The 9th annual 

SONIC VIGIL 

Ireland’s primary improvisation and sound art event 

May 2nd, 2 pm - 8 pm, St. Anne’s Church, Shandon, Cork city

Admission €5

with special guest 

Christina Kubisch

Every year since 2007, Cork has played host to Ireland’s most significant free improvisation event. SONIC VIGIL brings together outstanding improvisers, sound artists and field recordists from Ireland and abroad in a multi-hour celebration of cutting-edge, radical sonic experimentation. 18 remarkable musicians are placed into a randomly-generated timetable, producing instant, unknowable and unexpected interactions: sounds of kaleidoscope beauty, teetering on a tantalising abyss of risk make for an immersive, mesmerising and ever-evolving experience. 

SONIC VIGIL 9 features special guest Christina Kubisch, the renowned multi-award winning German composer, recordist and installation artist. Kubisch’s work spans multiple media and includes an extraordinary number of performances at many of the world’s most significant festivals, recordings on many different labels, and diverse solo exhibitions. Kubisch appears at 6 pm.

Hein Schoer, musician and soundscaper and developer of the remarkable Sounding Museum - a trans-cultural exploration of the sonic identity of our world - appears at 4 pm. 

Audience members are free to come and go as they please, and are invited in amongst the musicians, encouraging an exploratory approach to hearing and allowing an exceptional sense of intimacy that breaks down performer/audience divides. Unparalleled anywhere in Ireland or abroad, SONIC VIGIL displays an approach to performance and sound that is unique, extraordinary and inspiring.

Sonic Vigil is supported by Cork City Council, Gruenrekorder and the Goethe Institute. Sonic Vigil 9 is managed by Danny McCarthy, Mick O’Shea, Karen Power, Irene Murphy and John Godfrey.

Sonic Vigil 9 features Arif Ayab, David Bremner, Mikael Fernstrom, John Godfrey, Paul Hegarty, Anthony Kelly, Danny McCarthy, miXile, Harry Moore, Irene Murphy, Katie O’Looney, Mick O’Shea, Robin Parmar, Karen Power, Caroline Pugh, Nick Roth, David Stalling, Sean Taylor 

For further information, contact powerkaren [at] me.com