Podcasts about Donnacha Dennehy

Alarm Will Sound is a ground-breaking 20-member chamber orchestra that challenges and reshapes musical conventions through performances of music by today's composers. Artistic Director Alan Pierson talks with Seth Boustead about 25 years of music-making with Alarm Will Sound and their latest recording: Land of Winter by Donnacha Dennehy.

A conversation recorded during this year’s New Music Dublin with Crash Ensemble’s principal conductor Ryan McAdams, pianist Eliza McCarthy and composer Donnacha Dennehy about his new piano concerto Limina. Show Notes New Music Dublin - Limina Donnacha Dennehy Eliza McCarthy Ryan McAdams Music Donnacha Dennehy - Limina (Eliza McCarthy, Crash Ensemble, conductor Ryan McAdams), 20 April 2023, New Music Dublin. Thanks to Crash Ensemble for the recording. Editing: Keith Fennell

This week, amplify marks the 25th anniversary of the Crash Ensemble with interviews with Artistic Director, Kate Ellis as well as founding member and the ensemble's first Artistic Director, Donnacha Dennehy. Presented by Jonathan Grimes and Evonne Ferguson. Show Notes Crash Ensemble [reactions] Donnacha Dennehy Music Barry O'Halpin - Lethargarian Éna Brennan - Runaway David Fennessy - Jack Barry O'Halpin - Wingform Sam Perkin - Children in the Universe Barry O'Halpin - Wingform

10.11: Kate Ellis, artistic director of Crash Ensemble, talks through their 25th anniversary celebrations, involving a new album, [REACTIONS], an installation, and a couple of shows at the NCH (more info below). Plus we talk about Kate's journey to this point, how a tap on the shoulder as she was walking down Grafton Street changed everything for her. We hear three Crash tracks from [REACTIONS]: One Day, This is the Space Between Your Hand and Mine, and Stone or Rot. New music section 53.29: Moesha - Drag https://youtu.be/FbdfnLpV8aI 58.27: Sarah Buckley - Dream Catching https://sarahbuckleymusic.bandcamp.com/ More information on Crash Ensemble's 25th anniversary celebrations: [REACTIONS] limited edition double album release and film screenings Amidst the onset of the global pandemic, Crash Ensemble commissioned 17 Irish and international composers from a range of musical backgrounds to write new works for duos within the group. Building on existing collaborative partnerships and cultivating and nurturing new relationships, composers were invited to create a musical response to their experiences, the current state and their thoughts for the future. The [REACTIONS] composers are: Amy Rooney, Anna Mieke, Anna Murray, Anselm McDonnell, Bébhinn McDonnell, Bekah Simms, David Fennessy, Deirdre Gribbin, Diamanda Dramm, Éna Brennan, Jonathan Nangle, Rachael Lavelle, Rose Connolly, Seán Ó'Dálaigh, Sebastian Adams, Siobhán Cleary, and Stephen Shannon. Each composer documented their creative process with text and imagery, offering a fly on the wall view of the composers' studio spaces, visual imagery and text journaling during the creative process. The duos were recorded and will now be presented in a limited-edition double album release [REACTIONS], coming November 25th. Audio visual material was combined with these recordings to make an accompanying film by Crash's resident filmmaker, Laura Sheeran, which will be screened at The Irish Film Institute, Wednesday 30th November 2022. Performances at The National Concert Hall The 25th year anniversary programme culminates with two special concerts and a cutting-edge installation at the National Concert Hall (NCH). The first celebratory concert, Crash 25! Charged Disruption, on Saturday 3rd December (The Studio) sees the acclaimed ensemble, with conductor Ryan McAdams, perform Donnacha Dennehy's magnetic, soulful and influential work Grá agas Bás with vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird. In the second part of the concert Artist in Residence Diamanda La Berge Dramm and writer Neva Elliot present Crashed, drawing on the unique energy of the players of the group, through the use of their voices and instruments. For the second birthday concert, Crash 25! Living Perspectives, on Sunday 4th December (The Studio) the ensemble's programme comprises Australian composer Liza Lim's Extinction Events and Dawn Chorus and Barry O'Halpin's experimental work Wingform, which takes advantage of Crash's unique ability to cover a breadth of musical ground: winding melodies, mechanical rhythms, rapid lines and hypnotic drones. The previous week, from Thursday 24th November to Sunday 27th November, The Studio space in the National Concert Hall hosts Crash 25! Wingform Installation. The installation is the work of video artist and filmmaker Jack Phelan who created a work responding to the visual themes of Irish composer, Barry O'Halpin's Wingform - a four movement work for solo guitar and ensemble. Using a simple set of shapes, materials and layout, the installation aims to evoke the essence of the ensemble. Tickets for Crash 25! Charged Disruption (3rd December) and Crash 25! Living Perspectives (4th December): €18 are available from nch.ie

With guests - Enda Walsh, Donnacha Dennehy and Paul Fahy - Eímear Noone - Sonya Kelly - Glenn Davis and Brooke Flanagan of Steppenwolf Ensemble & music from Anna Malarkey, ‘Falling Apart'.

Welcome to the official podcast of The Galway International Festival 2022. On the show we'll have interviews  with guests, take a look behind the scenes of this year's festival and give all the recommendations and  information you need to enjoy the best of the arts in Galway. Hosted by Andy Gaffney and Orla Higgins.  Episode two is all about theatre -   Founder of Landmark Productions Anne Clarke joins Orla to talk about their new production at this year's  festival The First Child. The First Child is a stunning new opera from Enda Walsh and Donnacha Dennehy  which runs from the 18th to the 24th of July.   Orla is also joined by Sonya Kelly who brings her new show The Last Return to the Druid Theatre from the 8th to the 23rd of July. Sonya chats about bringing her own unique style of writing to an audience as well as  her own beginnings in stand up comedy.  Also in this episode -   We take a look back at some festival memories with Judy Murphy and Andy joins some GIAF volunteers for  a bit of speed interviewing.   Information for all shows can be found at www.giaf.ie.   This podcast was produced by Andy Gaffney and Orla Higgins.  Special thanks to Flirt FM at NUI Galway.

Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy takes us on a deep dive into his docu-oratorio The Hunger, inspired by Ireland's Great Famine (1845-52). At once devastating and hauntingly beautiful, The Hunger draws on the letters of American humanitarian Asenath Nicholson, who traveled to Ireland to bear witness to the horrible events. The new album (from Nonesuch Records) features contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound with soprano Katherine Manley, and legendary sean nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird.

A tribute to composer and Emeritus Professor of Music at Trinity College, Dublin Hormoz Farhat, who died in August of this year, featuring an interview with the composer from 2020 by Linda O'Shea Farren, as well as contributions from composers Amir Tafreshipour and Donnacha Dennehy. Presented by Jonathan Grimes and Evonne Ferguson. Show notes Hormoz Farhat CMC Composer Page Wikipedia Page Irish Times Obituary Amir Tafreshipour Donnacha Dennehy Music Piano Sonata No. 2: II (Mary Dullea) Piano Sonata No. 1: III (Mary Dullea) Piano Sonata No. 1: I (Mary Dullea Piano Sonata No. 1: IV (Mary Dullea String Quartet No. 1: Mov. 4 (St Petersburg String Quartet) Piano Sonata No. 2: III (Mary Dullea) Nouveau Rivage (BBC Symphony Orchestra)

Composer Viet Cuong joins us to discuss the role that marching band played in his formative years and the impact it continues to have on his current career. He shares his approach to composing for small ensembles, preparing students to take advantage of new and innovative tools, and the skills vital for success as a freelance musician. We finish with a conversation about what it means to “sound like tomorrow”. Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the “irresistible” (San Francisco Chronicle) music of American composer Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been commissioned and performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Eighth Blackbird, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sō Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, Atlanta Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, Albany Symphony, PRISM Quartet, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and Dallas Winds, among many others. Viet's music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, National Gallery of Art, and Library of Congress, and his works for wind ensemble have amassed hundreds of performances worldwide, including at Midwest, WASBE, and CBDNA conferences. He was recently featured in The Washington Post‘s “21 for '21: Composers and performers who sound like tomorrow.” In his music Viet enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or oddly satisfying. His recent works thus include a percussion quartet concerto, tuba concerto, snare drum solo, and, most recently, a concerto for two oboes. This eclecticism extends to the range of musical groups he writes for, and he has worked with ensembles ranging from middle school bands to Grammy-winning orchestras and chamber groups. Viet is also passionate about bringing different facets of the contemporary music community together, and he will have opportunities to do so with an upcoming concerto for Eighth Blackbird with the United States Navy Band. He recently began his tenure as the California Symphony's 2020-2023 Young American Composer-in-Residence, where he and the symphony will develop three new orchestral works together over three years. Viet is currently on the music theory and composition faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He holds degrees in music composition from the Curtis Institute of Music (Artist Diploma), Princeton University (MFA), and the Peabody Conservatory (BM/MM). His mentors include Jennifer Higdon, David Serkin Ludwig, Donnacha Dennehy, Steve Mackey, Dan Trueman, Dmitri Tymoczko, Kevin Puts, and Oscar Bettison. During his studies, he held the Daniel W. Dietrich II Composition Fellowship at Curtis, Naumburg and Roger Sessions Fellowships at Princeton, and Evergreen House Foundation scholarship at Peabody, where he was also awarded the Peabody Alumni Award (the Valedictorian honor) and Gustav Klemm Award. The transcript for this episode can be found here. For more information about Viet Cuong, please visit his website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and SoundCloud.

