Experience some trans-Atlantic magic with this concert of music for wind quintet and piano sextet by French and American composers performed by Ireland’s foremost wind quintet. In their first appearance at Finding a Voice, Cassiopeia Winds will feature a vibrant selection of works spanning centuries and continents, including the Irish première of Autumn Winds by Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winning American composer Jennifer Higdon, in celebration of her 60th birthday in 2022. Critics describe the ensemble’s performances as ‘marked by sensitivity and virtuosity’. Cassiopeia Winds say that their passion, humour, and sheer joy of performing together are shared by the audience!

The name Cassiopeia comes from a constellation in the northern sky, easily recognisable due to its distinctive “W” shape formed by 5 bright stars. The five bright stars of Cassiopeia Winds are: Catriona Ryan (flute), Matthew Manning (oboe), Deirdre O’Leary (clarinet), John Hearne (bassoon) and Cormac O hAodáin (French horn).

The ensemble will be joined by celebrated pianist Fiachra Garvey whose playing has been described as ‘fiery and tempestuous’ (Seen and Heard) for nineteenth-century French composer Louise Farrenc’s stunning sextet for piano and winds.

Fiachra says: “I’m thrilled to be performing this fantastic work by one of my all time favorite composers Louise Farrenc, an icon and a legend of the classical music world. She was a fearless pianist / composer and someone whose life story and music are incredibly inspiring.”

Programme
Amy Beach: Pastorale (1942)
Claude Arrieu: Quintette en Ut (1955)
Jennifer Higdon: Autumn Music [Irish première] (1995)
Louise Farrenc: Sextet for Piano and Winds (1852)

***

See full festival programme below and at www.findingavoice.ie.

Thursday 3rd March 2022
Evening concert - Lina Andonovska (flutes) & Michelle O’Rourke (voice)
Music for flutes and voice from two outstanding performers including the world première of a newly commissioned work for the duo by celebrated Irish composer Linda Buckley.
Tickets

Friday 4th March 2022
Lunchtime concert - Samantha Ege (piano)
Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Samantha Ege visits Ireland for the first time to give the Irish premières of piano music by Black American composers Florence Price and Margaret Bonds and Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová.
Tickets

Evening concert - Broadway Babes & West End Girls - David Hayes (musical director), Sinéad O’Donovan (voice), CSM Musical Theatre Ensemble
Music by Broadway legends including Jeanine Tessori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek The Musical), Sara Bareilles (Waitress), Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde) and many more.
Tickets

Saturday 5th March 2022
Lunchtime concert - Darragh Morgan (violin) & Mary Dullea (piano)
Music for violin and piano from the nineteenth century to the present day, featuring works by Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger and Americans Ruth Crawford Seeger and Florence Price, as well as Irish composer Deirdre McKay.
Tickets

Evening concert - Cassiopeia Winds & Fiachra Garvey (piano)
Music by French and American composers including Grammy & Pulitzer Prize winning Jennifer Higdon and Louise Farrenc’s Sextet for Piano and Winds, a monument of nineteenth-century chamber repertoire.
Tickets

Sunday 6th March 2022
Lunchtime concert - Amanda Feery & Megan Nolan: A Thing I Cannot Name
Screening of Irish composer Amanda Feery’s beautiful video opera A Thing I Cannot Name, commissioned by Irish National Opera.
Tickets

Afternoon concert - Pauline Scanlon and band
Singer-songwriter Pauline Scanlon brings her unique voice and emotionally charged material from her new album The Unquiet and more.
Tickets

Tuesday 8th March 2022 (International Women’s Day)
Lunchtime concert - Yonit Kosovske (piano), Julie Comparini (contralto), and Jessica Brown (poetry)
A closing recital that brings poetry to life, featuring music by Lili Boulanger and a newly commissioned song cycle by Irish composer Ailís Ní Ríain.
Tickets

For more, visit www.findingavoice.ie.