Interview with Nico Muhly and Bernard Clarke- now available online! 

Ahead of our Young Americans concert in November, Nico Muhly spoke to Bernard Clarke in Liberty Hall. In the interview Bernard explores Nico's musical experience, taste and compositional technique, with a few diversions to Bavarian pottery shops, masked balls and internet chatrooms.

Listen to the full interview here on Soundcloud (50mins)

We would like to thank Bernard and Nico for their generosity, and for an extremely enjoyable talk. 

This interview was supported by the Music Composition Centre at Trinity College Dublin and recorded by Amanda Feery of the Contemporary Music Centre. 

Young Americans- 6 NEW TRACKS for your listening pleasure... 

We have uploaded 6 new tracks from the Young Americans concert, so you can listen back (or for the first time) to Crash's performance of works by Missy Mizzoli, Timothy Andres, Sean Friar, Ken Ueno AND three pieces by Nico Muhly, including the WORLD PREMIERE of our special new commission 'Drones, Variations, Ornaments'*.

*This commission by Nico Muhly for Crash Ensemble was made possible by the Arts Council Commissions Award 2011. 

ENJOY! 

Kevin Volans’ Trumpet, Vibe, Cello, Piano performed by Crash Ensemble.

Recording release date 8.02.2012

 

When it comes to composers, only a few today could be called true originals, and Kevin Volans is one of them. (John Allison, The Times)

 

Trumpet, Vibe, Cello, Piano, was written for Crash Ensemble by Kevin Volans on the occasion of his 60th birthday. It premiered on the 9th April 2009 at the ‘Free State: Kevin Volans’ concert at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin.  

 

Muted ripples blossom delicately like some exotic plant. Pizzicato cello sets the pulse while imperceptible tempo alterations create a hypnotic atmosphere. Pat O’Kelly - The Irish Independent

 

Recognised as ‘one of the most remarkable musical minds of our time’ (Christopher Ballantine, International Record Review), Volans’ work, principally in the field of chamber and orchestral music, has been regularly performed worldwide. After a productive collaboration with the Kronos Quartet in the 1980s, his Kronos discs, White Man Sleeps and Pieces of Africa broke all records for string quartet disc sales – Africa was number one on the US Classical and world music charts for 26 weeks. Volans’ recent Piano Concerto No. 3 was commissioned by the BBC and premiered in the BBC Proms as part of the Liszt bicentenary in August 2011.

 

This recording by Crash Ensemble is presented with funding from the Arts Council Music Recording Scheme 2011.

 

Crash Ensemble is Ireland’s foremost music ensemble and one of the best in the world, as recognised internationally. Crash Ensemble, an Irish new-music collective with international cachet and considerable chops. Washington Post, 2011.

 

Track purchase:  crashensemble.bandcamp.com

Press preview copy:  On request from admin@crashensemble.com

 

CREDITS

Conductor:               Alan Pierson

Performed by Crash Ensemble:

Kate Ellis: Cello, John Godfrey :Piano,

Roger Moffatt :Percussion,  Andrew Crowley:Trumpet

Production:                    Recorded at Ventry Studios

                                    Sound Engineer: Kieran Lynch

                                    Producer: Jonathan Nangle

                                    Mastering engineer: Jimmy Eadie, Asylum Studios.

                                    Design: Gareth Jones 

Duration                   23 minutes

 

FOR MEDIA INFORMATION, INTERVIEWS AND PICTURES CONTACT:

Neva Elliott | admin@crashensemble.com or Claire Layton | info@crashensemble.com |(01) 8586645

www.crashensemble.com

www.twitter.com/crashensemble

www.facebook.com/crashensemble

 

Independent release by Crash Ensemble. Presented with funding from the Arts Council Music Recording Scheme 2011.



See our recent mailout for a full round-up of our highlights of 2011, including a review of our recordings, commissions, concerts, fundraising events and much more!

 

Commenting on the significance of the new Music Composition Centre, Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast says: “Creativity is central to the human spirit. It’s also an economic force. The arts are intrinsic to any strategy for the social and economic regeneration of this country. Trinity is committed to fostering and harnessing creativity. The new Centre will be a creative forum, drawing on Trinity's long tradition of music composition to produce the radical composers of tomorrow. I’m excited for the students, for Trinity, and for audiences around the world.”

The College has an illustrious record in music composition which in recent times has expanded to include a focus on bridging the gap between the conventional acoustic environment of concert music and the cutting-edge developments in music technology. The Music Composition Centre is providing a new platform to produce active, practical composers equipped for the emerging music of the 21st century.

For a full press release about the Music Composition Centre click here



The recently established Centre for Composition and Contemporary Practice at Trinity College is providing a new platform for contemporary music. Its focus will be on bridging the gap between the normal acoustic environment of concert music and the cutting-edge developments in music technology.

To launch this exciting new venture, Crash Ensemble will perform a programme by a selection of Ireland's most unique musical voices of recent times, including pieces by Linda Buckley, Bill Whelan, Gerald Barry, Kevin Volans, Evangelia Rigaki, Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Bates on January 21st at the Samuel Beckett Theatre, TCD. 

This is truly a landmark event for Irish contemporary music and we are delighted to be a part of it!

For full details of the programme see our Concerts section

The evening will feature an inaugural address by Bill Whelan and performances by Crash Ensemble and Dublin Laptop Orchestra.

If you'd like to attend the Launch of the Music Composition Centre on January 21st, please email compcent@tcd.ie. The event is by invite only.

 

WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820 are New York's flagship public radio stations, broadcasting the finest programs from National Public Radio and Public Radio International, as well as a wide range of award-winning local programming.

WNYC's New Sound Worlds (hosted by John Schaefer) is asking its listeners to cast your votes for your top albums of 2011. 

If our latest album Grá agus Bás (featuring Iarla O'Lionaird and Dawn Upshaw) helped to make your year better please cast your vote here! 

News excerpt from www.nonesuch.com

NPR Music has published the list of its 50 Favorite Albums of 2011 and included among them is Donnacha Dennehy's Nonesuch debut album, Grá agus Bás. The varied list of the year's favorites features "the albums that opened our ears to something new," says NPR, "ones that we enjoyed from beginning to end, ones that challenged us, ones we fought over and treasured quietly. Most of all, they’re the albums that made us hand our headphones over a cubicle wall and say, 'You have to listen to this.'

”Dennehy's album Grá agus Bás includes the title piece, which was inspired by sean-nós "old style" Irish vocal music, as well as the composer’s song cycle 'That the Night Come', comprising six settings of poems by W.B. Yeats. The Dublin–based Crash Ensemble performs both works, with Irish singer Iarla O’Lionáird as the soloist for 'Grá agus Bás' and Dawn Upshaw on 'That the Night Come'.

"Dennehy infuses hallowed Irish texts, from the esoteric sean-nós vocal tradition to the plaintive poetry of fellow countryman W.B. Yeats, with a shimmering and kaleidoscopic array of minimalist colorations," writes Alex Ambrose of Q2 Music, the online new-music wing of New York's classical station WQXR.

"The result, masterfully performed by Crash Ensemble under Alan Pierson and featuring vocalists Iarla Ó Lionáird and Dawn Upshaw,is a compelling, meditative walk through time and terrain. It studies an Ireland rooted in reverence for its past, but which also brims with curiosity for its future."Read more and hear the album track 'That the Night Come': The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water at npr.org.

Grá agus Bás is available to buy from our store at €15.00

You can download the full list of NPR's Top 50 Albums 2011 here!

There will not be blood. 

There will be quizzing, raffling and dancing, all in the name of fundraising for your favourite local Ensemble.

This is your chance to make a name for yourself, to become the ultimate musical Titans! Forget Grammys- you want the 'Crash Ensemble-Belvedere Cup'. 

Do not be afraid- this is not a new music quiz. The overall theme of the quiz is music, though not exclusively new music - we will test you on rock, pop, country, classical, musicals and culture too. You know those friends you have that are usually USELESS at sports rounds? Bring them...

Doors: 7pm; Table quiz: 8pm; Music & dancing: 10pm till late

The Belvedere Hotel, Great Denmark St (Downstairs)
Tickets €15 from http://www.crashensemble.com/quiz or phone 01 8586645

If you cant make it on the night you can also make a donation 

Read all about our Young Americans concert on Harmless Noise at Entertainment.ie: 

"Exciting times for the Crash Ensemble as they have just announced a concert, called Young Americans, in Liberty Hall on 25 November in which they will perform the world premiere of a new Nico Muhly commission.

Aside from his own original compositions the world-renowned composer and producer Muhly has worked with Philip Glass, Bjork, Grizzly Bear, The National, Sam Amidon and Jonsi from Sigur Ros, along with operas and movie soundtracks, all by the age of 30.

Having traversed the globe to widespread acclaim, working with maestros the world over including Steve Reich, Crash Ensemble are without a doubt the most exciting aspect of contemporary classical music in Ireland, described by the New York Times as “the Irish new-music band that plays with the energy and spirit of a rock group”.

The performance kicks off at 8pm and features three works by Muhly including the new commision, and other pieces by America’s brightest new classical composers Missy Mazzoli, Sean Friar, Timothy Andres and Ken Ueno.

Ahead of the concert, Crash Ensemble will be hosting a pre-show discussion with Nico Muhly and RTÉ Lyric FM’s Bernard Clarke at 6pm in Liberty Hall’s Connolly Room. Tickets for this talk are €6, or €3 with a gig stub.

Read the full story here, including video & audio clips:

www.harmlessnoise.entertainment.ie 

Meet the new generation of American composers

Enjoy a Crash Course in some of the best new music from the United States

Our YOUNG AMERICANS concert is this Friday, November 25th in Liberty Hall!

Expect fresh and exciting pieces by dynamic composers including: 

Sean Friar, whose 'Velvet Hammer' has been nominated for this year's Gaudeamus Prize; 

Missy Mazzoli, dubbed 'Brooklyn's post-millenial Mozart' (Time Out NY); 

Timothy Andres, who Alex Ross (The Rest is Noise) says “achieves an unhurried grandeur that has rarely been felt in American music since John Adams" and

Ken Ueno, winner of the 2010-2011 Berlin Prize, whose influences range from Tuvan throat-singing and Heavy Metal subtone vocals to Japanese traditional music. 

 Young Americans will include the WORLD PREMIERE of a new work, written especially for Crash Ensemble by NIco Muhly,well known for his collaborations with artists such as Sam Amidon, Antony and the Johnsons, Björk and Jonsi from Sigur Rós. Muhly’s first opera,Two Boys, was premiered by the English National Opera this summer to critical acclaim.

Muhly has also written soundtracks to Joshua (2007), and Best Picture nominee The Reader (2008). 

“I have always been a huge fan of the Crash Ensemble; I am inherently trustful of ensembles that are co-piloted by composers and performers…I am hugely honored to be one of the newest commissionees.”      

Nico Muhly

We are VERY pleased to be welcoming two of our featured composers to Dublin especially for the concert, Nico Muhly and Sean Friar! 

Join us and our esteemed friend and colleague Bernard Clarke (Nova,RTÉ lyric fm) in a pre-show discussion with Nico Muhly at 6pm in the Connolly Room of Liberty Hall, in association with the fantastic new Centre for Composition and Contemporary Practice of Trinity College Dublin. 

Tickets from www.tickets.ie

Excited? We are!

Talk to us about it on Twitter, hashtag #YoungAmericans and tell us you're coming on facebook

The Contemporary Music Centre, Dublin Institute of Technology Conservatory of Music and Drama & RTÉ Performing Groups present

Sunlight and Shadow – A celebration of the music of Frederick May (1911-1985)

ADMISSION FREE
Saturday, 12 November 2:30 – 5:30pm
McCann Hall, DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama, Chatham Row, Dublin 2

With contributions from leading Irish voices on Frederick May, his work, life and influence on the development of Irish music, the afternoon marks the centenary year of the composer’s birth and features an opening address from multi award winning author Colm Tóibín, workshop performances from the RTÉ Vanburgh Quartet and mezzo-soprano Colette McGahon, alongside an overview of his work from Dr Mark Fitzgerald, lecturer at DIT.

For further details and booking contact The Contemporary Music Centre, Email: info@cmc.ie

There is a new generation of American composers that needs to be heard! Crash Ensemble will act as the mouthpiece for some of the most exciting music being produced across the Atlantic, in its YOUNG AMERICANS programme on November 25th.

This diverse concert will include fresh and exciting pieces by dynamic and accomplished composers including:
Sean Friar, whose 'Velvet Hammer' has been nominated for this year's Gaudeamus Prize...;
Timothy Andres, who Alex Ross says “achieves an unhurried grandeur that has rarely been felt in American music since John Adams";
Missy Mazzoli, 'Brooklyn's post-millenial Mozart' (Time Out NY);
and Ken Ueno, winner of the 2010-2011 Berlin Prize, whose music pushes the boundaries of perception and whose influences range from Tuvan throat-singing and Heavy Metal subtone vocals to Japanese traditional music.

