Heralded as a “supergroup within new music circles in Ireland” by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Stone Drawn Circles inhabits a new space in Irish contemporary music. In their relatively short existence as a group, the ensemble’s debut performance season includes performances at prestigious festivals including HCMF, New Music Dublin and a PRS Beyond Borders tour of the UK. The players believe in rich composer/performer dialogues and in the bending of traditional performance dynamics, which is evident in their debut season offering.

Breathing life into three new World Premieres and a specially arranged work, the ensemble explores new modes of communication – between themselves as a collective and their audiences.

Responding to the environments that they find themselves in, a form of sonic activism takes place through works by Cat Hope and Karen Power. Stone Drawn Circles musician Úna Monaghan investigates collaborative dynamics and shifting paradigms. “Brilliant musical scientist” Nicole Lizée offers a slice of her unique compositional language. The programme navigates through various genres and forms of contemporary sound art, performed by some of Ireland’s leading contemporary players.

Programme
Nicole Lizée (Canada, 1973) Peril Earrings (2023) Irish Premiere
Úna Monaghan (Ireland, 1983) In Formation (2023) Irish Premiere
Karen Power (Ireland, 1977) Can you hear me now??? (2019)
Cat Hope (Australia, 1966) Landay Sequenzas (2022) Irish Premiere

About the Musicians
Fearless interpreters of new music, Stone Drawn Circles are newcomers to the burgeoning Irish contemporary music scene. The group brings together six trailblazing artists that hold exploratory music at the heart of their practice. Each member is fervently active in the performance and dissemination of new music. Artist-led, the ensemble features players from groups including Eighth Blackbird, stargaze, Crash Ensemble and Ergodos Musicians. Equally at ease with complexity as they are in graphic scoring and improvisation, Stone Drawn Circles are a collective of risk-takers and sonic explorers. They have already drawn international attention, with Director of Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK) Graham McKenzie noting them in his ‘Hidden Gems’ of the 2023 festival, describing Stone Drawn Circles as “a bit of a supergroup within new music circles in Ireland. One look at the repertoire they serve up here gives credence to that viewpoint…”

Stone Drawn Circles are:
Lina Andonovska – flutes
Nathan Sherman – viola
Michelle O’Rourke – voice
Alex Petcu – percussion
Caimin Gilmore – double bass
Úna Monaghan – harp/sound design