Music Network today announced plans for its Autumn 2022 National Touring Programme. Running from September – November, the season features four world-class traditional, classical and jazz ensembles, with concerts in venues across Ireland and in London.
The Music Network Autumn 2022 touring season starts with a much-anticipated new collaboration featuring Irish fiddler and lead vocalist for trad supergroup Altan Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, harper, singer and member of the Moya Brennan Band Cormac De Barra, and stellar performer on the uilleann pipes, traditional Irish flute and whistles Mark Redmond. Each has graced stages and screens around Ireland and the world for many years, and all three are undisputed masters of their respective instruments, with a sound rooted in tradition and an ear for exploration. The trio kick off their nine-date tour at Dublin's Sugar Club on 14th September, running until 2nd October with performances at Pavilion Theatre, Courthouse Arts Centre, Ionad Cultúrtha, Clifden Arts Festival, Áras Inis Gluaire, Riverbank Arts Centre, Triskel Arts Centre and The Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith, London.
Audiences are in for a sublime treat this October with violin and piano duo Clara-Jumi Kang and Sunwook Kim. Garnering top laurels over the last decade—the Indianapolis, Seoul and Sendai International Competitions for Kang, and Ettlingen, Clara Haskil and Leeds for Kim—their exquisite sense of phrasing and synchronised sensitivity are requisite ingredients for the violin sonata’s highly intimate format. For their Irish tour, the extraordinary duo showcase their outstanding musicianship with a programme of violin sonatas from the Romantic era through to the present day: Beethoven, Respighi, Franck, and an exciting new Music Network commission entitled Duo by Irish composer John Buckley. The tour runs from 5th – 10th October with performances in Dublin city centre, Waterford, Sligo, Kilkenny and Listowel.
Also in October, Music Network’s jazz offering is an unmissable opportunity to experience the enchantment of multi-instrumentalist Sélène Saint-Aimé. Largely eschewing language per se in favour of her own improvised vocalisations, the double-bassist, singer and poet brings together crystalline scatting and mesmerising ululations, interplaying them sinuously with her trio’s drums and saxophone, as well as with her own spellbinding counterpoint on double bass. This compelling combination organically evokes the structure of the Martinican bèlè tradition, a dialogue of drummer and dancer that—especially in Saint-Aimé’s case—is a fluid, conversational juxtaposition of Afro-Caribbean musical elements and playful improvisatory energy. Catch Sélène Saint-Aimé on her Irish tour from 25th – 30th October in Dublin, Tinahely, Bray and Cork.
November brings the unusual combination of cello and accordion, in a tour featuring Christian-Pierre La Marca and Félicien Brut. Despite any superficial assumptions about this improbable pairing, once you hear it, few things are as captivating as the sound of a cello and an accordion together. It is a shared reedy richness, mellow and smooth, enhanced by the distinctive phrasings of bellow and bow-stroke. This stunning classical duo of new generation French virtuosos brings Music Network’s Autumn 2022 Season to a fantastic finish with a genre-busting programme World Songs spanning the Baroque to the modern day, including the not-to-be-missed premiere of a new Music Network commission by Irish composer Judith Ring. The tour runs from 10th – 20th November with performances in Letterkenny, Leap, Clifden, Roscommon, Dublin, Listowel, Waterford and Kilkenny.
Music Network’s CEO Sharon Rollston commented: “We’re committed to bringing brilliant musicians from both here and around the globe to audiences throughout Ireland. We’re also expanding access to the tours via a range of workshops for schools, music groups and communities under our Learning and Participation Programme. Combined with concerts in 19 different venues across the country, this provides opportunities for people of all ages to engage with these incredible artists and their music on a number of levels.’’
See full details of all Music Network's tours and events HERE.