We are also very excited to be performing three pieces, including the WORLD PREMIERE of a commission written especially for Crash Ensemble by the staggeringly successful, NICO MUHLY.

More details about the concert here

Tickets available from www.tickets.ie

*A limited number of Early Bird tickets are now available-  first 50 tickets only €20!

HOW ABOUT NOW
We are delighted to announce that we will be returning to Cork, following the fantastic success of the Reich Effect at Cork Opera House last July. This time we are heading west to the Bandon Engage Arts Festival on September 24th with a totally new programme of music and video.

There is a real energy out there among younger composers, and so Crash Ensemble's concert at Bandon's Engage Festival focuses on the most exciting new music emerging today among this generation of composers in Ireland and the United States.  We feature two Irish premieres by Nico Muhly, whom the Daily Telegraph calls "the hottest composer on the planet". Along with the Irish premiere of the dynamic and driven Velvet Hammer by the young American, Sean Friar,  How About Now includes music by  some of Ireland's most distinctive new composers, David Fennessy, Sinéad Meaney, Judith Ring, Benedict Schlepper-Connolly, and the two Corkonians, Linda and Irene Buckley.

Programme
Nico Muhly: It goes without saying [IRISH PREMIERE]
Ben Schlepper-Connolly: Star
Judith Ring: Up to my F-holes
Linda Buckley: Fiol
Nico Muhly: How about now [EUROPEAN PREMIERE]
David Fenessey: The Room is the Resonator
Irene Buckley: Evolution of close double stars
Sean Friar: Velvet Hammer [IRISH PREMIERE]

For more details on Engage Arts Festival see www.engageartsfestival.com

Culture Night, Friday September 23rd, Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray

This Culture Night will see the Mermaid Arts Centre play host to the best music, dance and theatre Ireland has to offer.

EVERYBODY is welcome to enjoy a free cultural kaleidoscope of performances, with theatre by Fishamble – The New Play Company, dance by Cois Céim and music by Crash Ensemble, featuring Kate Ellis and Donnacha Dennehy.

Culture Night will take place on Friday 23 September 2011, a night of entertainment, discovery and adventure across 20 towns, cities and counties in Ireland.

Free Admission. Booking Advised

Article from the Bray People on Culture Night in Wicklow

Journal of Music Seeks New Editors

Posted on 29 July 2011
The Journal of Music is seeking three new editors to join its staff. These are part-time positions working in collaboration with the Editor.

Excellent writing skills are essential. A broad musical interest is desirable, but applicants should have specialist knowledge of one of the following genres of music: traditional Irish music, jazz, classical music or contemporary composition.

For more details about this position, as well as information on how to apply, please download the job description here. The deadline for applications is 10 August. Interviews will take place between 25 and 31 August.

www.journalofmusic.com

NEW SOUND WORLDS

PR and Marketing Opportunity

NEW SOUND WORLDS is currently recruiting an enthusiastic, committed and creative PR and Marketing Officer to assist with their 2011/2012 series of 8 contemporary music concerts. Ideally from mid-August 2011 on a part time basis through til the end of May 2012. Exact days and hours to be discussed.

 

NEW SOUND WORLDS is a contemporary music series, featuring national and international composers and performers. The series is curated by Irish composer Siobhan Cleary and funded by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and takes place in the Kevin Barry Room of the National Concert Hall.

Remuneration commensurate with experience 

Job Specification

To promote, publicise and build audience for a contemporary music series.

To devise an online media campaign including establishing a facebook page and fan base and maintaining this through-out the series.

To devise a traditional media campaign and deal with all press, tv and radio.

To oversee production and dissemination of print materials.

To work on audience development.

Person Specification

• An energetic and enthusiastic disposition.
• The ability to work individually as well as as part of a dedicated team.
• Experience devising online media as well as traditional media campaigns
• Confident working with press, radio, tv and online media.
• Experience of audience development.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills.
• Creative flair and approach and innovative thinking.
• A familiarity with contemporary music desired.
• Ideally, but not essentially, experience of working in an arts environment

 

Email CV as well as letter of interest to <newsoundworlds@gmail.com> no later than 5pm 8 August 2011

Other Jobs of Interest include

Pipemaking Training Supervisor with na Píobairí Uilleann

Glór seeks new Artistic Director

PA to CEO West Cork Music

 

Good luck!

Our excitement is growing steadily as THE REICH EFFECT at Cork Opera House fast approaches, including one-off performances from world-class acts Kronos Quartet(28th July), RTÉ Concert Orchestra performing works by Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) and Kjartan Sveinsson (Sigur Ros) (29 July, City Hall), London Sinfonietta (30 July, Cork Opera House), Efterklang with Daniel Bjarnason and the Messing Orchestra (30 July, Savoy Theatre), Johann Johannsson (31 July, Triskel Christchurch) and Crash Ensemble with Iarla Ó Lionáird and Gavin Friday (31 July, Cork Opera House).

The festival even features a public interview with Steve Reich himself (Wed 27th), who will attend the festival and judge the amazing Reich Remixed competition along with a host of other Irish music afficionados.

Crash Ensemble will perform Double Sextet, for which Steve Reich was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2009, Reich's recently commissioned 2x5, Frederick Rzewski's Coming Together with Gavin Friday, and Donnacha Dennehy's acclaimed Gra agus Bas, with Iarla O'Lionaird.

We are delighted to be part of this monumental festival celebrating Steve Reich's 75th birthday and look forward to providing the musical fireworks for the closing concert!

TICKETS: Crash Ensemble at the Reich Effect , Cork Opera House, Sun 31st July

*Special offer: Buy tickets to any 5 shows during the Reich Effect for only €100

IN OTHER NEWS:

Misterman opened at the Galway Arts Festival on July 11th and will run for two weeks.
This is a one-man show written by Enda Walsh (Disco Pigs) and starring Cillian Murphy (Batman Returns, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Breakfast on Pluto) with a specially commissioned score by Donnacha Dennehy.


Gra agus Bas, Nonesuch Records, 2011

Featuring Dawn Upshaw, Iarla O'Lionaird and Crash Ensemble

Our new album 'Gra agus Bas' continues to win over new listeners, most recently described in the Sacramento Bee as "easily one of the most bewitching releases of the year" and in The New Haven Advocate (Connecticut) as 'exquisite'.

Buy 'Grá agus Bás' here

We are now accepting submissions of scores for our annual Free State competition until October 30th, 2011.

See our Outreach section for details!

The Cork Opera house's Reich Remix Competition is back on!

As a run up to their Reich Effect festival from July 27-31, composers, DJs and electronic artists among others are invited to submit their work for review.

The finalists will be short-listed by a panel made up of music critics Donal Dineen, Nialler9, Jim Carroll, Gavin Friday and Stevie G. 

The Reich Remix Competition winner will be chosen by none other than Steve Reich himself.

The finalists will have their music showcased during the festival at the Remix Club night on July 29th at The Pavilion, Cork.

Someone has to be chosen, so why can't it be you?

Contest closes July 8th, so get in there!

We'll see you down there on the 31st at our own show.

Good Luck.

 

We are delighted with the success of Donnacha Dennehy's album, released just over one month ago on May 3rd, 2011. 

Since then, music critics around the world have acclaimed the album as being "visceral", "an ecstatic vision set in a dreamscape of sound" and “one of the best and most satisfying listening experiences of the year so far”.

The culimination of positivity around this album has been given to us this week, when NPR announced it as one of the top 25 albums of the year.

"Grá agus Bás ("Love and Death"), an album of music by the contemporary Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy, is a revelation. More than deftly dispatched by conductor Alan Pierson and the Crash Ensemble, the two works on this album are split in Manichean fashion in both mood and substance. The first is the haunting and utterly bracing title work, sung in Gaelic by vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird, whose initial honey-sweet murmurs rise through anxiety and morph irrevocably into churning, roaring terror. The second is That the Night Come: custom-fit settings of Yeats' poetry for soprano Dawn Upshaw and her silvery, glistening voice in bracing, rich, complex and just plain gorgeous displays. I'll be listening to this for a long time to come. (Anastasia Tsioulcas)" (NPR, 2011).

Thank you to everyone who made this happen.

Great news for Ed Bennett, who releases his new portrait CD 'My Broken Machines' on NMC Records, featuring two works from Crash Ensemble's repertoire 'Broken Machines' (2006) and last year's specially commissioned 'Stop-Motion Music'.

The haunting My Broken Machines  evokes an abandoned fairground, while other works explore the manic enegy of cartoons - Cartoon Music - or the atmosphere of an empty building - Ghosts, for amplified viola d'amore.

The album features performances from Garth Knox, Decibel, Fidelio Trio, Paul Roe and the Con Tempo Quartet.

Listen to the 'My Broken Machines' here

Ed Bennett's music has been described as 'anarchic' (Irish Times), 'manic' (Classical Music) and 'brutal' (The Guardian).

RELEASED 13 JUNE 2011


 

Call for applications: deadline 3 July 2011

Three-year funded PhD Scholarship: Music and Urban Regeneration

What role might music-related outreach initiatives play in the revitalization of urban communities? How does music interact with other cultural practices in fostering community and renewal in the city? What form might an effective community outreach music project take? What methods might be used to assess the impact of such a project? These are some of the defining questions of an exciting new funded three-year PhD research project based in the Department of Music at University College Cork (UCC). This research will be interdisciplinary in scope, with methodologies potentially drawn from ethnography, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, cultural geography and the sociology of music.

Although the field of enquiry will be international in scope, the findings of the project are expected to enrich and inform the Department’s policies and plans for community outreach within Cork. In addition to engaging in research leading to the submission of a PhD thesis, the recipient will be expected to contribute to the administration of the Department’s Fuaim programme of public events and to the development and expansion of UCC-led music projects in the city of Cork.

One scholarship will be awarded, to the value of €20,000 per year for three years, with registration for PhD (or PhD track) beginning July 2011. Please note that the annual PhD fee of approximately €5,770 will be automatically deducted from the total value of the scholarship.

Applications are invited from candidates with academic qualifications appropriate for entry to doctoral-level research. In addition, applicants should be able to demonstrate appropriate experience in arts management and/or community-based music projects. Local knowledge of Cork is not an essential requirement. The minimum entry qualification for the PhD programme is a masters degree. However, applicants without a masters degree but with a primary degree awarded with First Hons or Upper-Second Hons (‘2H1’) are also encouraged to apply, because they would be eligible for registration on a ‘PhD track’. A candidate accepted for PhD track will be subject to a review within 12 to 18 months from the date of registration and may then, on the recommendation of the Head of Department and the supervisor(s) and with the approval of the College, transfer to the PhD.

Applicants are asked to submit (1) a comprehensive CV that details their experience and includes a list of their publications, dissertations, etc.; (2) a 1000-word research proposal outlining their engagement with the primary aims of the project. Proposals should address the following:
• core research questions;
• proposed investigative and analytical methodologies;
• potential secondary research sources (including an appropriate bibliography).

The closing date for applications is 3 July 2011. Applications should be delivered by email to Ms Carmel Daly at music@ucc.ie. Informal enquiries may be directed to Dr Mel Mercier at m.mercier@ucc.ie For information on the Department of Music, UCC, see http://www.music.ucc.ie/

Please note that award of this scholarship will be made subject to the recipient then applying for and being accepted into UCC’s PhD programme through the Postgraduate Application Centre. There is a separate application process for the scholarship and the PhD programme itself. Programme application through the Postgraduate Application Centre should only be made once notification of the scholarship award has been received.

Department of Music
School of Music and Theatre
University College Cork
Ireland

www.music.ucc.ie

10 June 2011

 

THE REICH EFFECT at Cork Opera House

A five-day festival marking the 75th birthday of
Pulitzer Prize Winning Composer, Steve Reich
Wednesday 27 – Sunday 31 July 2011

The Reich Effect opens with a screening of the film Steve Reich - Phase to Face followed by a public interview with Reich conducted by John Kelly on 27 July in Cork Opera House.  Other highlights include the Kronos Quartet (28 July, Cork Opera House), RTÉ Concert Orchestra performing works by Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) and Kjartan Sveinsson (Sigur Ros) (29 July, City Hall), London Sinfonietta (30 July, Cork Opera House), Efterklang with Daniel Bjarnason and the Messing Orchestra (30 July, Savoy Theatre), Johann Johannsson (31 July, Triskel Christchurch) and Crash Ensemble with Iarla Ó Lionáird and Gavin Friday (31 July, Cork Opera House). 

Crash Ensemble will perform Double Sextet, for which Steve Reich was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2009, Reich's recently commissioned 2x5, Frederick Rzewski's Coming Together with Gavin Friday, and Donnacha Dennehy's acclaimed Gra agus Bas, with Iarla O'Lionaird.

Local, national and international artists will come together to produce three special programmes of Reich’s music: Counterpoint, Drumming and Phases.  These will include two unique dance commissions. David Bolger will perform to Kate Ellis’s Cello Counterpoint and Nic Gaireiss will perform to Clapping Music.  Both events take place in the Firkin Crane.

