The Galway Music Residency’s spring/summer 3 Saturdays: 3 Kinds of Music series concludes this Saturday 26th May at 11am in its new home, The Mick Lally Theatre. Led by guest curator Matthew Berrill, this final concert of the series will see the Galway ConTempo Quartet joined by a number of guest artists.

Duo Paul O’Driscoll (bass/vocals) and Éanna Ryder (piano) will start off the morning of music with a series of Jazz standards and improvisations. Paul is an established Galway-based musician and considered one of the most solid and soulful double bass players in the city and county. Éanna is an up-and-coming jazz musician based in Galway and Dublin. Having recently completed his BA in Jazz Performance in Newpark Music Centre, he has already made quite a name for himself as an exciting young pianist.

Mayo-based banjo player Shane Mulchrone will then take to stage for a Traditional Irish set. Shane, who has just released his debut album ‘Solid Ground’, has been playing the banjo for over 20 years and performs and teaches nationally and internationally. He will perform a variety of tunes connected to the West of Ireland regions on tenor banjo and tenor guitar.

To close the concert and the series, ConTempo will explore the Cavatina from Beethoven’s String Quartet Op 130. The quartet will also perform Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge, which was to be the original finale of this String Quartet. However, on the advice of his publishers, Beethoven replaced it and Grosse Fuge was published separately as single-movement work for string quartet. On publication it received harsh criticism, but rose in popularity over the course of the 20th century. It is now considered one of Beethoven’s greatest achievements, with Igor Stravinsky stating: “[it is] an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever."

Supported by NUI Galway (Education Partner), the Arts Council, Galway City and County Councils and GMIT, admission to these events are free, open to all, family friendly and early arrival is recommended to avoid disappointment. Entry will be given on a first-come-first-serve basis. Donations are welcome. 3 Saturdays: 3 Kinds of Music will return for another series in September.