For this delightful concert of works for voice and piano, pianists Lance Coburn and Soo Jung Ann are joined by Rachel Croash soprano, Sharon Carty mezzo soprano, Gavan Ring tenor and Rory Musgrave baritone for duos, trios and quartets. Featuring a selection of familiar works by Schubert including his F minor piano duet, a selection of humours songs by Liza Lehmann the concert ends with Brahms’ love song waltzes for all six musicians.

Schubert Licht und Liebe
Lehmann A selection of songs from Alice in Wonderland
Schubert The lord is my Shepherd
Schubert Fantasia for piano, 4 hands in F minor, D. 940
Brahms Liebeslieder-Walzer Op. 52

This concert will be approximately 1 hour in duration, without an interval. Tickets to attend will be €20 and audience capacity will not exceed 100. Please note it is subject to change depending on further Covid-19 restrictions.

Rachel Croash soprano

Soprano Rachel Croash is an alumna of the Irish National Opera Studio and was a finalist in the 9th Festspiele Immling International Singing Competition where she subsequently performed the role of Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Gilda in scenes of Rigoletto in the Festival’s Verdi Gala. Other Awards include the Wexford Festival Opera Aria Friends Award and the WFO & PwC Emerging Artist Bursary. Concert and Recital highlights include performances with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Drogheda International Classical Music Series, Our Lady’s Choral Society, Music in Great Irish Houses Festival, Music for Galway, Sligo Con Brio, The Contemporary Music Centre and The Metropolitan Club, New York. In 2018 Rachel had the privilege of performing with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra at Áras an Uachtaráin for The President of Ireland Michael D.Higgins in a special Concert to honour all the charities of which the President is a patron.
Recordings include ‘Press Closer’ from Michael Gallen’s suite Wilde Stories, commissioned by RTÉ Lyric Fm and Una in Robert O’Dwyer’s Eithne with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Rachel featured as a guest soloist on RTÉ’s Carols from the Castle in 2018 with the RTE Concert Orchestra under the baton of Conductor Stephen Bell. A former Opera Theatre Company HUB Artist, Rachel completed a Bachelor of Music Degree at Maynooth University followed by a Masters in Music Performance at The Royal Irish Academy of Music.

Sharon Carty mezzo-soprano

Irish mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty has firmly established a reputation as a respected interpreter of both early and contemporary works, alongside maintaining a busy schedule in mainstream opera and concert repertoire. She is an alumna of the RIAM Dublin, MDW Vienna, and Oper Frankfurt Young Artist Programme, and is currently an Artistic Partner to Irish National Opera as well as a Creative Associate on the Irish Arts Council pilot “Creative Schools” scheme. Regularly praised for her musicality and intelligence, her integrity as an artist and the warmth, clarity and agility of her voice, her opera repertoire includes many of the important lyric and coloratura mezzo-soprano roles, such as Hänsel, Dido, Ruggiero, Dorabella, Cherubino, Ariodante, Orfeo and Sesto. On the concert platform her repertoire spans most of the major sacred concert works, including all the principal works by JS Bach as well as Messiah, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor and a broad song repertoire in addition to numerous chamber music works. She is also a dedicated song recitalist, most recently appearing in performances with pianists Finghin Collins, Jonathan Ware and Graham Johnson. Career highlights to date include her London and Amsterdam opera debuts with The Second Violinist at the Barbican Theatre, and the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, her Wexford Festival Opera debut as Lucy Talbot in the European première of William Bolcom’s Dinner at Eight, the title role in Irish National Opera’s critically-acclaimed Orfeo ed Euridice and her debut at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, where she premiered a new opera, Proserpine by Silvia Colasanti, to critical acclaim. A regular collaborator with orchestras across Europe, her discography includes La Traviata on Naxos DVD with the NDR Radiophilharmonie alongside Thomas Hampson and Marina Rebeka as well as The Mountebanks (Gilbert/Cellier) on CD with the BBC Concert Orchestra. Her most recent CD, a disc of Schubert songs with pianist Jonathan Ware, was released in May 2020.