Tickets for the Reich Festival are available from Cork Opera House

Tickets for Crash Ensemble on July 31st are available here

 

The Contemporary Music Centre welcomed Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, to launch CMC’s major digitisation initiative, the Irish Composers Project at the centre on Tuesday 24 May.  The Irish Composers Project has been a partnership between the Contemporary Music Centre and the An Foras Feasa research consortium comprising the music departments of Dundalk Institute of Technology, NUI Maynooth, and St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra. Its overall purpose is to enable the research and promotion of the music of Irish Composers of the 20th and 21st century. The project involves the scanning and digitising of CMC’s unique collection of Irish composers’ scores, recordings and related collections for future online access and has been running since late 2008.

CMC has reached a crucial stage in the Irish Composers Project, currently having completed the digitization of 60% of our catalogue (over 3000 scores and 1000 recordings) and is now able to offer sample pages of scores and recordings from the digitised files, available via CMC’s web site, for browsing at cmc.ie/digitalarchive. Reaching this point is a milestone for the CMC and for Irish composers but only one step in this ongoing digitisation process. This launch celebrates the first step in the digital preservation of our modern musical heritage, central to CMC’s plans for the future.

Throughout 2011, CMC celebrates twenty-five years in operation with a series of events to highlight the contribution and significance of Irish composers.  This launch of the Irish Composers Project forms part of this programme.

(score excerpt from Seoirse Bodley’s Chamber Symphony which has been digitised as part of the CMC’s digital archive initiative).

This resource will be invaluable to new music performers, composers, students and enthusiasts.

Donnacha Dennehy: Gra agus Bas: Dawn Upshaw, Iarla O Lionaird, Crash Ensemble; Alan Pierson, conductor. Nonesuch 527063-2

I confess that my first thought, on putting on the new CD by Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy, was, “Oh no, Celtic new music.” This is unfair to Dennehy, or far too kind to the brand of folkloric faux-Gaelic easy listening marketed as “Celtic” to an all-too-eager public.

“Gro agus Bas” (“Love and Death”) is a serious exploration of an Irish folk-music idiom, teased out into a range of fresh sounds: twangs and electronic pulsings and the clink of percussion, all eddying and coalescing around the keening phrases of a single human voice.

Dennehy is artistic director of the Crash Ensemble, an Irish new-music collective with international cachet and considerable chops (its principal conductor, Alan Pierson, is also known for his own group, Alarm Will Sound). The CD’s title work is based on a form of Irish traditional song called sean-nos; Dennehy worked with a leading proponent of the style, Iarla O Lionaird, recording him, sampling elements of his singing, and developing a score informed by the harmonic, rhythmic and intonational peculiarities of this kind of music. It’s based on excerpts of two traditional songs. O Lionaird repeats the phrases, testing, asserting, pulling his voice like taffy, while a gentle web of accompaniment — strings playing in high harmonics, sustained electronic tones, the insistent heartbeat of a percussive pulse — is woven around him, sometimes played in just temperament (a slightly but markedly different tuning system) to underscore the slightly primitive flavor. The result is an ecstatic vision set in a dreamscape of sound.

The second piece, “That the Night Come,” is a deliberate contrast. Counterbalancing O Lionaird’s roughhewn voice is Dawn Upshaw’s angelic one; counterbalancing the Irish folk-music tradition are poems by William Butler Yeats, whom the composer calls “another sacred cow.” Upshaw, phenomenally successful as a mainstream new-music specialist, has another winner here. In this piece, too, Dennehy picks the text into distinct phrases, having the singer repeat the same lines in different forms over accompaniments that include clouds of sound, active scampering on the piano, and percussion instruments plinking out bell tones like a miniature Javanese gamelan.

If this recording has anything in common with the crossover genre of “Celtic music,” it might be its potential to delight a large audience. And if it’s cultural tourism, it’s on a very high level.

(By Anne Midgette, Washington Post, May 13th, 2011)

Donnacha Dennehy: Gra agus Bas: Dawn Upshaw, Iarla O Lionaird, Crash Ensemble; Alan Pierson, conductor. Nonesuch 527063-2

I confess that my first thought, on putting on the new CD by Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy, was, “Oh no, Celtic new music.” This is unfair to Dennehy, or far too kind to the brand of folkloric faux-Gaelic easy listening marketed as “Celtic” to an all-too-eager public.



The Intelligence Park will be presented in concert performance at IMMA on Wednesday 18th by Crash Ensemble, conducted by Richard Baker and a cast of distinguished singers: Roderick Williams, John Daszak, Stephen Richardson, Sarah Gabriel, Andrew Watts, Lore Lizenberg and Gavin Jones.

This will be a rare opportunity to hear composer Gerald Barry’s 1990 opera The Intelligence Park – “one of the most original pieces of music to come out of Ireland this century” according to the Irish Times .
This concert is part of a series of events marking the Irish Museum of Modern Art’s 20th birthday: more details of these are on the Museum’s website.

In the following feature Gerald Barry talks to Vincent Woods during rehearsals at the National Concert Hall, and we hear some extracts from a BBC production of the Intelligence Park, published by NMC records.

Listen to the show here: Arts Tonight- May 16th Interview with Gerald Barry

The Intelligence Park, Wednesday 18th May at The Great Hall of The Irish Museum of Modern Art, tickets €20/€15 from www.imma.ie

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‘Classical music’ is a horrible term, insists Donnacha Dennehy, but finding a way to describe the composer’s music isn’t easy. But he’s not complaining – it means ‘I can do whatever I want’, he tells SINÉAD GLEESON 

‘OFTEN WHEN I say I’m a composer, someone asks, ‘Oh, is that a bit like James Last?’,” says Donnacha Dennehy. Far more cheery than the stereotype of a composer, Dennehy laughs loudly.

The 39-year-old Kerryman acknowledges the indefinable nature of his work, which is predicated on classical training, but very much a hybrid of new classical and experimental.

The day we discuss this is unseasonally warm and finding a rectangle of grass in the grounds of Trinity College Dublin is proving tough. Dennehy is one of two music composition teachers at Trinity and juggles his academic career with his own work. The composer took up his post here at 26, but considers himself a late bloomer.

“For someone involved in classical music, I started quite late. I got really into recorder lessons in school and started composing instantly. As a child, my mother’s family would have these all-night sessions of poetry and singing and I remember staying up to listen, so I definitely didn’t come from a classical background.”

Like most teenagers, Dennehy was interested in rock but he also listened to Bach, Stockhausen and Stravinksy. There was a brief rebellion against classical music buoyed by The Smiths and Echo & the Bunnymen. Through David Bowie, he discovered Philip Glass and Steve Reich, which opened up a “whole new world”. Dennehy bypassed the form-a-band phase, but after discovering early 1970s Glass, he began writing again. When he was accepted to study music at Trinity, he was clear about his aims.

“I wanted to create my own music and learn techniques for orchestral and counterpoint music. It was one of the few environments where you are given the space you need. If I’d tried to ‘make it’ in my late teens – whatever ‘make it’ means when you’re a classical or experimental composer means – it would have been a disaster.”

Despite years of productivity, Dennehy considers 1997’s Junk Box Fraud to be his first “proper” composition. Other notable pieces such as Crane and Hive have heightened his profile, but he is probably best known for his continuing work with the Crash Ensemble, a collective of classical musicians.

“Setting up Crash was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. I wanted to see another type of music being made in Ireland. Crash was interested in doing stuff that was amplified; work that was often in a show context, with lights dimmed, multimedia . . . all of which is very non-classical. I’d seen this being done in America and Europe, but it was also a vehicle for my own music.”

Dennehy lived in both the Netherlands and the US and on returning to Ireland didn’t want to wait around for people to “get interested” in his work. He envisaged a laboratory-style set-up to experiment and test ideas with musicians.

“There are many pieces I’ve written that I could never have done had Crash not existed,” he says. Funding is a huge part of its survival and he admits that without Arts Council money, Crash would not have happened, let alone flourished to the extent that it has. He cites the amount of young composers whose work has been aired through it and thinks that there has never been a more robust, active period for new classical music in Ireland.

Throughout the interview, we return to the issue of defining his work. He is a modern composer who writes for classical instruments, but with a very non-traditional ethos.

“‘Classical’ is a horrible term,” says Dennehy, “and it only refers to a historical period. The problem when you use it is that it has very specific connotations. I refer to my work as ‘New classical’, or call myself a modern or experimental composer, so my work ranges quite widely. Iarla Ó Lionáird once said to me that I was in a very lucky position, because no one quite knows what my work is, so I can do whatever I want.”

Ó Lionáird is a central part of Dennehy’s latest project, Grá agus Bás . The two first met in 2004 and both are bound by circumnavigating strict musical structures. While Dennehy’s work operates outside of classical, Ó Lionáird’s unique approach to sean-nós also involves inverting and reinterpreting.

“I had long been an admirer of Iarla; he has a beautiful voice; it’s very distinct, but it also has this darkness.”

The album is completed by a six-part song cycle, That the Night Come , which consists of Yeats’s poems sung by US soprano Dawn Upshaw. Both ideas, to tackle sean-nós and Yeats, had stayed with Dennehy for years. He points out that sean-nós is an unaccompanied form “pregnant with possibilities” for a composer. With Yeats, he focused on similar potential, but was determined to give his own personal response.

“A lot of my work before this would never have gone near topics like love and death. There has been a real problem in contemporary classical music of this ‘ironic detachment’ from feelings. I wrote a piece called Elastic Harmonic in 2005 and since then, my music has become more unbridled emotionally.

“Love and death are also quite Woody Allen. We can distract ourselves with anything but these are two of the biggest issues in everybody’s life, regardless of any kind of order you try to put on it. In 20th-century composing, there’s a reluctance to discuss the emotion of the composer, but that’s a huge thing for me. This piece is terrifying and overwhelming, but it also has moments of fondness and beauty.”

Want more?
 

Watch 

A sizeable excerpt from Grá agus Bás , performed by Crash Ensemble and Iarla Ó Lionáird, can be seen on YouTube. Search “ Grá agus Bás excerpt”

Crash Ensemble has a YouTube page, which includes music by Dennehy and other artists youtube.com/user/crashensemble

Listen 

Dennehy also has a selection of music at myspace.com/donnachadennehy

See 

Grá agus Bás will be performed at Cork Opera House as part of the Reich Effect Festival on Sunday, July 31st.

---

Grá agus Bás is out now on Nonesuch Records. See crashensemble.com



Set in Dublin in 1753, The Intelligence Park’s protagonist, Robert Paradies, is a composer of opera seria struggling with writer’s block. As Paradies is reminded by his long-time companion D’Esperaudieu, he is required to marry the none-too-talented Jerusha, daughter of the wealthy magistrate Sir Joshua Cramer in order to inherit wealth that will allow him to dedicate himself solely to composing opera. At a party held in order to cement the engagement between Paradies and Jerusha, Paradies meets and becomes obsessed with the castrato Serafino. The barriers between Paradies and the object of his affections include not only his relationship with D’Esperaudieu and his engagement to Jerusha, but also Serfino’s long-time companion Faranesi and Serafino’s love for Jerusha, his music student. 

This will be the first performance of this work in Ireland since its premiere in 1990, though the piece has been recorded on the NMC label since then.

Tickets available through The Irish Museum of Modern Art

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It's worth the wait...
Donnacha Dennehy's Grá agus Bás will be released in Ireland on Friday, May 6th instead of Friday, April 29th, after its release in the UK and US on May 3rd.
The album will be available on our website or at HMV, Tower Records, Celtic Notions or Head Music in Belfast.  It will also be available from a number of independent shops - we will keep you posted on where!

(Taken from http://www.npr.org/2011/04/25/135518942/first-listen-donnacha-dennehy-gr-agus-b-s?ft=1&f=1039 April 24, 2011)

by ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the words "Irish music"? A green-beer-sodden rendition of "Danny Boy," or perhaps something by Celtic Woman?

Prepare to have all those preconceptions blown away by this album from the superb 40-year-old Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy. His new album, out May 3, features Grá agus Bás (Love and Death) and the ravishing song cycle That the Night Come, based on the poetry of fellow Irishman W.B. Yeats.

Born in Dublin, Dennehy grew up with traditional Irish music and initially studied at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Illinois. Soon, he gravitated toward electronic music and pursued further studies at IRCAM, the Parisian electronic-music mecca founded by Pierre Boulez. Yet the pieces on this album find Dennehy rooted firmly in his native soil.

In Grá agus Bás, Dennehy weaves traditional Irish music into his work. Written for vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird and Dublin's Crash Ensemble (a group co-founded by the composer), the piece is full of sounds and textures that are at once haunting and exhilarating. The constant ebb of ancient morphing into present, and vanishing back again, is underscored by superb musicianship, guided by American conductor Alan Pierson.

