FUAIM Music at UCC returns this week with our Spring 2021 season of Friday lunchtime concerts live-streamed from the Glucksman Gallery. And what better way to start than with a performance by The Vanbrugh? For this concert, the trio will be joined by Siun Milne, David Kenny and Yseult Cooper-Stockdale for a performance of Antonín Dvořák's String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48. 

Live online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

Thursday 11th February, 11am. Live on Microsoft Teams.

Email music@ucc.ie for link.

Voice of the Cape: Reclaiming Landscape Through the Sound of Cape Town-Based Hiphop.

Thursday 4th March - 11am. Email music@ucc.ie for the Teams Link.

FUAIM's Friday lunchtime concert this week features award-winning Scottish piper Brighde Chaimbeul, who will be joined by multi-instrumentalist Jamie Murchadh.

Watch Live online at: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

Live Online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

Live Online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

Thursday 18 March 2pm. Email music@ucc.ie for MS Teams Link. 

Thursday 25th March, 11am. Email music@ucc.ie for MS Teams Link

Live Online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

FUAIM is delighted to present a concert by Nollaig Casey, our Traditional Artist in Residence for 2021. Nollaig is one of Ireland’s most acclaimed fiddle players, with an international reputation for excellence in the field of Irish traditional music.

FUAIM is delighted to welcome back Mary O'Donnell and Hannah Collins who are recent graduates from our B. Mus programme. Mary and Hannah will be presenting a concert of traditional music for fiddle and piano.

Join the livestream from the Glucksman Gallery here: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

FUAIM is delighted to welcome Kenneth Rice, Cian Boyland & friends for our final concert of the season.

Join the livestream from the Glucksman Gallery here: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

‘Eastwards Heterotopias of the Piano’

Join us live online by emailing music@ucc.ie for an MS Teams link.

The National String Quartet Foundation, Chamber Music Partner to UCC, presents The Vanbrugh & Friends 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [1756-1791] 

String Quintet in C major K.515 [1787]

Join us live at the Aula Maxima and online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

In association with the East Cork Early Music Festival 

HANDEL IN IRELAND 

Harpsichord recital 

Join us live at the Glucksman Gallery and online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

Pianist David Syme, UCC/Ritmüller Classical Artist in Residence, will offer a program of short pieces drawn from his vast repertoire. 

The concert also inaugurates the in-kind donation of a Ritmuller RS280 from Pearl River Piano Group; the world’s largest Piano manufacturer.

Join us live at the Aula Maxima and online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

FUAIM is very proud to present the winners of the 2020 Dónal 'Doc' Gleeson Awards for outstanding undergraduate performance. 

UCC Performer, Composer and Lecturer, Paul O Donnell presents, ‘POD 2021’ 

The Department of Music is pleased to welcome UCC PhD candidate Clare Geraghty as the first speaker of our 2021-2022 FUAIM Lecture Series.

Due to illness, Cormac Begley’s FUAIM lunchtime concert is canceled for this Friday, Oct 29th.

FUAIM is delighted to welcome back concertina virtuoso, Cormac Begley, performing in the beautiful surrounds of St. Fin Barre's Cathedral.

FUAIM is delighted to welcome back singer-songwriter Jack O'Rourke for what promises to be a special performance.

The Department of Music is pleased to welcome composer Dr. Dorone Paris as the next speaker of our 2021-2022 FUAIM Lecture Series.

The National String Quartet Foundation, Chamber Music Partner to UCC, presents 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Francesco Turrisi's FUAIM lunchtime concert is cancelled for this Friday, November 26th.

FUAIM is delighted to present another concert in the FUAIM/Ritmuller series.

Onde features new original solo piano compositions and improvisations by eclectic Italian Francesco Turrisi and his journey during lockdown. 

Music for flute and piano

Two virtuosic exponents of two different musical styles explore the edges and affinities of baroque, traditional Irish and flamenco, in a high-octane programme of new arrangements and improvisations. 

