Collaboration and experimentation are at the heart of the Irish Chamber Orchestra’s mission. In our 50th Anniversary Year, we have commissioned a Covid-inspired series of ‘shorts’ through creative and collaborative partnerships with thirteen arts specialists. These heart-warming connections of inspired creativity will broadcast on ICO social media channels over four Thursdays from the 5-26 November. A play on Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO), the I Create Online series is an initial 4-part collaborative series showcasing a broad range of creative disciplines with each creative expression accompanied by music from the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Our mission is to bring the ICO into people’s hearts and homes, to inspire and move them with innovative collaborations, whilst also supporting fellow artists.

Our first collaboration on Thursday 5 November is a three-way partnership with socially engaged practitioner and photographer Deirdre Power, animator Philip Shanahan and the Irish Chamber Orchestra. This powerful project observes and captures the emotion of a city, and its people through the lens of Covid-19. The ICO soundscape is the hauntingly atmospheric Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla which conjures up a complex mix of emotions which cannot be put into words but is powerfully reflected in vivid imagery.