Nevertheless, the vocalists are front and center here. Ó Lionáird's specialty is sean-nos — singing in the old Irish style with a free sense of rhythm, very little vibrato and beautiful ornamental turns. His sweet tenor ringing above murmuring strings and winds at the beginning, combined with propulsive, primal rhythms at the end, created for me one of the best and most satisfying listening experiences of the year so far.

Dennehy called upon the luminous and fiercely intelligent American soprano Dawn Upshaw as his partner in That the Night Come. Her glistening tone offers a stark contrast to the unnerving text of the first poem, "He wishes his Beloved were Dead." Instruments rise and fall in waves during "The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water," with Upshaw spinning out long phrases above the players. And there's a strange kind of enraptured beauty in "These Are the Clouds," provided by the song's myriad intervallic leaps.

The piece's emotional climax arrives in the deeply beautiful song "Her Anxiety." Upshaw gives the line "All true love must die" a terrible certainty, but Dennehy won't allow that to stand as his final statement. Instead, he leads her through the piece in a way that shows off her tremendous range and creates a haunting portrait of a wild and tormented soul.

Be well ahead of the posse and PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY of Grá agus Bás here!

The title track of this album by Donnacha Dennehy, the first ever Irish release on the internationally acclaimed Nonesuch label, was written for and performed by Iarla O’Lionáird and Crash Ensemble.

Grá agus Bás also features the six-song cycle That the Night Come performed by Grammy winning soprano Dawn Upshaw. 

Conducted by Alan Pierson, Crash Ensemble performs both works on the album.

Ireland will do the honours and be first to stock Grá agus Bás in music shops nationwide from April 29th, followed by the general release of the album in the U.K. on the 2nd of May and the U.S. on the 3rd.

We will mark the launch of Grá agus Bás in our hometown of Dublin, with some VERY special guests.

Keep an eye on facebook and twitter for more details!

"Next week, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, in partnership with The Bard College Conservatory of Music, will present a Professional Training Workshop led by soprano Dawn Upshaw and composer Donnacha Dennehy. In this intensive seven-day workshop beginning April 11, the duo will mentor four composers and ten singers on the collaboration between composer and performer in creating new vocal music. The participants will preview their new works for voice and ensemble in a Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Queens on Saturday, April 16, and premiere them in Zankel Hall on Sunday, April 17. The ensemble will be conducted by Alarm Will Sound's artistic director, Alan Pierson.

Carnegie Hall commissioned four young composers—Shawn Jaeger, Aviya Kopelman, Christopher Mayo, and Shen Yiwen—to write new voice and ensemble works for selected singers, three chosen by audition and seven from The Bard College Conservatory of Music graduate program in vocal arts, where Dawn Upshaw is artistic director. She and Dennehy mentored these musicians through the collaborative compositional process, leading up to these premiere performances.

The singers selected in this year’s workshop include: Fanny Alofs, mezzo-soprano; Julia Bullock, soprano; Jeongcheol Cha, bass-baritone; Leroy Davis, bass-baritone; Jeffrey Hill, tenor; Mellissa Hughes, soprano; Clarissa Lyons, soprano; Margot Rood, soprano; Nian Wang, mezzo-soprano; and Ilana Zarankin, soprano.

For more information on the workshop's public events, visit carnegiehall.org.

Nonesuch releases its first recording of music by Donnacha Dennehy, Grá agus Bás, on May 3. The album includes the title piece, which translates as Love and Death, as well as the composer’s song cycle That the Night Come. The Dublin–based Crash Ensemble—which Dennehy co-founded—performs both works, conducted by Alan Pierson. Irish singer Iarla O’Lionáird is the soloist for Grá agus Bás; Dawn Upshaw is featured on That the Night Come. The album is currently available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

Norman Lebrecht, writing in his Arts Journal blog, describes That the Night Come as "captivating," comparing it to Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3 and the 1992 best-selling Nonesuch recording of the piece, which also featured vocals by Upshaw.

Dawn Upshaw joins the National Symphony Orchestra, led by Christoph Eschenbach, in performances of Osvaldo Golijov's She Was Here and Mahler's Symphony No. 4 at The Kennedy Center on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org."

- Press Release from Nonesuch Records

Well done, Donnacha! Don't forget - Grá agus Bás is written by Donnacha, performed by Crash Ensemble with Iarla Ó Lionáird and Dawn Upshaw and will be available on April 29th in Ireland - ahead of the UK on May 2nd and the US on May 3rd.

Crash Ensemble are delighted to announce Nonesuch Records' release of Donnacha Dennehy's Grá agus Bás on May 3rd, 2011.  Crash performs both title track Grá agus Bás and That the Night Come, conducted by Alan Pierson, alongside soloist Iarla O'Lionáird and soprano Dawn Upshaw.

The album can be pre-ordered here

See Donnacha's artist page on Nonesuch's Records' website

See Press Release on Nonesuch Records' website

 

 

Crash Ensemble is delighted to welcome Neva Elliott as its new general manager from the 14th of March.

Neva comes to Crash Ensemble from The O2, London, where in the position of Senior Customer Service Manager she was responsible for visitor experience measurement and development and the customer services department for 4 years, seeing the venue through opening to becoming the most popular music and entertainment venue in the world.

 Previously Neva was the Operations Coordinator for The Science Museum and Administrator for Visual Artists Ireland.

A graduate of DLIADT and Central Saint Martins with an MA in Fine Art she is also a professional practising artist exhibiting nationally and internationally, with institutions such as the RHA, Limerick City Gallery of Art, the National Gallery of  Dublin and the South African National Gallery. She also curates, writes and speaks on contemporary art practice.

Recently she was Online Director for Stephen Donnelly, Independent candidate for Wicklow’s successful campaign for the 31st Dail. 

We wish Neva a very warm welcome to Crash!

Great news for Brooklyn Philharmonic and for our phenomenally gifted principal conductor, Alan Pierson! As part of a dramatic overhaul, the orchestra has just appointed Alan to the post of Artistic Director, to help to realise its new artistic vision and to co-ordinate its ground-breaking outreach projects.

Alan is designing a new flagship series called “Junctions,” which will bring the orchestra into communities all around the borough, developing original collaborations with artists that enrich the communities it visits as well as the orchestra itself.

Chairman of the Board Jack W. Rainey commented, “Alan Pierson is a brilliant choice to forge this new artistic vision. An exciting and inspiring musician and leader, he is well-connected to the breadth of groundbreaking new music being generated in Brooklyn and beyond.”

Get the full story from the Brooklyn Eagle

General Manager

 

Role includes:

Working directly with the Artistic Director for all artistic planning

Grant writing and applications

Fundraising

Concert Production

National and International Tour planning and management

Contract negotiations (concert bookings, record label, personnel)

Budgeting and Accounting

Marketing & PR planning

Short, Medium and Long range planning

Personnel & HR

Liaising with the Board of Directors

Staff training management

 

Desired Characteristics

Strong people skills

Strong communication skills (written and oral)

Proven success in grant writing and fundraising

Positive attitude and professional demeanor

Excellent at multitasking

Excellent organisation skills

Good at working alone and in a team

A good motivator

Ability to respond to the changing environment

An undergraduate degree in a relevant subject

A passion for music

 

Required

Minimum 3 years management experience

Experience with concert (event) production

 

 

Future work with Crash Ensemble involves a Gerald Barry Opera in May 2010, an international Nonesuch album release, International touring with Dawn Upshaw, international festival work, future album releases, composer commissioning, education projects.

 

Relocation expenses will not be covered. Salary commensurate with experience.

 

CLOSING DATE: 7 January 2011 (interviews 12-14 January tbc)

Applications should be addressed to Donnacha Dennehy, artistic director Crash Ensemble, c/o Claire Layton.  Online applications preferred but hard copies also accepted.

info@crashensemble.com

Crash Ensemble

O’Reilly Theatre

6 Great Denmark Street

Dublin 1

 

Now that our 'Stranger Folk' national tour has come to an end, we are taking stock of a phenomenally successful year and looking forward to an even better 2011!

2010 has been the most prolific year since Crash's beginnings in 1997, with tours to the UK and the United States with our good friend Iarla O'Lionaird; 'Free State V' a spectacular collection of Ireland's brightest and best new composers, as well as collaborations with the Dublin Dance Festival, the National Chamber Choir and the Irish Museum of Modern Art with 'Rothko Chapel' featuring world-class Beckett actors Barry McGovern and Owen Roe.

September 2010 saw the world premiere of Donnacha Dennehy's 'That the Night Come' (six songs set to Yeats' poetry) with multi-Grammy Award winning U.S. soprano Dawn Upshaw in September, which has been recorded on the Nonesuch label and is set for release in Spring 2011.

We look forward to seeing you all in Spring 2011 for our sixth 'Free State' showcase!

Keep an eye on our website for more details- or subscribe to our mailing list for regular Crash updates!

 

We've had our fair share of luck with the first half of our Stranger Folk Tour, so it's about time for some good news.  We are offering a *FREE* shuttle from Dublin City Centre to our Newbridge show on Saturday, December 11th!

The bus will drop you off after the show OR you can come have a drink with Crash in town! We will announce where at the show.

Don't forget, we're in Cork TONIGHT at the Pavilion!

Cheers, see you there:)

Our band of merry musicians has made its way to Tralee safe and sound and are looking forward to a great gig in the lovely Siamsa Tire tonight, Wed 8th at 8pm! 

Musical Criticism.com has said that the audience at Sunday's 'Stranger Folk' were 'rewarded with a laid back and warming evening of music, featuring works from diverse areas of the globe to satisfy any want of escapism'. 

Next stop is The Pavilion in Cork (just off Patrick's street on Carey's Lane), in association with the UCC School of Music.

Tickets for both events are available at the door or by phone at

Siamsa Tire: 066 7123055

The Pavilion: 021 4276230

We are extremely disappointed to have to announce the cancellation of our concert this evening in the Linenhall Arts Centre, Mayo, 8pm.

We have been informed that the venue is inaccessible and the roads in the surrounding area are treacherous. We do not want to put our audiences, performers, venue staff or production team at risk. 

Thank you to everybody that helped to put this concert together.

We will do our very best to come visit our Western friends as soon as possible!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to everybody that made yesterday's 'Stranger Folk' concert a great success and a wonderful way to kick off the festive season!

The hardy souls that braved the elements were treated to a buzzing Christmas market in the courtyard of Belvedere College, complete with Gluhwein,German sausages and mince pies, as well as mountains of home-baked goodies.

Crash provided the soul-food for the evening, with Golijov's klezmer-inspired 'Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind', funky Dutch grooves from Jacob TV and our audience walking around listening to the vibrations of the sun! 

REALLY looking forward to our next gig in Siamsa Tire, Tralee on Wednesday at 8pm!

Get your tickets while you still can!! 

 

 

CRASH FANS!

Our Dun Laoghaire show on Sunday, December 5th has been moved to the O'Reilly Theatre in Belvedere College off of Parnell Square in Dublin 1.

Here is a link to the THEATRE

 

The silver lining?

The show will begin at 7:30 PM, following the Belvedere College Christmas Markets in the courtyard.  The set up is beautiful and there will be delicious mulled wine, mince pies and Christmas gifts available at the markets before the show.

 

Come along for a Christmassy evening with Crash Ensemble - we need your support during this wintery turn of events!

Tickets will be €15 (€10 for students with student card), available at the door.

Please call (0)1 858 6645 for further information, or email us at info@crashensemble.com

We are very sorry to announce we have been forced to cancel our Galway show at the Town Hall Theatre which was scheduled for tomorrow, Dec 3rd.  Due to the unprecedented weather conditions, it is simply not safe for us to transport our ensemble and equipment from Dublin to Galway over the next 24 hours.  In nearly 14 years, we have never canceled a show (EVEN during the Icelandic volcano!) and we are all sincerely sorry to all of our Galway fans.  

The rest of the tour WILL be going ahead, beginning in Dun Laoghaire on Sunday, December 5th.  All rail trasnport into Dun Laoghaire has been virtually unaffected, and we are already working on travel logistics to Castlebar on Monday, December 6th.  For those of you who were hoping to see us in Galway tomorrow night, Castlebar is a mere 1.5 hours away, so please catch us there, we'd love to see you out! Check out the concerts section of our website for more dates.

http://www.crashensemble.com/concerts.php 

Thanks to everyone who helped with the Galway show - we were very much looking forward to kicking off the tour here and WILL be back in the near future. Stay tuned.

- Crash Ensemble

Get ready for Crash Ensemble's ‘Stranger Folk’, a vibrant programme of folk-inspired new music coming soon to a venue near you!

We are packing our bags and leaving the capital for a whirlwind tour of Ireland, which includes performances in Galway, Cork, Mayo, Dún Laoghaire, Kerry and Kildare.

There will be music from Osvaldo Golijov, John Zorn, Donnacha Dennehy, Gerald Barry, John Godfrey and a unique piece by Dutch cult composer Jacob Ter Veldhuis (aka Jacob TV), arranged for Crash Ensemble.