Rachmaninoff: melancholy, hypnosis and triumph. Piano Concerto No. 2 (David Syme and Keith Pascoe, pianos)

Jean Françaix [1912-1997] String Trio [1933]

Johannes Brahms [1833-1897] String Quintet No.1 in F major Op.88 [1882]

The second concert of the Spring season sees the welcome return of ‘angel voice’ Sue Rynhart, who will be joined this time by acclaimed double bassist Dan Bodwell.

UCC Music graduate, Claudia Schwab, presents a concert of genre-hopping, funk-beat yodeling, contemplative and life-affirming musical adventures rooted in Irish, Austrian and Indian music traditions.

Chinese-born American composer Lei Liang is the winner of the Rome Prize, the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Koussevitzky Foundation Commission, two National Endowment for the Arts grants, a Creative Capital Award, and the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His concerto Xiaoxiang for saxophone and orchestra was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2015. His orchestral work, A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams, won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 2021.

Classical guitarist Jerry Creedon will be joined by flautist Eilís O’Sullivan and cellist Hugh McCarthy in a fascinating mix of the classical and the modern, all involving the guitar, in a programme ranging from the cool jazz of Thelonius Monk to the Tango sensations of Astor Piazzolla.

The Department of Music is pleased to welcome Zeynep Bulut as the next speaker of our 2021-2022 FUAIM Lecture Series.

The lecture "Sustainable Speech" takes place at 11am Thursday, 3 March in the Aloys Fleischmann  Room, Music Department and also online via MS Teams. Please email music@ucc.ie to RSVP for in-person attendance or for a link to attend online.

Caitlín Nic Gabhann is a concertina player, performer, teacher, composer and percussive dancer. Having toured for years as a dancer with Riverdance, the 3-time All-Ireland concertina champion has been a regular performer at festivals and concert halls from North America to Asia over the last 15 years. Caitlín’s life’s work to date is recognised with her appointment as UCC Traditional Artist in Residence for 2022.

The Department of Music is pleased to announce this year’s Ó Riada Memorial Lecture:

“Celebrating the Centenary; One hundred years of Irish Traditional Music Pedagogy at University College Cork”

“Effect of Music Intervention on Infants’ Neural Processing of Speech”

Andrew Zolinsky’s unique style of programming and his individual interpretations have secured worldwide performances at many prestigious venues and festivals. His work with living composers brings a vivid freshness, energy and passion to his interpretations of music from previous eras.

THE DÓNAL ‘DÓC’ GLEESON INSTRUMENTAL TUITION AWARDS. FUAIM is very proud to present the winners of this year's Dónal ‘Doc’ Gleeson Awards for outstanding undergraduate performance. They are 2nd-year students Gobnait Kiely and Pádraig Enright and 3rd-year students Luke Maziarek and Rachel Browne.

The Vanbrugh and their guests present Dvořák’s incomparable viola quintet, composed in Iowa shortly after the equally celebrated ‘American’ string quartet. A review of the work’s premiere in 1894 noted that the quintet was "of the kind about which a commentator may write a small volume without exhausting his admiration or fully describing their beauties". We agree!

Pianist David Syme, UCC/Ritmüller Classical Artist in Residence, will offer a program of short pieces drawn from his vast repertoire. 

Join us live at the Aula Maxima and online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

FUAIM Music at UCC is delighted to bring you the first concert in the Autumn 2022 season this coming Friday 30^th September at the usual time of 1:10pm, The Vanbrugh & Friends, performing Tchaikovsky’s extraordinary String Sextet in D minor. The venue for our concert is the beautiful Glucksman Gallery, UCC, recently awarded the Art Museum Award for 2022 by the European Museum Academy, and for those who can’t attend in person, the performance will be livestreamed on youtube.com/musicatUCC.

It is a great pleasure to welcome Professor Karaikudi S. Subramanian to the FUAIM Friday lunchtime concert series for this week’s performance.

