as a result was a kind of musical revolution- a monthly musical revolution. 11 years later and the series is still held up by audiences and performers alike as the number one go-to place for a sociable evening of lesser-heard, rarely-heard or never-heard small-ensemble music performed by the country’s top professionals.

An event is usually presented in Dublin’s BelloBar on the first Wednesday of every month.

The Dutchman’s mysterious ghost ship is doomed to roam the seas until he finds true love on land. The young Senta dreams of the mythical Dutchman and longs to break his curse. But a chance to do so only occurs every seven years.

Irish National Opera’s first Wagner opera, The Flying Dutchman  stars soprano  Giselle Allen (Elektra 2021) as Senta and bass-baritone  Alfred Walker as the cursed Dutchman fated to continually sail the seas. Bass  James Creswell  plays Senta’s father Daland, with tenor  Toby Spence as Eric, mezzo-soprano  Carolyn Dobbin  as her nurse Mary, and tenor  Gavan Ring  as the steersman.   

Wagner’s epic score brilliantly captures the vast scale of the story, from the stormy overture to the final scene of tragedy and redemption. The Flying Dutchman is directed by  Rachael Hewer  and Irish National Opera’s  artistic director, Fergus Sheil, conducts the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus.

Running time is 2 hours 45 min including one interval.  

The Dutchman’s mysterious ghost ship is doomed to roam the seas until he finds true love on land. The young Senta dreams of the mythical Dutchman and longs to break his curse. But a chance to do so only occurs every seven years.

Irish National Opera’s first Wagner opera, The Flying Dutchman  stars soprano  Giselle Allen (Elektra 2021) as Senta and bass-baritone  Alfred Walker as the cursed Dutchman fated to continually sail the seas. Bass  James Creswell  plays Senta’s father Daland, with tenor  Toby Spence as Eric, mezzo-soprano  Carolyn Dobbin  as her nurse Mary, and tenor  Gavan Ring  as the steersman.   

Wagner’s epic score brilliantly captures the vast scale of the story, from the stormy overture to the final scene of tragedy and redemption. The Flying Dutchman is directed by  Rachael Hewer  and Irish National Opera’s  artistic director, Fergus Sheil, conducts the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus.

Running time is 2 hours 45 min including one interval.