This new programme of Crash favourites and commissions is a great introduction to the uninitiated and a refreshing mix for long time fans!

Join Crash Ensemble and the National Chamber Choir at the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin (Oct 21st at 7pm) and Elmwood Hall,Belfast (Oct 22nd, 5.45pm), as we perform two pieces by Gerald Barry 'First Love' and the world premiere of 'Beethoven'.

Tickets:€14/€12 from Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin at 01 7005665 or £15 from Belfast Festival at 028 9097 1197 or www.belfastfestival.com

 

By some form of miracle the whole band of Crash Ensemble managed to circumvent the ash outpourings of a certain Icelandic volcano and MADE IT to Washington DC!!

Come hear us play tomorrow at 6pm for a free concert on the Millenium Stage of the Kennedy Center!

 

Tomorrow Crash Ensemble head's to the USA for its 4 date tour of the East Coast. The dates are as follows:

 

May 6th - 6pm - Millenium Stage, Kennedy Center, Washington DC

May 8th - 8pm - Alexander Kasser Theatre, Montclair, New Jersey

May 9th - 3pm - Alexander Kasser Theatre, Montclair, New Jersey

May 10th - 7.30pm - Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleeker St, New York

 

You can see a little feature on us here.

Good news for Londoners. Crash Ensemble will still be performing in Kings Place this Saturday night! 

You can still get tickets HERE.

Tickets are now on sale for the upcoming Crash Ensemble Dublin performances in May.

 

Tickets for Doublespoor can be bought directly from the Dublin Dance Festival website.

 

Tickets for Crash Ensemble and Feldman can be bought directly from tickets.ie

 

Also, there is a lovely article about the IMMA Feldman concert in today's Irish Times.

The Contemporary Music Centre has interviewed some of the composers who are to be featured in this year's Free State V concert and you can see the interviews HERE.

Congratulations to Ann Cleare who has been shortlisted for this years Gaudeamus Prize!

Ann's piece "Dorchadas" will be performed by Crash Ensemble at this year's 'Free State V' concert. Ann will be in good company as there are many other composers featured on the night that have been previously shortlisted at Gaudeamus (as well as winning many other prizes between them!).

All in all an exciting night of new music is promised!

Don't forget to get your tickets in advance at the Samuel Beckett Theatre

Crash Ensemble are very pleased to be announcing their fifth Free State concert, celebrating all that is great and good in new Irish music today.

Free State V will be held at 8pm on the 5th of March in the Samuel Beckett Theatre, TCD, Dublin. The concert includes a world premiere by Ed Bennett (commissioned by Crash Ensemble), and works by Enda Bates, Ann Cleare, Scott McLaughlin, Ben Schlepper-Connolly, Grainne Mulvey and David Fennessy. You can find out more details on the concert, including how to buy tickets, HERE.

Please buy your tickets in advance as all our concerts in 2010 sold out and we don't want to disappoint!

You can also check out some really great photos from December's 'Lo Spazio Inverso' gig that was a great success! Photos can be found HERE.

Crash Ensemble's upcoming concert 'Lo Spazio Inverso' has sold out today. Please join our mailing list for news on any last minute capacity changes for venue (will only be able to confirm next week).

 

We have the wonderful news that The Courtyard Restaurant & Wine Bar is sponsoring Lo Spazio Inverso next Friday night. We will be having post show drinks in the bar, which is only a short walk away from the venue.

DIRECTIONS FOR FRIDAY 11th

VENUE click HERE

Post Show Drinks click HERE

Tickets are now on sale for 'Lo Spazio Inverso' on December 11th. There are only 70 tickets so please buy in advance as it is highly unlikely that there will be any left on the door on the night.

 

You can get tickets from www.tickets.ie

 

You can also read the press release for the concert HERE

Last weekend Crash Ensemble had two amazing sell out shows! Saturday's 'Minimal' had queues out the door and was an amazing celebration of Reich and Glass. A strong DEAF contingent came which made for an interesting change in audience. Audience were encouraged to move around the space and experience the different stages. For Koyaanisqatsi many people were spaced out on the floor and the general reaction was 'intense!'.

Roger Doyle @ 60 was also a full house. It was a great celebration of a great composer with a varied program looking at music from different stages of his life. The premiere of his new work "The Room in the Tower" eliciited the required reaction... FEAR! It was great!

A HUGE thanks goes to all the team at DEAF, Karen and Eamonn, all the staff, and most especially all the volunteers who made the work a WHOLE lot easier! The festival is still going on this week, so please do check out more of the concerts (and buy your tickets in advance! Nearly ALL the DEAF concerts last weekend sold out!)

A final note... keep Friday 11th December free for the last Crash gig of the year. It is going to be REALLY special!

This week is a busy one, not one but TWO concerts this weekend for DEAF.

Minimal on Saturday night will be really great, with some key Reich peices being performed alongside a screening of Koyaanisqatsi. Refreshements wil be served and bean bags will be filled! Come along for an enjoyable night.

Roger Doyle @ 60 celebrates our favourite electronic composer in the year of his 60th birthday. The concert features many of Roger's friends, Roger himself will be performing and Juile Feeney will be guesting as vocalist on two pieces, including Rogers world premiere of The Room in the Tower. Not to be missed.

 

Both concerts are selling out quickly so please ensure you get in the door by going to tickets.ie

See you at the weekend!

A quick note to let you all know that the Opera in Progress workshop for Saturday 3rd October is completely sold out! However, all is not lost, there will be a returns list at the door so if you are in the area of The Ark in Temple Bar this Saturday 3rd October at 5pm (or ideally before that) you should definitely pop by and attempt to blag a ticket. It really is a rare opportunity to hear new and exciting Irish Opera at its best (and performed by Crash!)

Also, in an aside, Crash will next be traveling to NYC for a private fundraising event. The event will be focusing on our 2010 US plans, including an East coast tour and work with Dawn Upshaw. If you are a US fan of Crash you will be first to hear the plans of the tour if you join our mailing list (on the contact page).

David Lang pre-concert Seminar hosted by TCD and Crash Ensemble.

In advance of the Crash Ensemble concert celebrating the music of Lang and Andriessen, David Lang will give a seminar on his music, focusing on his Pulitzer Prize winning work "The Little Match Girl Passion". The seminar will start with an introduction by Donnacha Dennehy.

Date: Friday 5th June
Time: 5.30pm
Venue: Boydell Room, House 5, TCD

If you are planning to attend the Crash Ensemble concert after the talk (8pm in Samuel Beckett Theatre), please be sure to book your tickets in advance, as tickets are selling out fast. Student tickets are only €15.

Great news, David Lang will be over for our upcoming Double Portrait concert! The concert promises to be fabulous, and with a nice reception afterwards we guarantee a great night out!

 

Also, we have just launched our new OUTREACH page this week. There you can see details of our internship. Please check it out!!

Last weekend, as we were recuperating from the wonderful Free State: Volans concert we were delighted to hear that Crash Ensemble were being broadcast by 2 Radio Stations on 2 continents!!

Nova on Lyric FM broadcast our Crash Originals concert of last June on their Sunday 12th April show. 

WNYC broadcast our New Sounds Live concert of March 2007 (in NYC) also on Sunday 12th April. You can listen to the show HERE. 

 Many thanks to Bernard Clarke and John Schaefer!

 

The CMC will be hosting a reception for Kevin Volans in the Project Arts Centre directly after our concert next Thursday 9th April... all concert attendees are invited!

 

Also, listen in to Lyric FM to hear an interview with Simon O'Connor next Tuesday at 0750 and 1845!

Tickets are now available for the upcoming Free State: Kevin Volans concert in the Project Arts Centre on the 9th of April. (€20/18)

Tickets available from the Projects Arts Centre at +353 (0)1 881 9613

Or online HERE

Crash Ensemble | Free State: Kevin Volans | April 9, 2009 | 8pm | Project Arts Centre, Temple Bar, Dublin 2

"When it comes to music, the Crash abandons ‘safety first’… its reputation at the cutting edge of contemporary composition has been veritably bulletproof for most of the decade”  
Sunday Business Post on Free State III

“Volans remains one of the planet’s most distinctive and unpredictable voices.”
Kyle Gann - Village Voice (New York)

Committed to showcasing new Irish Music, Crash Ensemble is featuring a concert of work by the internationally renowned composer Kevin Volans in this year’s Free State concert.
 
Having ended their incredibly busy 2008 with a concert focusing on new Irish music, Crash opens 2009 with another! This time they are celebrating new Irish music through Volans, who celebrates his 60th birthday this year, will curate an evening of cutting-edge music featuring young Irish composers alongside his own works. The centrepiece of the concert will be the world premiere of a new Volans’ composition – an important event in new music.
 
As well as performing with the ensemble, Kevin has chosen three unique voices from Irelands young composing talent to represent what he feels is new and exciting about new music in Ireland today. These works are by Jennifer Walshe, Simon O’Connor and Jonathan Nangle.
 
Crash has had a fruitful relationship with Volans over the past few years, since 2002, premiering works such as 1000 Bars and Joining up the Dots, written especially for Crash Ensemble. For this very special concert and in addition to composing the new work, Kevin will not only perform Nine Beginnings with the ensemble.
 
The 2009 FREE STATE concert is Crash Ensemble’s fourth annual showcase of new music from Ireland. This concert is always an adventure of the unexpected and has previously premiered new works by Gerald Barry, Julie Feeney among other unique voices of the new generation of Irish composers.  
 
As with all Crash Ensemble’s FREE STATE concerts (the last of which was November 2008) works by young Irish composers is paramount. The composers featured this year (all Volans’ choices) are Jennifer Walshe, who will be over from New York (after her successful Grupat exhibition in the Project Arts Centre); Jonathan Nangle with a work for cello and viola and Simon O’Connor who will be writing a new work especially for the occasion.

Free State : Kevin Volans is held in association with Lyric FM

FULL PROGRAMME FOR CONCERT

Free State: Kevin Volans | April 9, 2009 | 8pm | Project Arts Centre, Temple Bar, Dublin 2


8pm
Kevin Volans | Nine Beginnings
Kevin Volans | New Work (world premiere)
Kevin Volans | Into Darkness
Jonathan Nangle | my heart stopped a thousand beats
Simon O’Connor | New Work (world premiere)
Jennifer Walshe | work featuring the composer

Running time approx 2hours

BOOKING INFORMATION
Project Arts Centre
39 East Essex St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Phone: +353 1 881 9613 | www.projectartscentre.ie
 
Ticket prices for each concert are €20/18. Tickets are on sale now from www.projectartscentre.ie . Tickets will also be sold on the door.

Anáil Dé – The Breath Of God
GAVIN BRYARS & IARLA Ó’LIONÁIRD
with The Crash Ensemble

Tuesday 31 March, The Chapel, WIT, College St, Waterford
Wednesday 1st April, St Mary's Cathedral, Nicholas Street Limerick

Note Productions is pleased to announce to further performances of Anáil Dé - The Breath Of God, a major new work by iconoclastic composerGavin Bryars for arguably the finest Irish singer of his generation, Iarla O'Lionáird at Waterford New Music Week and St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick.

Anáil Dé - The Breath Of God is based on pre-1600 texts from Ancient Irish spiritual manuscripts selected by the artists. The premiere concerts will be performed by Gavin Bryars, Iarla Ó’Lionáird and The Crash Ensemble. This new project is a unique a special meeting of traditional Irish music and modern European composition. Gavin Bryars is best known for his iconoclastic works such as Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet and The Sinking of the Titanic. Iarla Ó’Lionáird acclaimed work fuses the traditions of sean-nós with modern electronic music and soundscapes.

Anáil Dé is a new commission funded by the The Arts Council of Ireland and RTE lyric fm and produced by Note Productions.

One of the key icons of European modern music, Gavin Bryars came to attention in 1975 with his first major work, The Sinking of the Titanic released on Brian Eno’s Point label. He followed this with the renowned Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet featuring Tom Waits. Bryars’ music draws on his minimalist training with John Cage and the ambient influences of Brian Eno. One of the great composers at work today, his music is marked by its emotional power. His is a deeply humanist modern music at once iconoclastic and emotionally charged.

Iarla Ó Lionáird has become known as the ethereal voice of the Afro-Celt Soundsystem. Yet with his latest project, he looks set to launch a solo career of groundbreaking innovation. His last project and album Invisible Fields melds the ancient echoes of sean-nós with the future sounds of today’s sonic explorers. Iarla Ó’Lionáird has also released three acclaimed solo albums, The Seven Steps To Mercy, I Could Read The Sky and Invisible Fields.