FUAIM Music at UCC is very excited to partner with the wonderful East Cork Early Music Festival to bring you this week’s Friday lunchtime concert, a performance celebrating the chamber music of French Baroque composer Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre. We look forward to welcoming you to the Glucksman Gallery for what promises to be a very special event.

Eclectic mix of original and cover songs

Jazz/world music with invited guests

FUAIM Music at UCC is back in the Aula Maxima this week for a particularly special event ...

UCC/Ritmuller Classical Artist in Residence

BRAHMS – String Sextet No.1 in B flat major (1860)

 "Gendered Experiences of the Irish Music Industry"

FUAIM in association with Quiet Lights & Raelach Records present Aoife Ní Bhríain, Diarmuid Ó Meachair & Niamh O'Brien

‘A Journey Through Melodic Masterpieces’

All prospective Music students, their parents and Music teachers are warmly invited to our annual Open Day.

We have another wonderful concert lined up for you this Friday in the Glucksman Gallery where we welcome back the extraordinary pianist, composer, singer and musical explorer, Antoni O'Breskey, in duet with Ultan O'Brien, fiddle player, violist and composer.

For the final concert of the Autumn 2022 series, FUAIM proudly presents the UCC Choir, directed by Dr. Eva McMullan-Glossop, in collaboration with none other than singer and songwriter, Brian Kennedy. Please join us in St. Fin Barre's Cathedral as we bring the season to close with what promises to be a real highlight.

Singer-songwriters from West Cork 

Victoria and Áine are each talented artists in their own right, but together, they create magic. Their voices are spellbinding. They write and sing from the heart, making every live performance a wonderful experience. 

Beethoven: String Quintet in C major Op.29 
 The Vanbrugh and their guests present Beethoven's Op.29 string quintet, 'The Storm'. Written in 1801, shortly after his Op.18 string quartets this great and seldom heard work combines his mastery of quartet writing with the expansive richness of texture offered by the addition of a second viola.

Traditional Artist in Residence 2023 

AROUND THE WORLD: 

A dazzlingly diverse recital of flute and guitar music travels across four continents. 

"Shades and Half Lights" (PRS Beyond Borders Tour) 

UCC Department of Music Student Performers

BRAHMS - String Quintet Op.111  

Join us live at the Aula Maxima and online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC 

John Godfrey discusses Karen Power’s works ‘we return to ground’, 'Sonic Pollinators' and 'Instruments of Ice', composed for Quiet Music Ensemble, of which John is the director. The ensemble is dedicated to an aesthetic in which sound is less seen as something to organise and more as something to explore. Power’s works are created from field recordings made all over the world; QME engages with these recordings to produce a soundscape in which natural and performed sounds blend to create a living, constantly changing sonic kaleidoscope. The talk will include the world’s first chance to hear QME’s recent studio recordings of these pieces, due to be released on Other Minds later this year.

Pianist David Syme, UCC/Ritmüller Classical Artist in Residence, will offer a program of short pieces drawn from his vast repertoire. 

11am-1pm, Ó Riada Hall, UCC Music Building, Sunday’s Well, or via MS Teams (link available on request from Melanie Marshall, ml.marshall@ucc.ie

Gayle is Associate Professor of Music at the College of William and Mary.

The UCC Choir, directed by Dr. Eva McMullan-Glossop, perform with soprano Róisín O'Grady.

Join us live at the Aula Maxima and online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

Directed by Dr. Eva McMullan-Glossop of the Department of Music, the University College Cork Choir comprises students from the UCC School of Music and Theatre as well as staff members from across the University. The Choir performs regularly both on and off campus and is known for its innovative collaborations with prominent solo artists, including John Spillane, Iarla O Lionaird, Cara O’Sullivan, Karan Casey and, most recently singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy and soprano Róisín O'Grady.

Pianist David Syme, UCC/Ritmüller Classical Artist in Residence, will offer a program of short pieces drawn from his vast repertoire. 

Ngarra Burria: a programme of indigenous Australian works.