Gavan Ring tenor

Hailing from Cahersiveen in County Kerry, Irish tenor Dr Gavan Ring studied at the Schola Cantorum at St Finian’s College Mullingar before reading education and music at Dublin City University. An alumnus of the National Opera Studio in London, Gavan is also the first opera singer and the youngest graduate to complete doctoral studies at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Gavan’s ground-breaking doctoral research on Robert O’Dwyer’s Irish language opera Eithne led to the work's first performance in 107 years.
Concert highlights include performances with the London Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms and Lucerne Festival under Sir Simon Rattle, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the Royal Festival Hall under Sir Mark Elder and the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Prinzregententheater under Keri Lynn-Wilson. Recital work includes regular broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and RTÉ Lyric FM plus appearances at Wigmore Hall, the Oxford Lieder Festival and the Ludlow English Song Festival collaborating with pianists such as Simon Lepper, Graham Johnson, Eugene Asti, Sholto Kynoch and Iain Burnside. Opera highlights include leading roles at Opéra Royal de Versailles, Glyndebourne, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera North, Garsington Opera, Wexford Festival Opera and Opera Holland Park. Discography includes Rossini: Sigismondo (Bayerischen Rundfunks 2019), O’Dwyer: Eithne (RTÉ Lyric FM 2018), Gilbert and Sullivan: HMS Pinafore (Linn Records 2016), Offenbach: Fantasio (Opera Rara 2014) and Fleischmann: Orchestral Works (RTÉ Lyric FM 2010). Gavan is kindly supported by Howard Gatiss, the Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon, the Skellig Six 18 Distillery and Michael and Giancarla Alen-Buckley.

Rory Musgrave baritone

Rory recently made his international operatic debut singing the role of Young Kelvin in the Asian premier of Solaris by Dai Fugikura (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Japan). Other recent roles include Dr. Falke Die Fledermaus (Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, Germany), Schaunard La bohème (Lyric Opera Productions & Boyle Arts Festival), Le Podestat Le Docteur Miracle (Wexford Festival Opera/The Merrion Hotel), Silvio Pagliacci (Cork Opera House), Mayor of Youghal Vagabones (Opera Collective Ireland – World Premier, National Tour), Taddeo L’italiana in Algeri (Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, formerly Lismore Opera Festival) and Eumete The Return of Ulysses (Opera Collective Ireland). Rory, a founding member of Irish Opera Artists, performs extensively in concerts and recitals, including the National Concert Hall, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Clifden Arts Festival and Wexford Festival Opera. He made his debut with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in 2015, as a guest soloist in their Lunchtime Concert Series and has gone on to perform with numerous other ensembles including Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Crash Ensemble. Rory Musgrave, a baritone from Connemara, Ireland, is a graduate from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, with a Masters in Vocal Performance, and has gone on to work with all the major Irish opera companies. An OTC Opera Hub Emerging Artist with Opera Theatre Company (2014 – 2016), Rory was also awarded the PWC Emerging Artist Bursary and the Arnholm Bursary by Wexford Festival Opera.

Lance Coburn piano

Lance Coburn is a charismatic performer with an exceptional facility. He has performed with most of the major Australian orchestras including the Sydney Symphony and many international symphony orchestras including the RTÉ NSO and WDR Rundfunkkorchester Köln. Beginning his studies in his homeland of New Zealand, Lance graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with the school’s highest honours. He furthered his studies in the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. During his studies, Lance was the recipient of numerous first prizes. Lance’s reputation as a chamber musician has grown in recent years. He regularly plays with Irelands’ leading chamber musicians and recently collaborated on a critically acclaimed CD collection of Esposito Sonatas with violinist Mia Cooper and cellist William Butt. Frequently adjudicating in Irish music festivals, Lance also gives masterclasses internationally. He is a piano lecturer in the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. Lance is a Blüthner Artist.

Soo-Jung Ann piano

South Korean pianist Soo-Jung Ann crosses, expands and recreates the boundaries of music. She established her career as a major pianist by winning numerous prizes at reputable International Piano Competitions. A multi award-winning pianist based in Europe, she has since been a leading force of 21st century classical music internationally, performing widely across Europe with major orchestras. Since winning first prize at the Beethoven Competition in Bonn, Ann has been acclaimed as the next Beethoven specialist following the legendary pianist Prof. John O’Conor. Her ability to transport the audience into an emotionally engaging world of music, one that transcends borders of all kind, marks Ann as the jewel of her generation. Ann studied with Prof. Pavel Gililov and completed a Postgraduate Course at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg in 2014. She is currently pursuing a Doctor in Music Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music where she holds a master’s degree, cultivating and refining her skills even further with Prof. John O’ Conor and Prof. Thérèse Fahy. She released her own recording of 12 Soler Keyboard Sonatas No.75-86 (2018) with Naxos.

All concerts take place in St Peter’s Church of Ireland, Drogheda and will follow and adhere to Government guidelines on Covid-19. Tickets are €20 and can be booked through Droichead Arts Centre on 041 9833946 or www.droichead.com with further information available from www.droghedaclassicalmusic.com

The Series is funded by the Arts Council and Louth County Council and run in partnership with Droichead Arts Centre with sponsorship from WhiteLight Events, the d Hotel and RTÉ Supporting the Arts.