The Crash Ensemble is Ireland’s leading contemporary ensemble. Since its first sold-out concert in Dublin in the autumn of 1997, the group has attracted enthusiastic audiences for its particular blend of music, video and electronics. Crash has commissioned or premiered a large amount of works by many composers incuding Raymond Deane, Donnacha Dennehy, Arnold Dreyblatt, Michael Gordon, and Kevin Volans. It has worked directly with all the above, and with other composers such as Louis Andreissen, Gavin Bryars, Roger Doyle and Steve Reich.

http://www.gavinbryars.com/
http://www.myspace.com/iarlamusic
http://www.crashensemble.com/


TICKETING INFORMATION
Waterford New Music Week presents
Gavin Bryars, Iarla  Ó Lionáird and Crash Ensemble: Anáil Dé - The Breath of God
Tuesday 31 March, The Chapel, WIT, College St, Waterford
Tickets €20/€15 (concession)  available from:  Garter Lane Box Office 051 855038 Online www.garterlane.ie (booking fees apply)
Show: 8.00pm

The Irish World Academy University of Limerick
Gavin Bryars, Iarla  Ó Lionáird and Crash Ensemble: Anáil Dé - The Breath of God
Wednesday 1st April
St Mary's Cathedral, Nicholas Street Limerick
Tickets  €20/€15 available form: 1890 61 61 61
Show: 8.00 pm
www.irishworldacademy.ie

Presented in association with Note Productions

Happy New Year from Crash Ensemble!

We have all spent the Christmas holidays recovering from the madness that was 2008. What with touring in 3 continents, tons of world premieres, amazing guest performers and even a brand new opera sneak preview, 2008 has been a year to remember!

(and for those of you who missed our Australian concerts, ABC radio are going to broadcast one of our concerts next Wednesday 14th January from 8pm!! The concert information is HERE and you can check out information on the radio station HERE!! Enjoy!!)

Now for the start of 2009 we are going to focus a little internally and work on some developmental areas, but our first gig of the year promises to be a fabulous one! 

Free State: Kevin Volans will feature Kevin himself (in his 60th Birthday Year) not only curating the concert but also performing in it! We will celebrate the music of Kevin with performances of pieces that Crash have never performed before. We will also get to hear works by young and exciting Irish composers that Kevin respects very much.

Please do come and join us on the 9th of April in the Project Arts Centre for a night to remember!

(ticket information and program information coming soon!)

In the meantime please enjoy some photos taken during rehearsals (and the infamous Donnacha Opera secret workshop) in November 08. Taken by Frances Marshall, the shots will be included in an exhibition later in the year... I'll keep you all posted!

You can check out a really interesting page from the CMC talking about our upcoming Free State concert with audio interviews with many of the composers and even a video interview!

You can check it out at the Contemporary Music Centre website.

Tickets for both Free State and World View UK (27th and 28th November) are available online from www.tickets.ie/crashensemble

Tickets are now on sale for our November concerts. Ticket prices are €20/€18 inclusive of booking fee, and you can also buy tickets on the night in the O'Reilly Theatre box office.

Tickets can be bought from www.tickets.ie/crashensemble

We are delighted to announce the winners of this year's Free State call for works. The winners are:

Seán Clancy
Peter Moran
Jonathan Nangle

The competition was fierce with very many really high standard works and the final decision was not easy. However we are really happy that we are able to offer performances to 3 young and talented composers, all three of which have submitted really excellent works that we know will make Free State III a really exciting concert.

Many thanks to all who submitted and hopefully we will be seeing more of your works in further competitions!

You can hear these three new works alongside premieres of new works for Crash by Andrew Hamilton, John Godfrey and John McLachlan at our Free State III concert on the 27th of November. 

Free State III is part of a 2 day celebration of music, the 28th of November being a celebration of new music from the UK. More information on programming on our concerts pages.

Note Productions in association with The Ticket and Irish Museum of Modern Art presents

Anáil Dé – The Breath Of God
GAVIN BRYARS & IARLA Ó’LIONÁIRD  
with The Crash Ensemble

Friday 14th November, Great Hall, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin

Saturday 15th November, Solstice Arts Centre, Navan.

Note Productions is pleased to presented the premiere performance of Anáil Dé - The Breath Of God is a major new work by iconoclastic composer Gavin Bryars for arguably the finest Irish singer of his generation, Iarla Ó’Lionáird.

Anáil Dé - The Breath Of God is based on pre-1600 texts from Ancient Irish spiritual manuscripts selected by the artists. The premiere concerts will be performed by Gavin Bryars, Iarla Ó’Lionáird and The Crash Ensemble. This new project is a unique and special meeting of traditional Irish music and modern European composition. Gavin Bryars is best known for his iconoclastic works such as Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet and The Sinking of the Titanic. Iarla Ó’Lionáirds acclaimed work fuses the traditions of sean-nós with modern electronic music and soundscapes.

Anáil Dé is a new commission funded by the The Arts Council of Ireland and RTE lyric fm and produced by Note Productions.

http://www.gavinbryars.com/
http://www.myspace.com/iarlamusic
http://www.crashensemble.com/


TICKETING INFORMATION
Friday 14th November, IMMA / Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin
Tickets 25 Euro (including booking fee).
Bookings: www.ticketmaster.ie and www.tickets.ie, 0818 719 300 (Ticketmaster), and Claddagh Records.
Ticketmaster telephone and internet bookings subject to a maximum 12.5% service charge, agents 2 Euro.
Doors: 8.00pm; show starts 8.30pm.

Saturday 15th November, Solstice Arts Centre, Navan
Tickets: 25 / 20 Euro (concession)
Bookings: 046 909 2300 or from www.solsticeartscentre.com
Credit Card bookings fee 1 Euro. Online booking fee 1.75 Euro
Show 8.00pm
 

FREE STATE III
In keeping with Crash Ensemble's wish to promote young Irish compositional talent, we are continuing with our FREE STATE concert series of new Irish works.

We would like to issue a call for new works from young Irish composers. The age limit is to be 35. Composers must be Irish or of Irish residency.

Crash Ensemble consists of the following instrumentation:
Violin
Viola
Cello
Double Bass (can double as Electric Bass)
Electric Guitar
Percussion
Piano (can double as synth)
Flute (alto and piccolo also)
Clarinet (also doubles as bass clarinet)
Trombone

We welcome works for any or all combinations of this configuration and electronics are also an option. If you have a video aspect to the piece this will also be acceptable.

Please send PDF's of scores and/or download links to mockups to the contact email on the contact page. You can also post scores/CD's/DVD's to the contact address. Please do not email large files.

The deadline is Wednesday 1st October 5pm.

FREE STATE III will be held on November 27th as part of a 2 concert series, the second being WORLD VIEW 1: UK, a focus on new music from the UK.

Crash are literally just back from the madness of the Bang on a Can Marathon last weekend and are looking forward to next weeks concert. The Marathon was an amazing experience where we got to catch up with friends from all around the world. Check out the below links to see some people's reactions to the event... and we certainly did not sleep much!!

 

"Crash Ensemble, from Ireland, played colorful works by Donnacha Dennehy, its founder, and Terry Riley"
New York Times 

"Iarla Ó Lionáird's sweet voice riding atop the ensemble's furiously cascading arpeggios made for an ecstatic release"
Secret Society Blog 

"other highlights: Donnacha Dennehy's Grá agus Bás by the Crash Ensemble from Ireland"
Monotonous Forest Blog 

And don't forget that tickets are now on sale for Crash Originals (€20/€18) on Tuesday 10th June at 8pm in Vicar St, Dublin. Tickets available from Ticketmaster

Talking to David Lang at the Marathon, he has promised a really exciting piece for the concert, and as the composer himself will be over in Dublin for the event it promises to be a really special night!

We look forward to seeing you there... 

Tickets are now on sale for the upcoming gig in Vicar St on the 10th of June.

 

 

Tickets are available through ticketmaster.ie or through any ticket master agents throughout the country.

To all of you in Australia looking to buy CD's of Crash Ensemble, you can now connect to links of online record companies via our links page.

Record Labels / CD Releases is the 4th section down in the links page. You can connect HERE. 

Crash Ensemble will be performing this Friday 16th May in the Conservatorium of Sydney University.

The venue is Recital Hall West at 7.30pm.

Ticket prices are €20/€10 - tickets are limited and will be sold at the door.

For further venue information please contact convenues@usyd.edu.au

We look forward to seeing you there! 

You can now view images from our concerts over the last few weeks. Images from our Music of Phill Niblock concert on the 23rd of April, and also images from working with Risa Jaroslow for the Dublin Dance Festivals presentation of Resist/Surrender.

Crash are in preparation mode for traveling to Australia this week! If you are that side of the world we have concerts on the 12th and 14th in Street Theatre, Canberra, and a concert on the 16th in the Sydney Conservatorium. All concerts promise to be excellent! (including two world premieres of new works by Australian composers Michael Smetanin and Kat McGuffie, commissioned by Crash Ensemble with the aid of the Australian Arts Board). You can get more details on the Canberra festival at www.cicmf.org 

Beyond that we are also preparing for the Bang on a Can marathon, which promises to be great fun! You can see more details on their website (check our links page) but you cannot say no to 12hours of non stop contemporary music in the heart of New York City!

Finally, for those of you based in Ireland :-) our upcoming concert will be in Vicar St on the 10th of June. It will feature a new work written for Crash by pulitzer prize winning composer, David Lang! NOT TO BE MISSED!! 

The Niblock concert was a great success! It was lovely to see the audience really engaging with the space and the music... walking into corners to see how the sound changed... and that moment in G2-44 when, only on the stairwell between floors 2 and 3, it sounded like there were helicopters in the building!!

 

Dancing is going great too. Tonight is the first show of Resist/Surrender, with the Risa Jaroslow dancers in O'Reilly Theatre. There are not many tickets left for tonight, but you can still get tickets for tomorrow night. www.ctb.ie

You can also get a sneak preview of what the show is about at the Dance on the Box webpage. Just look under the festival video diary.

We look forward to seeing you there! 

Its been a busy month for Crash Ensemble, what with featuring on TG4's Gradam Ceol awards and recording the new soundtrack, by Donnacha Dennehy, for the new feature length thriller by Gerard Stembridge, Alarm! (release due in the autumn!)

And now we can announce that tickets are on sale for the upcoming Niblock gig in Temple Bar Galleries. Tickets are €18/€20 and are available from Central Ticket Bureau (0818 205 205, www.ctb.ie) Tickets are limited, due to space, to 100 only, so please get your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.

We look forward to seeing you there! 

Iarla Ó'Lionáird is to be given an award at this year's Gradam Ceol Awards and he will be performing live with Crash Ensemble at the event.

The show will be broadcast on TG4 on Monday 24th March at 9.30pm. 

Below is the press release:

Gradam Ceoil is coming from the INEC in Killarney this year for the first time, where traditional, classical and contemporary musicians will join together onstage to celebrate with the award winners.

This year’s awards go to Iarla Ó Lionáird, the unique and gifted sean nós singer who has sung with the Afro-Celt Sound System, the Chieftains and Dónal Lunny; Peadar Ó Riada, the talented and at-times avant-garde composer an man behind Cór Chúil Aodha; Martin Tourish, a young piano accordion player from Donegal whose debut album Clan Ranald was greeted with critical acclaim; Joe and Siobhán O’Donovan, a couple from Cork City who have devoted themselves over decades to travelling the globe teaching traditional step-dancing and Harry Bradshaw, renowned broadcaster, producer of RTÉ Radios One’s The Long Note and diligent re-masterer of some of the finest and most treasured recording of Irish traditional music since recording came to Ireland. This year’s Musician of the Year award goes to the masterful Martin Hayes (pictured below) whose haunting, sympathetic playing has always shown deep respect and understanding for the airs of Irish music.

Our winners will be joined by some of the most influential musical acts in the country. Liam O’Flynn, Paddy Glackin, Cór Chúil Aodha, Altan and other special guests will ansure that this year’s Gradam Ceoil will be a night to remember.
 

The venue for the Niblock gig on the 23rd of April has been confirmed as Temple Bar Gallery, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. The concert will be held in the atrium of the Gallery, and hence numbers will be limited.

Phill Niblock himself will be in attendance, as will Trio Scordatura and famed Niblock interpreter, Susan Stenger. 

We will keep you up to date as to when tickets will go on sale so that you do not miss out!

The Crash Ensemble event in the RTE Living Music Festival on the 17th of February has completely sold out well in advance of the event. Whilst this is great news for the ensemble, we are sorry that we cannot accommodate everyone.

The only thing to do is contact Central Ticket Bureau and put your name down on a cancellation list. (0818 205 205) 

It promises to be a really great gig. See you there! 

Crash Ensemble will be performing as part of the RTE Living Music Festival this February.

The concert will be at 5pm on the 17th of February in the Samuel Beckett Theatre, TCD and will include works by Jacob Ter Veldhuis, Martijn Padding, Peter Adriaansz and Arvo Part (featured composer).

Further details are in our concert pages. Tickets are nearly sold out!

Tickets available from Central Ticket Bureau at 0818 205 205 or online at www.ctb.ie 

Happy New Year from Crash Ensemble!! And to celebrate we have finally managed to upload over 100 PHOTOS of our Shindig in October of 07. A great selection of photos that show the breadth of works performed, the range of amazing talent and the wonderful reception from our brilliant audience!

We hope you enjoy and remember fond memories!

Also, tickets are now on sale for our RTE Living Music Festival concert on the 17th of February in the Samuel Beckett Theatre. We will be performing such works by Part as Spiegel im Spiegel and Stabat Mater alongside works by Dutch composers Padding, Adriaanz and Ter Veldhuis. The concert promises to sell out sooner rather than later so buy your tickets now!!!

www.ctb.ie

 

Crash Ensemble and Iarla Ó Lionáird to perform world premier of new Dennehy Sean Nós settings as part of 10th Anniversary national tour
 
Friday November 16th | Sionna Festival, Limerick
Thursday November 22nd | UCC, Cork
Friday November 23rd | Baile Mhuirne, West Cork
 
After a triumphant debut in New York, Crash Ensemble, Ireland’s foremost contemporary classical ensemble, will perform the world premiere of a new set of Sean Nós settings for Iarla Ó Lionáird.
 
Written by Crash Ensemble’s Artistic Director and Composer Donnacha Dennehy, this national tour is to mark the 10th Anniversary celebrations of a company renowned for its compositions and interpretations of cutting-edge music.
 
The programme includes the 2nd Irish performance of the highly acclaimed Grá agus Bás, written by Dennehy for Ó Lionáird as well as a new setting of the Sean Nós song, Aisling Gheal.  Also featuring will be a new piece by grandfather of minimalism, Terry Riley, written for Crash Ensemble and LCMS - Loops for Ancient Giant Nude Hairy Warriors Racing Down the Slopes of Battle – which evokes scenes of ancient celtic Ireland and is heavily inspired by old Irish art.
 
The concerts will also feature work by Ziporyn. Alan Pierson, of New York-based ensemble Alarm Will Sound, will be conducting and performing in the concerts.
 
FULL PROGRAMME
Crash Ensemble – Strange Folk
Aisling Gheal (Dennehy)
Loops for Ancient Giant Nude Hairy Warriors Racing Down the Slopes of Battle (Riley)
Kebyar Maya (Ziporyn)
Grá agus Bás (Dennehy)

Below is information on some of the pieces played at our SHINDIG listening space. The 'winners' of the competition were Fergus Kelly and Ian McDonnell.

Fergus Kelly is an Irish visual and sound artist/improvisor based in Dublin. His has been in numerous shows nationally and internationally, and has received many Arts Council awards. As an improvisor, he plays an invented instrument called The Cabinet of Curiosities. In 2005/6 he established a CDR label and website, roomtemperature.org, as an outlet for his solo and collaborative work, producing the CDs UNMOOR (2005), MATERIAL EVIDENCE (2006), BEVEL (2006) (with David Lacey), A HOST OF PARTICULARS (2007) and STRANGE WEATHER (2007)

The piece Overheard Overhead is from the Room Temperature CDR Strange Weather (2007). It explores a variety of urban and suburban landscapes using the natural sound colour and dynamic of the locations as compositional elements. These interact in a way that seeks to encourage new forms of listening and a more active, engaged relationship with the soundscape.

My work is concerned with exploring new soundworlds, and the place of sound in a visually overloaded culture. I'm fascinated by audio-visual relationships in various contexts - film, architecture, weather, memory, and how these senses are always linked: we never see deaf or hear blind. But since the introduction of sound film, then TV, the two senses got unnaturally separated - picture first, then sound.
I'm very interested in the fact that sound is perceived from numerous points in space as an immersive, unified field, whereas vision is only perceived from specific points of focus. Unlike our eyes, we can't  close our ears. Fergus Kelly, October 2007


Karen Power is a composer based between Cork and Limerick. She works as a Music Technician in Mary Immaculate College and is also a part-time PhD student at SARC, Queen’s University Belfast. Karen is interested in writing for a wide variety of focuses that include the use of; acoustic instruments, electro acoustic sounds, electronics and computer enhanced sounds. To date she has explored a number of musical styles in her compositions and has had her works performed by a number of talented musicians – for which she is grateful! She has just been awarded an experimentation award at the Belltable Theatre in Limerick providing the opportunity for a new work to be exhibited throughout Nov. 2008.

are you sure you’re hearing what’s written is a tape piece completed in 2007. The piece explores a variety of sonic worlds that move through each other very smoothly and with a sense of purpose. This piece started out as the tape part for a Bass Clarinet piece. I soon realised that I was a lot more interested in what the tape was developing into so I turned all attentions to developing this solo tape piece. I hope you get something out of the result.


Benoit Granier is a French Composer who currently lives between Beijing and Singapore. in 2007 he completed a PhD degree in Computer Music and Composition at Trinity College Dublin, where he also lectured for some time. After working in diverse institutions such as the Beijing Central Conservatory and Beijing contemporary Music Academy, he Moved to the Harrow school were he is currently teaching Computer Music, and Composition.

Over the past ten years, Dr Granier has also been active as a composer/ visual artist. He has written for a large diversity of medium that ranges from composition for solo instruments (he is currently writing the last piece of a suite of twelve pieces for solo instruments) to composition for large orchestra. He has also extensively worked for Mixed Media and pure electronics, and recently developed an interest for the creation of composition for mixed ensemble regrouping classical formation and traditional forces.

Dr Granier’s composition has been played in Ireland, France, UK, China, Japan, Singapore and America. He has also been invited into numerous conferences such as the Open Fader in Belfast or the Computer Music Festival in Florida, and has been an active published scholar in the field of composition, Music analysis and Music cognition.

[1] “Vespers 1.0: From Chaos to order” (8.40 minutes) for solo tape diffused in stereo


“Timbre is that attribute of auditory sensation whereby a listener can judge two similarly presented sounds that are dissimilar using any criteria other than pitch, loudness or duration”.

The birth of “Vespers 1.0: From Chaos to order” came from another tape work called “Outcast” which focused on the notion of the physical expansion of the universe. During “Outcast”, I started to become interested by the notion of subtractive synthesis theories, and I started to work on the filtering of noise. This led me to rethink the notion of spectralism where we could filter complex sound and then add them together once again in order to recreate complex tones. In this piece, which is resolutely quite, even intimate at some times, one can hear sounds like a clarinet or bassoon which are created only by the addition of sounds that have been processed using four types of noise (brown, filtered, ink and white). This composition is rooted on a personal reflection about color tone creation and organization as a formalized tool for composition.  



Montec Laude is interested in algorithmic sound synthesis on all time scales. He views his music as a by-product of the process of learning about pattern generators. Individual pieces are snapshots of experimental results where the aim is to create sounds which have the character and subtle variation of real acoustic ones. www.montec-laude.net



Garrett Sholdice
In the past five years, Garrett has had his music performed by, amongst others, the National Chamber Choir of Ireland, the Concorde Ensemble, Trio Arbós, violinist Elizabeth Cooney, American pianist Matthew McCright, the Royal Irish Academy of Music Percussion Ensemble, and members of both the Crash Ensemble and the New York Miniaturist Ensemble. His music has been performed in New York, Dublin, York, at the Galway Arts Festival, the Sligo New Music Festival, the Printing House Festival of New Music and at the Spitalfields Festival in London.

He has been awarded the National Chamber Choir's annual Gerard Victory Commission (2002) and the National Concert Hall's Composer's Choice Commission (2005). In September 2007 he was commissioned by Irish chamber choir New Dublin Voices, with funds from the Irish Arts Council.

As an undergraduate in Trinity College, Dublin, Garrett studied composition with Donnacha Dennehy. A Professional Development and Training Award from the Irish Arts Council and a Rosalyn Lyons Masters Scholarship supported his MA in composition at the University of York during the academic year 2006/2007. He is currently pursuing a PhD in composition at the University of York with Prof. Nicola LeFanu.

Garrett is a co-director of the Printing House Festival of New Music (www.printinghousefestival.org). His website can be found at www.garrettsholdice.com.   


DURATIONS (2007) for ‘tape’. Music for the choreography of the same name by Northern School of Contemporary Dance (Leeds, U.K.) student, Liv O’Donoghue, composed during February/March 2007. Durations (Liv O’Donoghue’s major choreography project) was twice performed by students of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (U.K.) in the Riley Theatre, NCSD in March 2007. A musique concréte study. Pacing and structure was shaped by the choreography.


Ian Mc Donnell (b. 1979) - composer

Ian Mc Donnell is a Dublin based musician and composer. He recently completed a Masters in Music and Media Technology at Trinity College Dublin, where he studied composition with Donnacha Dennehy, Roger Doyle and Fergus Johnston. He has been making electronic music for many years as one half of duo Lakker (with Dara Smith), described in the JMI as “one of the best electronic acts in Ireland”, and more recently with new projects Lomelindi (alongside vocalist Laura Kilty) and Jenny-and-the-Deadites (with Jennifer Brannagan). He is a member of the Young Composer's Collective, and also the Spatial Music Collective, a group of Irish composers specialising in surround sound and multi-channel music.

In the past he has written works for both electronic and acoustic forces, including ‘Mi Koso Yasukere’ for 6 voices, piano, string quartet and tape, which was premiered in the O’ Reilly June 2006. More recently he performed his electronic work ‘New Music for Wind and Metal’ at the ‘Free State’ concert with the Crash Ensemble in November 2006, performed in a piano and laptop duo with composer Roger Doyle at the Project Arts Centre in February 2007, and played a set of live improvised electronics at the CMC as part of Dublin’s Culture Night, September 2007.

Currently he is working on new music for performance in early 2008, and is getting ready to embark on a tour promoting “Ruido”, the debut album for electronic act Lakker, which has just been released on Lazybird records.

04-10-2007

Contact Details:
Phone: 087 775 8768
Email: eomac1@gmail.com
Web:    www.myspace.com/ianmcdonnellmusic
    www.virb.com/ianmcdonnell

Coil
Coil is an electronic work based mainly on the sounds of violin strings and the inside strings of a piano being manipulated and processed in various ways.  These create a multi-layered texture over which angular rhythmical patterns, melodic fragments, voices and harsh noise are heard. It is a rhythmical piece, but in a minimalistic way, drawing its influences equally from modern electronic musicians such as Autechre and more avant-garde sound-worlds.



Title:   Heterosexual Extrovert
Year of composition: 2007
Composer: Brian Ledwidge Flynn (1977 – )
Dur: 2'52''

Description
Quarter tone study using 6 electronically manipulated pianos



Artists: The Greater Periscope Orchestra (The GPO)
Track: Lost (Extract)
Album: Lost Stereo
Year: 2007

A soundscape piece featuring interviews with Nasa and University of Berkeley California scientists at the Space Sciences Lab on the campus. The focus is on the emotions tied into satellites that have been lost, or accidentally broken. The work was part of a residency there at the Space Sciences Lab, and part a desire to bring random performance to the stars. This work was preformed at the Luggage Gallery in San Francisco.

 

The following review was in Tuesday's Irish Times:

Between the concert on Friday night and the "marathon" of five concerts from noon to 10.30pm on Saturday, the Crash Ensemble's 10th anniversary programme included 39 pieces by 28 composers, of whom only two are now dead, and they within the last 10 years.

Attending the entire marathon was tiring but uplifting. The venue, the converted church of Saints Michael and John in Temple Bar, has the best acoustics of any I have heard the Crash use in Dublin, and the way that the 30 works were grouped almost always felt right. Not one of the performances was below par.

Many of the works had been commissioned by the Crash or were written with them in mind; and others were by influential composers or by those otherwise associated with the ensemble. Works that made a strong impact on this pair of ears included Brian Bolger's transcription of Kevin Volans's White Man Sleeps, which achieves that rare feat of making you think there was no transcription at all.

There was the craft and expressive subtlety of Raymond Deane's Ventalia, impeccably played by William Dowdall (flute) and David Adams (piano). James Tenny's Glissade was as startling as when I first heard it last year.

But for sheer compositional pizazz, it was hard to beat Terry Riley's Loops for Ancient Giant Nude Hairy Warriors Racing Down the Slopes of Battle. Written for the Crash Ensemble and premiered at the Drogheda Arts Festival earlier this year, this three- movement work sees the legendary Californian letting his hair down. Packed with direct aural references, and executed with cheeky enjoyment and technical flair, it suggests primitivism, exoticism, battle sounds, and what seemed like ambulance sirens at the end. What else do you need after a battle?

Saturday's concerts included several pieces by Donnacha Dennehy. Among his recently composed works, one of the most impressive was Stainless Staining, a virtuoso essay for piano and soundtrack that explores, with riveting effect, a harmonic spectrum of 100 overtones built on low G sharp. It was played by the pianist for whom it was written, Lisa Moore, who is also the pianist with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the New York-based group that has deeply influenced the Crash, and likewise runs marathon sequences of concerts.

In this piece, and in Frederik Rzewski's Piano Piece No 4, Moore provided two of the star performances of the day - brimming with virtuosity and with the enjoyment of creativity. Another solo highlight was Andrew Zolinski's muscular yet shapely playing of two iconoclastic pieces by Nancarrow, Prelude and Blues and Tango?