The Vanbrugh and their guests present Beethoven’s string quintet arrangement of his darkly beautiful C minor piano trio Op.1 No.3. Written in 1795, the trio became one of his most popular chamber works and he published this arrangement in 1819.

For this special FUAIM concert, Berrill and Talty build on previous collaborations as members of Ensemble Ériu and the Irish Memory Orchestra to explore original and traditional duet music for concertinas and clarinets. 

Le violon obligé: accompanied piano sonatas of the eighteenth century

Music for piano and violin by Brillon de Jouy, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Mozart, Cherubini.

Join us live at St. Fin Barre's and online: https://www.youtube.com/user/musicatUCC

Cork jazz legend, Len McCarthy, makes a welcome return to the FUAIM concert series after many years. Much loved as a true stalwart of the Irish music scene over many decades, Len will be joined on stage by pianist Jim Doherty and David Whitla on bass.

Join us in the Aula Maxima, or online at https://youtube.com/@musicatUCC 

The Irish Klezmer Suite - a new, genre-bending composition by Ruti Lachs

Glucksman Gallery, UCC

Performed by Ruti and the Irish Klezmer Suite Ensemble

Concept + Composition by Karen Power

for Human: Loré Lixenberg + Nature: Environments 

Multichannel Sound, Video + Live Performance

Tom ‘Tucker’ Mulcahy & Tommy Halferty, Jazz guitar duo

GUIDING BELLS is produced by Once Off Productions and presented in association with Cork City Council, University College Cork, FUAIM Music at UCC, UCC Quercus Talented Students Programme, CACSSS, and Sounds from a Safe Harbour.

The Vanbrugh and their guests present Dvořák’s string quintet Op.77. Written in 1875, the quintet adds the depth of the double bass to the instruments of the string quartet and together with Dvořák’s love of melody and rhythmic vitality, the result is a glorious and joyful musical celebration.

NoNameTrio are a brand new progressive Irish Folk band featuring three esteemed solo musicians, composers and recording artists, Jason Turk, Conor O’Sullivan and Karl Nesbitt.

They play a diverse program of their own tunes and songs, as well as novel arrangements of traditional melodies. Their music is a unique blend of rich acoustic sounds and electronic soundscapes, alive with both simple hooks and musical complexity.

You can check out their recent video for music tech brand ROLI, which now has over half a million views:

https://youtu.be/vnz15qvkKR8?si=fdhpb63zblXWAfQp

http://www.nonametrio.ie/

For the first of their FUAIM concerts this season, The Vanbrugh & Friends present Ludwig van Beethoven’s elegant and entertaining String Quintet in E flat Major Op.4. The concert will be opened by the Gealach Quartet, from the MTU Cork School of Music, performing two movements from Haydn’s 1796 D major quartet Op.76/5.

As artists in their own right, Áine O Gorman and Victoria Keating have an impressive archive of solo singles, but together they create magic. Long time friends, the duo have previously released three co-written songs: 2020’s ‘The Poor Ground,’ written with Jamie Kelly in response to the Tuam Babies scandal, and singles ‘Brigid’ and ‘Sweet Bird’ (2023). Described by John Creedon as ‘quite brilliant,’ Victoria has toured and recorded extensively as a singer with Christy Moore and Declan Sinnott and has released 5 solo singles to great acclaim. Áine has released 4 solo singles, and her most recent, ‘These Empty Rooms,’ has been shortlisted for a prestigious Grammy Award in the ‘Song Of The Year’ category.

Rasa Nua are a Cork-based ensemble presenting original compositions and improvisational gymnastics steeped in various world music traditions, notably Baltic and Indian. Formed during the creative vacuum of the covid pandemic, they are: Jorge Kachmari (clarinet, saxophone), Dara O'Brien (sitar, guitar), Pat Allot(percussion), Tim O’Leary (double bass) and Lady Fi (voice).

Their sound is rich and varied, drawing from their collective backgrounds in Indian classical music, jazz, blues, klezmer, Turkish and contemporary music. With fluid interaction and palpable chemistry, Rasa Nua brings asound that is at once exploratory, exciting, engaging, and fresh.

