Formed in 2012 by Wexford violist Beth McNinch, Musici Ireland has become synonymous with high quality, diverse performances and will open the Wexford Arts Festival with a fascinating programme, including compositions by Liam Bates, at Greenacres. Musici Ireland is a chamber collective, bringing together the best professional musicians in Ireland and has appeared at the NCH multiple times and enjoyed broadcasts on Lyric FM.

Beth McNinch, viola, began her freelance career in London after completing her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music, where she performed regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras, English National Opera and the London Mozart Players. Since moving to Ireland in 2007, Beth has held the position of principal viola of the Wexford Opera Orchestra and has appeared as guest leader with both the RTE Orchestras, the Royal Ballet Orchestra and London Sinfonietta. As a chamber musician, Beth has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

Since winning first prize at the Tomassoni International Piano Competition, Cologne in 2001, Lance Coburn has established himself as a charismatic performer with an exceptional facility and has performed with the majority of major Australian orchestras including the Sydney Symphony and other international orchestras including RTE and NSO. Lance graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with the school’s highest honours, and furthered his studies in the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music. His reputation as a chamber musician has grown in recent years and he regularly plays with Ireland’s leading chamber musicians. Among the festivals where he has performed are the Beethoven International Festival in Bonn, the Dublin International Piano Festival and the Great Music in Irish Houses Festival. Lance is a piano lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin and recently collaborated on a critically acclaimed CD collection of Esposito Sonatas with violinist Mia Cooper and cellist William Butt.

Tickets €15 from Greenacres. Tel 053 9122975. Be sure to reserve a table if you are dining, and imbibing (great wines!) there ahead of the show.

Programme:
Schumann: Märchenbilder
Liam Bates: Dancing with Gioconda
Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet Suite (Movements I & II)
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue