Dublin composer Dr Anne-Marie O’Farrell has a substantial output of works for orchestra, mixed choir, solo vocal, chamber and solo instruments to her name. Her music has been performed by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Singers, the Tower of London Chapel Choir, Chamber Choir Ireland, ConTempo Quartet and numerous international solo artists.

Wide ranging commissions include Music Network’s commission for a clarinet and harp work for members of the Vienna Philharmonic, Dionysis Grammenos and Anneleen Lenaerts; a substantial work for forty harps for Harp Ireland, Cúige na gCruitirí, premiered at Dublin Castle; Love-Wounded Lord commissioned by the Tower of London Chapel Choir as part of World War I commemorations; and a work for the 92-piece Meitheal orchestra of traditional instruments.

Her Irish harp concerto, In Light Anew, commissioned by RTÉ LyricFM, was premiered at the World Harp Congress in 2022 with the composer as soloist. Her civil war cantata, Who’d Ever Think It Would Come to This? was a resounding critical success following its premiere in September 2022 by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Resurgam Chamber Choir and vocal soloists, conducted by Ciarán Crilly. In 2022 she gave the world premiere of her lever harp concerto, In Light Anew at the World Harp Congress in Cardiff, and recently performed its Irish premiere with conductor Gavin Maloney and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in Dublin’s National Concert Hall, broadcast live on RTÉ Lyric FM radio.

Currently Head of Harp at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, she has lectured in composition at TU Dublin Conservatoire, and was Arts Council-funded Composer in Residence at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick for three years. She holds a PhD in composition at Queen’s University Belfast studying with Professor Piers Hellawell, a first class honours MA in composition from NUI Maynooth and undergraduate degrees from UCD. Anne-Marie is regularly invited to give lecture recitals and masterclasses at international festivals, and acts as jury member for competitions. Her compositions are featured on conservatoire and examination syllabuses worldwide. www.annemarieofarrell.com

This work for solo pedal harp is a response to the phenomenon by starlings to collectively create patterns of transformation. Yet, the movement of each individual bird is decided by information it receives from the surrounding seven birds. This number caught my attention, because on the pedal harp, out of twelve pitches in every octave, the player only has access to seven pitches at any one time. The current pedal harp mechanism was designed during the threshold between the classical and romantic eras, so it provides more easily for harmony of that time, characterised by major and minor keys which are related to one another. The challenge to the composer for harp is to find seven pitches which are more interesting to today's ears than the major and minor scale, lovely though these may be.

In this piece I devised a series of 22 different seven-note scales, each with a difference of one pitch from its neighbouring scale, and 17 different finger patterns, also shifting by just small differences. I then transformed these basic materials to create a sense of metamorphosis in the movement throughout the piece. Some of the patterns are interrupted by starling calls, created through different effects on the harp. I deliberately avoided reliance on a sound recording of starlings, - the commissioner may engage starlings themselves at any time, should they be available. I am much more interested in what can be said through a musical instrument in the hands of an artist, than in copying something already existing using pre-recorded sounds. Meanwhile we treasure the experiences these mythical creatures bring us, and respond humbly to their creativity with our own.

We are committed to providing opportunities for Irish composers through our programmes. Commissioning is a vital part of the work we do to nurture music and musicians in Ireland.

Every year we commission a number of new works by Irish composers which are performed by renowned Irish and international performers for audiences across the county as part of our national touring programme.