Jerry Creedon presents popular guitar classics, featuring music for guitar by Isaac Albeniz, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Michael Praetorius, Stanley Myers and Andrew York.

The recital includes Yuquijiiro Yocoh’s beautiful Sakura variations, a piece which reflects the stillness typical of Japanese music, and the famous Five Preludes written in 1940 by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Well-known favourites Asturias by Isaac Albeniz, Cavatina theme from The Deer Hunter, and Sunburst by contemporary American composer, Andrew York, are also on the programme.

In memory of their colleague, Donal Gleeson, the Dublin Postal Clerks Branch of the Communication Workers' Union has established a fund to enable the University to provide a number of Instrumental Tuition Awards. Up to four awards are made each year to deserving undergraduate music students. This week's Friday lunchtime concert will feature four short performances by Iona Ritchie, Ruby Falvey, Rachel Casey and Gráinne Ahern.

Niamh is an accomplished fiddle-player and singer, known for her unique traditional fiddle playing, her folk-infused fiddle compositions and smoky, warm vocal style.

THE VANBRUGH & FRIENDS

Keith Pascoe, violin
Marja Gaynor, violin
Simon Aspell, viola
Ed Creedon, viola
Christopher Marwood, cello
Maria O’Connor, cello

We regret to announce a change to our scheduled FUAIM concert for this week: due to circumstances beyond our control, Ramtin Nazarijou's concert of Iranian classical music on santur has had to be postponed to a later date. However, the good news is that the Friday Lunchtime Concert will still go ahead with the wonderful duo of Paul O'Donnell & Clíodhna Octigan and a concert of pop, soul and more for voices, piano and percussion.

It is fifty years since the untimely death in April 1974 of Denis Murphy, the iconic Sliabh Luachra fiddle-player, who left an indelible mark on the course of Irish traditional music. In this illustrated presentation, the various facets and eras of his life and music will be explored – the early days as a pupil of the legendary Pádraig O’Keeffe; the great years in New York; and finally his time at home in Ireland during which the ‘classic’ album The Star Above the Garter was released. Audio and video archive material will provide further contextual background and insights.

VANBRUGH & FRIENDS 

Keith Pascoe, violin 
Marja Gaynor, violin 
Simon Aspell, viola 
Christopher Marwood, cello 
Maria O’Connor, cello

Ostravská banda

International chamber orchestra
Petr Kotik, conductor

With special guests
Irena Troupová, soprano (Prague)
Susan Stenger, flute (London)
Alex Petcu, percussion (Cork)
Yseult Cooper, violoncello (Cork)

Program:
Martin Smolka - Oh, My Admired C-Minor
Donnchadh MacAodha - Music for Flute and a Two Handed Pianist
Petr Kotik - Many Many Women Plus I
Phill Niblock - Petr’s Charm 

Composers Smolka, MacAodha and Kotik will be present

Body & Soul: new music for historic instruments 

Yonit Kosovske, harpsichord
Sarah Groser, viol
Caitríona O'Mahony, baroque violin. 

In association with East Cork Early Music Festival

This lecture is online and can be viewed here.

From Branchu to Baker: Tracing Innovative Diasporic Performance Practices Through Time and Space in Nineteenth-Century Paris  

Historically, the emergence of Black women performers in European circles tends to be located in the twentieth century, with the arrival in Paris of Joséphine Baker (1906–1975). This paper seeks to recover the established Parisian racialized and sexualized diasporic performance practices into which Baker inserted herself.

De Ziah & Date: Cello/Guitar Duo

 
Enjoy a captivating concert featuring Ilse de Ziah on cello and Ian Date on guitar. Experience their mesmerising duet, weaving intricate melodies and evocative harmonies that redefine cello and guitar performance. Their fusion of Celtic, Jazz, and World music, infused with a Classical sensibility gives a fresh perspective on global musical styles. 

Claudia Schwab - Went to Walk album launch tour

 
Sligo-based Austrian violinist/singer/yodeller and composer Claudia Schwab has performed on numerous recordings and collaborated with a range of cross-genre artists both established and emerging.

Acts of sonic fracture: working with Sonic Ghosting as an experimental music practice

Rearranged: pop and soul music for voice and piano

Clíodhna Octigan - voice
Paul O'Donnell - piano

This week's Friday lunchtime concert promises to be a real treat and features the wonderful duo of vocalist Clíodhna Octigan and none other than UCC's (and FUAIM's!) very own Paul O'Donnell on piano. Please join us in St. Fin Barre's Cathedral for this much-anticipated performance of brilliantly (re)arranged pop and soul tunes.

THE GEALACH QUARTET

Kseniia Yershova, violin
Ellen O’Connell, violin
Ilona Adams, viola
Alina Obreja, cello

Shostakovich – String Quartet No.1 [1938]

The Gealach Quartet from MTU Cork School of Music performs Shostakovich’s short, charming and brilliant first quartet.

VANBRUGH & FRIENDS

Keith Pascoe, violin
Marja Gaynor, violin
Simon Aspell, viola
Ed Creedon, viola
Christopher Marwood, cello
Maria O’Connor, cello

The Women, We Will Rise by Karan Casey 

What would possess a singer to write a play?

The Women, We Will Rise is a theatrical song cycle that highlights the role of defiant Irish women during the revolutionary period and beyond. It places women centre stage and shares through song and story gallant women from Ireland's past, whilst singing into being a vision for the women of the future. 

The production brings to fruition songs and stories about my great grandmother Agnes Ryan of the hotel, a mother of 12 children and a Cumann na mBan member. Other figures from the era, such as the great patriot Kathleen Clarke from Limerick and Countess Markievicz stand alongside and in comradery with women in contemporary Ireland. Keeping an eye on things, as always, is the legendary figure from Irish folklore an Chailleach. 

This presentation will examine the creative process behind writing and producing the play entitled The Women, We Will Rise and will be a mixture of song performance and talking.

Dublin native Aoife Ní Bhriain is one of Ireland's foremost traditional fiddle players and a classical violinist of international stature who commands both the classical world and her Irish traditional heritage. From across the Irish Sea and the west coast of Wales, harpist Catrin Finch has also built an impressive classical career and ventured into uncharted musical territory, most notably through her award-winning international collaborations.

UCC Choir 

Directed by Dr. Eva McMullan-Glossop, the University College Cork Choir comprises students from the UCC School of Music and Theatre as well as staff members from across the University.

Becoming Deviant and Defiant Women with Bhawaiya folk songs in Bengal.

Abstract:

The new gender norms for Bengali women were created by political, religious, and cultural encounters between British colonial mechanisms and the nationalist collective struggle to reconstruct the traditions of the Indian subcontinent. In between those colonial and nationalist binary narratives, one of the most popular folk song genres of Bengalis, Bhawaiya, has existed with sexually subversive emotional elements.

Rasa Nua are a Cork-based ‘world music’ ensemble: Jorge Kachmari (clarinet, saxophone), Dara O'Brien (sitar, guitar), Pat Allot (percussion) and Tim O’Leary (double bass). Their sound is rich and varied, drawing from their collective backgrounds in Indian classical music, jazz, blues, Klezmer and contemporary music. With original compositions, fluid interactive dialogue and palpable chemistry, Rasa Nua provide a new flavour of music - engaging, exploratory and fresh. 

Black Atlantic Space-Time is an art series that presents Afrodiasporic embodied knowledge as ‘rhythm codes' that synchronise image, sound, dance and spoken language into expressions of identity and belonging. By turning towards indigenous knowledge, this multimedia narrative reaches for a decolonised future.

From her interactive map of Black Atlantic rhythms as intangible heritage – Deirdre will present theory, design, and audio/visual map content examples, including performances by Unity and rhythm culture-bearers from Africa and the Americas.