Welcome to the

Baroque Session

Bringing European Classical, Irish Traditional
& Turlough Carolan's Music Together

Electrifying Music...

JOIN the young players of Athenry Music School Sinfonietta and four outstanding soloists for an electrifying performance crossing time and musical styles.

The young musicians of Athenry Sinfonietta debuted their electrifying performance of A Baroque Session (with Carolan & Friends) online at 7pm on September 17th 2021. They were joined by violinists Séamus McGuire & Niamh Crowley, violist Kenneth Rice & cellist Adrian Mantu. The performance was conducted by Sinéad Hayes.

A Baroque Session (with Carolan & Friends) by renowned Irish composer Raymond Deane, fuses Irish traditional and European classical music with the works of 18th century Irish harpist Turlough Carolan. The piece was commissioned in 2009 by Maria Kelemen & Ronald Masin of the Young European Strings, Dublin and received its premiere in January 2010.  

The Performance!

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About the composer...

RAYMOND DEANE was born in the west of Ireland. He moved with his family to Dublin in 1963, and gained his B.Mus degree from University College Dublin in 1974. He studied composition in Bale with Gerald Bennett (1974-75), in Cologne with Karlheinz Stockhausen (1976-77), and in West Berlin, with Isang Yun (1978-9). He taught piano and composition in Oldenburg, Germany, between 1984-86. He was elected to the Irish government-sponsored academy of artists Aosdána in 1986, returning to Ireland the following year.

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Athenry Music School Website

Athenry Sinfonietta

THE TALENTED players of Athenry Sinfonietta rehearsed separately via Zoom in the months leading up to this performance. Finally, just a week before their performance, they met for a socially distanced, in-person rehearsal with soloists, guests and conductor in the Mercy School, Tuam. 

The excitement in the air was palpable as the baton was raised. This was the first time in almost 18 months that the whole group had played together. The sound was incredible!

The following week, they brought their joy and excitement to the Irish Chamber Orchestra Studios in the University of Limerick, giving us a truly electrifying performance of this brilliant music.

  • Sinéad Duggan
  • Sarah Kelly
  • Aibhlin Stewart
  • Naomhán Nanasi
  • Lauren McCann
  • Kate Reilly
  • Ruth Fitzgerald
  • Gavin Kelly
  • Laura Scanlon
  • Niamh Kelly
  • Aisling Stewart – Flute
  • Ciaran Dillon – Flute
  • Molly McHale – Saxophone
  • Gearóid Whyte
  • Euan Farrell – Coole Music
  • Clara Mantu – Coole Music
  • (Alannah Grefkes – Coole Music )
  • Eoin Fitzpatrick

Soloists & Guests

Sinead Hayes

Conductor & Project Artistic Director

Link

Séamus McGuire

Solo Violin
West ocean string quartet

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Niamh Crowley

Solo violin
west ocean string quartet

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Kenneth Rice

Solo viola
west ocean string quartet

Link

Adrian Mantu

solo cello
contempo string quartet

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Fiona Linnane

Assistant Conductor

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Rozanne Botha

Guest orchestra leader

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Katharine MacMághnuis

Athenry Music School Director & Guest violinist

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Katharina Baker

Guest Violist
coole music & arts director

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Tom Murphy

Guest Violist

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Alona Kliuchka

Guest cellist

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Teresa Turner

Guest Double Bassist

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Discover the Music

Create your own Baroque Session...

MUSICIANS of all ages and levels can create their own Baroque Session as part of the project.

Project artistic director Sinéad Hayes has created a free downloadable PDF E-book with sheet music and recordings of all the tunes and pieces that inspired A Baroque Session (with Carolan & Friends). 

Click on the image to view/download the PDF. You can also hear some fabulous versions of the tunes and pieces in the Spotify Playlist below…

Discover...

Using the PDF, musicians of all ages, levels and genres can discover & play the music that inspired A Baroque Session (with Carolan & Friends). Play the melodies in their pure form, experiment a bit…or a LOT!!!

Fracture & Fuse...

Using the unique creative toolkit included in the PDF, musicians can create their own Baroque Session with the music, by  bending, fracturing and fusing the tunes & pieces – inspired by A Baroque Session (with Carolan & Friends).

Experience the Music on location in Athenry....

The Baroque Session GPS Music Trail in Athenry, Co. Galway is a unique way to experience this wonderful music. The Trail will be available until the end of September 2021. 

As you walk around the historic heart of Athenry you will hear music from Raymond Deane’s A Baroque Session (with Carolan and friends). The GPS Music Trail is powered by the SonicMaps platform, a seamless web based application that uses your smart phone’s GPS location to trigger audio automatically. 

All you need to do is click on the trail link, enable GPS services on your phone, plug in your headphones, walk, listen and explore.

Find Out More

The score and parts for A Baroque Session (with Carolan & Friends) are available to buy....

Purchase the Score

Our Funders & Supporters

This project would not have been possible without the support of the Arts Council & all of these fantastic organisations.

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