Our April tour will feature the premiere of this new work by Solfa Carlile, commissioned by Music Network and performed by the combined talents of a trio made up of some of the country’s most sought-after artists, Claudia Boyle (soprano), Niall O’Sullivan (trumpet) and Conor Linehan (piano).

The work will be performed as part of our April tour programme. The tour will run in venues across the country from 13 – 26 April.

About the Composer

Originally from Cork, Solfa was a recipient of the Bill Whelan Bursary, graduating from the Royal College of Music. In 2010 she received the NCH Jerome Hynes Young Composers’ Award and was composer-in-residence for the Covent Garden Sinfonia from 2012-2014. Solfa received the Seán O’Riada Prize in 2013. Her cantata The Life of St. Cuthbert was premiered at the 2019 Durham Vocal Festival and she was the featured composer for the 2019 Spotlight Chamber Music series at Triskel Arts Centre. In 2022, Solfa collaborated on The Sequenza Project with flautist Eilís O’Sullivan, composing a new work, Sonanotine, to complement Luciano Berio’s Sequenza series.

Also, a theatre composer, Solfa’s folk musical-in-progress, Setanta the Brave was workshopped in London in 2021 and 2022. She was awarded a doctorate (DPhil) in music from the University of Oxford, culminating in the composition of a chamber opera The Exile based on James Joyce.

New Commissions

Music Network is committed to providing opportunities for Irish composers through its 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.