However, for enjoyable astonishment, nothing quite beat the singer-cellist Laura Moody. She plays lyrically; then as if it was a box for sound effects. She sings her own almost-pop songs, gurgles, hoots, wails, taps her throat with the bow. Yet it's all seamless, as if she, the cello and the music are a single organism.

The final concert included two recent pieces that Dennehy has written for the celebrated Sean Nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird. His setting of Aisling Gheal creates a beautifully scored and harmonically coloured backdrop to the song; and Grá agus Bás is nothing less than a transmutation of traditional style, with Ó Lionáird's beautiful singing woven into sounds imbued with harmonic overtones.

No wonder this piece made such an impact when it was played in the USA earlier this year. It is deeply expressive, and shows that this ensemble can caress just as effectively as it can crash.  - Martin Adams

We are making it easier to check out the exact program for SHINDIG here.

FInd concert program on FREE STATE (12th Oct) here

Find concert program on Marathon (13th Oct) at 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 7pm, 9pm

Tickets are available through the Central Ticket Bureau, on www.ctb.ie and at +353 1  8721122.

Individual concert ticket prices are €20. The entire Marathon day is €40 (5 concerts!!! what a bargain!!!). You will also be able to buy tickets at the door for each concert (that is, of course, if they do not sell out!). Concessions for students. All concerts have intervals.

There will be signage around Temple Bar, Dame St and Essex Quay to guide people to the venue. There is no parking at the venue. The nearest Luas stop is Jervis. There is work going on around the venue (cobble stoning) but do not let that deter you!

We are promising an excellent show! Looking forward to seeing you there! 

A new Sean Nós setting by Donnacha Dennehy, sung by Iarla Ó Lionáird; the Irish premiere of a Dennehy piano piece performed by Lisa Moore (Bang on A Can); new works by Gerald Barry and Julie Feeney as well as performances by Andrew Zolinsky and the Dublin Guitar Quartet along with 30 other pieces of music are among the many highlights of Crash Ensemble’s 10th Anniversary celebrations.  

Crash Ensemble’s SHINDIG, running at SSMJ in Temple Bar on October 12th and 13th, is a mammoth weekend featuring two concerts; Free State – a look at some of the most interesting contemporary music in Ireland today including the premiere of a new Crash Ensemble commission by Gerald Barry, and Marathon – a whopping 11 hours of new music by the godfathers (and extended family) of contemporary classical music.

Please visit our press page for the full press release.

Location of SHINDIG venue:-

 

Friday August 31st 2007 | Holy Trinity Church, Westport
As part of the Westport Arts Festival (31st August – 9th September 2007)

After a triumphant debut in New York, Crash Ensemble, Ireland’s foremost contemporary classical ensemble, will perform the world premiere of a new set of Sean Nós settings for Iarla Ó Lionáird at the Wesport Arts Festival.
 
Written by Crash Ensemble’s Artistic Director and Composer Donnacha Dennehy, this concert is the beginning of a national tour and the 10th Anniversary celebrations of a company renowned for its compositions and interpretations of cutting-edge music.

The programme  for the Westport Arts Festival concert includes the 2nd Irish performance of the highly acclaimed Grá agus Bás, written by Dennehy for Ó Lionáird as well as two new settings of Sean Nós songs.  Also featuring will be a new piece by grandfather of minimalism, Terry Riley, written for Crash Ensemble and LCMS - Loops for Ancient Giant Nude Hairy Warriors Racing Down the Slopes of Battle – which evokes scenes of ancient celtic Ireland and is heavily inspired by old Irish art.

The concert will also feature work by Ziporyn. Alan Pierson, of New York-based ensemble Alarm Will Sound, will be conducting and performing in the concert.

Crash Ensemble feature on a new CD released by NMC this week. Donnacha Dennehy's 'Elastic Harmonic' features Crash performances of Junk Box Fraud  and Streetwalker.

Already the reviews are rolling in from as far afield as the Scotsman and Paul Griffiths' blog 'Words and Music':

"The performances are fresh, furious and frenetic. Central to Junk Box Fraud, with its virile intrusions of jazz and rock, and to his catchy Streetwalker, are the idiosyncratic Crash Ensemble. They display an "ownership" of these works somewhat reminiscent of The Fires of London and Peter Maxwell Davies. According to Dennehy, Crash was intrinsic to their conception." - Scotsman

 

Crash Ensemble will be performing with Terry Riley as part of the Spirals of Ragtime and Raga Festival, May 4-6 in Drogheda.

Crash will be performing Riley's seminal minimalist piece, In C, and a new piece, written especially for Crash and LCMS, called Loops for Ancient-Giant-Nude-Hairy Warriors Racing Down the Slopes of Battle. Terry Riley and his son Gyan will be performing with the Ensemble on the night.

Details of the concert are in our concerts section.

Tickets €20 available online from www.ticketmaster.ie and Ticketmaster outlets.
Alternatively contact the box office at Drogheda Arts Office 041 9876100. 

WNYC’S John Schaefer’s much respected and widely listened radio show NEW SOUNDS will feature CRASH ENSEMBLE’S recent concert in New York.

The concert, which featured Sean Nos singer Iarla O Lionaird, received a rave review in The New York Times (see below).

Tune in on 93.9 FM at 11PM NYC time this evening (11 apr) or via the web on http://www.wnyc.org/shows/newsounds/ (also available as a podcast the following day, follow the link: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/newsounds/episodes/2007/04)

WHAT THE NEW YORK TIMES SAID ABOUT CRASH ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE LAST WEEK


“a magnificently energetic, wildly cacophonous vocal work”
 
 “the Irish new-music band that plays with the energy and spirit of a rock group”
 
 “Iarla O Lionaird sang the Gaelic text with simplicity and directness in a plaintive folk style, and the ensemble — amplified strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and electric guitar, with Alan Pierson conducting — gave it a powerful account”
 

Crash Ensemble have just returned from an extremely successful concert in New York City. Their NYC debut was very well received and today the New York Times' Allan Kozinn let everyone else know what they missed!

The program was recorded for New Sounds Live on WNYC, 93.3 FM, and will be broadcast on April 10 and 11. As it will be slightly difficult to listen to it live here in Ireland, WNYC will be archiving the recording after the broadcast and we will post the link so you can check it out yourselves! 

From today’s  New York Times:

“a magnificently energetic, wildly cacophonous vocal work”

“the Irish new-music band that plays with the energy and spirit of a rock group”

“Iarla O Lionaird sang the Gaelic text with simplicity and directness in a plaintive folk style, and the ensemble — amplified strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and electric guitar, with Alan Pierson conducting — gave it a powerful account”

 
link
 

In advance of next weeks New York debut, you can now catch a glimpse of Donnacha Dennehy's new piece, Grá agus Bás, as it was performed by Iarla Ó Lionáird and Crash Ensemble on the 10th of February this year (2007).

The video only shows sections of the performance and the audio is only from the camera mic, however we are to complete a full version very soon.

AND you can always come and see it next Wednesday!! 

We would like to thank the CMC for their help in this video production.

You can see the video on YouTube at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGY7WCXx1W0 

In advance of their New York debut, Crash Ensemble will be performing a concert of Crash favourites in Dartington Arts, Devon. The concert will be held next Wednesday 14th March in the Great Hall. See details here

On the 28th of March Crash Ensemble will have their first ever concert in New York. Invited by John Schaefer, of WNCY Radio, to perform in the final concert of the New Sounds Live 06/07 series, Crash Ensemble will be performing in a double headline concert with the fabulous Trio Mediaeval.

The Crash Ensemble performance will include the world premiere of Dennehy's Stainless Staining, performed by guest pianist and commissioner, Lisa Moore (of Bang on a Can All-Stars). The final piece will be the American premiere of Grá agus Bás (love and death). Written for Iarla Ó Lionáird and Crash Ensemble, the piece premiered in Dublin this February to a sell out audience and has created quite a buzz since then. The unique marrying of traditional Irish sean nós and contemporary classical is a new direction for Dennehy and an exciting one for Crash Ensemble. We are looking forward to introducing the American audience to this new brand of contemporary music.

Please see the link on Merkin Hall to book tickets.

You can contact Nik Quaife, Zoetrope PR (nik@zoetrope.ie) or Frances Mitchell, Crash Ensemble (admin@crashensemble.com), for the New York press release.

Our friends in the Irish Chamber Orchestra have a new program coming up. Of interest to Crash fans would be the performance of 2 Finnish works by Aulis Sallinen and Einojuhani Rautavaara. These pieces will be performed by the Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto.

You can check out more information at

http://www.irishchamberorchestra.info/

We recently discovered a link in relation to our 2005 concert Bryars/Rzewski.

To quote:

"An awesome recording of Frederic Rzewski’s “Coming Together” in a live performance by the Crash Ensemble with Gavin Friday. Picked up directly from Rzewski himself in Kansas City by Scott Unrein. Not available commercially. Rzewski says it’s his favorite recording of the work."

You can listen to the actual recording from the following link:

http://nonpop.scottunrein.org/2006/10/22/nonpop-show-016/ 

Crash Ensemble premier a new work by Dennehy for Iarla Ó Lionáird in Dublin and New York in 2007

Crash Ensemble: Strange Folk, 10 February, 8pm at Samuel Beckett Theatre

In an eagerly anticipated highlight of 2007, Crash Ensemble, Ireland’s leading contemporary classical music group, will premier a new work by Donnacha Dennehy for Sean Nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird as part of a unique celebration of newly composed music inspired by the sounds and ideas of ethnic music.

Called STRANGE FOLK, this one-night concert at the Samuel Beckett Theatre, will not only be the occasion for the premier of Dennehy’s large new piece for Iarla and the group in advance of its New York debut, but for the first time in the ensemble’s ten-year history, they will be presenting work by the important composers Osvaldo Golijov, and Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, alongside an Indonesian-influenced piece by Bang On A Can’s Evan Ziporyn.

STRANGE FOLK will feature the conductor Alan Pierson.

 Tickets from Central Ticket Bureau, ph (01) 872112   www.centralticketbureau.com

We are making great headway with the website, and have launched our extensive CONCERTS and REPERTOIRE pages. You can now see the full history of Crash concerts from the last 10 years, and also peruse our repertoire at leisure.

We have also posted live images from our Back to Back concert in November. Hope you enjoy! 

We've given the new website a new design, and are in the process of creating a database of concerts and repertoire, which will be online soon.  Sign up to our newsletter on the contact page for all the latest news.

The BBC Radio 3 show "Hear and Now" broadcast Crash Ensemble's recent concert in London's Kings Place on Saturday 12th June at 22.30pm.

You can see more about the concert HERE.

The album will be available on our website or at HMV, Tower Records, Celtic Notions or Head Music in Belfast.  It will also be available from a number of independent shops - we will keep you posted on where! 

 

It's worth the wait...

Donnacha Dennehy's Grá agus Bás will be released in Ireland on Friday, May 6th instead of Friday, April 29th, after its release in the UK and US on May 3rd.

Our excitement is growing steadily as THE REICH EFFECT at Cork Opera House fast approaches, including one-off performances from world-class acts Kronos Quartet (28th July), RTÉ Concert Orchestra performing works by Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) and Kjartan Sveinsson (Sigur Ros) (29 July, City Hall), London Sinfonietta (30 July, Cork Opera House), Efterklang with Daniel Bjarnason and the Messing Orchestra (30 July, Savoy Theatre), Johann Johannsson (31 July, Triskel Christchurch) and Crash Ensemble with Iarla Ó Lionáird and Gavin Friday (31 July, Cork Opera House).

The festival even features a public interview with Steve Reich himself, who will attend the festival and judge the amazing Reich Remixed competition along with a host of other Irish music afficionados.

Crash Ensemble will perform Double Sextet, for which Steve Reich was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2009, Reich's recently commissioned 2x5, Frederick Rzewski's Coming Together with Gavin Friday, and Donnacha Dennehy's acclaimed Gra agus Bas, with Iarla O'Lionaird.

We are delighted to be part of this monumental festival celebrating Steve Reich's 75th birthday and look forward to providing the musical fireworks for the closing concert!

TICKETS: Crash Ensemble at the Reich Effect , Cork Opera House, Sun 31st July

IN OTHER NEWS:

Misterman opened at the Galway Arts Festival on July 11th and will run for two weeks. 

This is a one-man show written by Enda Walsh (Disco Pigs) and starring Cillian Murphy (Batman Returns, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Breakfast on Pluto) with a specially commissioned score by Donnacha Dennehy.

Gra agus Bas, Nonesuch Records, 2011

Featuring Dawn Upshaw, Iarla O'Lionaird and Crash Ensemble

Our new album 'Gra agus Bas' continues to win over new listeners, most recently described in Sacramento U.S.A as "easily one of the most bewitching releases of the year".

Read the full review at Sacramento Bee