Seán Rocks previews the Dublin Theatre Festival, with a special guests includling Enda Walsh & composer Donnacha Dennehy, ANU's Louise Lowe, Thommas Kane Byrne, Philip McMahon, Caitríona Daly & Fishamble's Jim Culleton. Further details,    dublintheatrefestival.ie.

Episode 34 of CMC's podcast. Evonne Ferguson talks to US-based Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy about his current work, musical preoccupations, and his experiences of composing during lockdown, Jonathan Grimes talks to Irish clarinettist and new music specialist Carol McGonnell about her life and work, and music from Gráinne Mulvey recorded by Elizabeth Hilliard and Anselm McDonnell for CMC's recent online Salon event. Show Notes Donnacha Dennehy Composer web site CMC Composer Page The Last Hotel The Second Violinist Music Donnacha Dennehy - The Last Hotel: Breathe Deep Donnacha Dennehy - O (RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, conductor Gavin Maloney Donnacha Dennehy - Tessellatum (Nadia Sirota and Liam Byrne) Ockeghem - Deo Gratias (Huelgas Ensemble) Donnacha Dennehy - Swift's Epitaph (Andrew Watts and Owen Gunnell) Carol McGonnell Argento Chamber Ensemble Music Ann Cleare - eyam v (woven) (Carol McGonnell, Richard Craig, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, conductor Gavin Maloney) Irene Buckley - Choral Ryan Molloy - Cantaireacht (Carol McGonnell) Ann Cleare - eyam i (it takes an ocean not to) CMC St. Brigid's Day/La Fhéile Bríde 2021 event Gráinne Mulvey - a carlow song cycle: Poem #43 (Elizabeth Hilliard, Anselm McDonnell)

Musici Chats is presented by Beth McNinch:Freelance violist living in Ireland.Artistic Director of www.musici.ieTo find out more about Musici Ireland please visit our website www.musici.ieBe sure to Subscribe and tell all you friends about us!!Tom Creed-Opera and Theatre DirectorOpera and music theatre productions include The Tales of Hoffmann with Irish National Opera, Owen Wingrave with the Opéra national de Paris and Opera Collective Ireland, Irish tours of Acis and Galatea,  The Human Voice and Susanna's Secret for Opera Theatre Company, Mavra and The Bear with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Die Zauberflöte, Suor Angelica, Mavra and Renard with the Royal Irish Academy of Music.World premieres of new work include The Hunger by Donnacha Dennehy at Opera Theatre of St Louis and the BAM Next Wave Festival in New York, Private View by Annelies van Parys, produced by Muziektheater TransparantPrivate View was awarded the FEDORA Rolf Liebermann Prize for Opera in 2014, Best Production at the Armel Opera Festival in Budapest in 2015, and was named by Music Theatre NOW 2015 as one of 14 notable productions “which are aesthetically innovative and reflect new developments in this genre” .He was an Opera Hub associate artist of Opera Theatre Company in Dublin from 2015 to 2017.He directed Vivaldi's Griselda with Irish National Opera in Autumn 2019 and is developing a new opera with composer Michael Gallen for premiere in France and Ireland in 2021.TheatreHis extensive work as a theatre director includes productions with the Abbey Theatre, Gate Theatre, Rough Magic, Playgroup (which he co-founded in 2003) and a range of independent Irish companies, which have played in Ireland, the UK, Europe, the USA and Australia. He was nominated for Best Director at the Irish Times Theatre Awards in 2007.His productions of Watt by Samuel Beckett with acclaimed Irish actor Barry McGovern has been presented at the Dublin Theatre Festival, Galway Arts Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Perth International Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Barbican Centre in London, the Public Theatre in New York and on tour in the USA.Tom is a member of the steering group of the National Campaign for the Arts

Playlist: Jordan Nobles, Victoria Guitar Trio - Concentric RingsLouis Andriessen, Ensemble Paramirabo, Thin Edge New Music Collective - Workers UnionDominick DiOrio, Simon Carrington Chamber Singers - Ode to PurcellDonnacha Dennehy, Crash Ensemble - Disposable DissonanceMatt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley, John McLaughlin - A Lotus on Irish StreamsLudovico Einaudi, Federico Mecozzi, Redi Hasa - AscentLudovico Einaudi, Federico Mecozzi, Redi Hasa - Golden Butterflies Var. 1Bright Sheng, Gerard Schwarz & