Galway Music Residency is to spread snippets of avian delight this spring to encourage classical music fans to flock to performances in Galway city and Loughea.
As part of its Nature & Ecology theme for 2025, Galway’s ensemble-in-residence, ConTempo Quartet will perform works celebrating the joy of birds, from their song to their mesmerising flight.
These lunchtime performances in St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church over the month of May are part of a wider program exploring the beauty and mystery of birds.
ConTempo’s works will include Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet Op 64, No 5, nicknamed ‘The Lark’, with a soaring violin theme that evokes the melodious voice of this beautiful species of bird.
The programme will also explore the sounds of the swallow and barn owl through excerpts from Leoš Janá?ek’s On an Overgrown Path.
The frenetic energy of bird flight will be explored through performances of Alex Roth’s Bird Drama, a movement from his first string quartet Klee Pictures, as well as Flocking III by Irish-based composer Nick Roth.
This programme can be first heard on Tuesday, May 6, at 1.10pm, in St Nicholas’ as part of ‘Lunchtimes with ConTempo’.
Prior to performance, the ‘For the Birds’ programme will be deconstructed on Tuesday, April 29, at 11am in Westside Library with contributions from Dr Aidan Thomson, senior lecturer in Music at University of Galway, and composer Nick Roth of ConTempo Quartet. The session will also be filmed and made available online.
Loughrea
The programme will be repeated in the newly renovated Mount Carmel Chapel in Loughrea on Saturday, May 24, at 8pm, as part of ‘ConTempo Countywide’ in collaboration with Mount Carmel Concerts.
Ahead of the concerts, some of the featured repertoire will be explored through Galway Music Residency’s new guided listening programme Music Unveiled, supported by the Galway City Cultural Partnership programme, an initiative of Galway City Council. These events are presented in partnership with University of Galway’s Music Department and the city council’s Arts Office at Galway’s city libraries.
Entry to all events is free, with donations gratefully accepted. No booking required for lunchtime concerts, although free tickets for the Mount Carmel Loughrea event must be booked in advance due to pace constraints. See www.MountCarmelConcerts.ie from May 12.
Lunchtimes with ConTempo take place on the first Tuesday of the month from February to May, and from September to December.
ConTempo Countywide takes place in local venues throughout Galway County. Music Unveiled takes place on the final Tuesday of each month from January to April, and August to November. Music Residency is proudly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, University of Galway, and Galway’s city and county councils.
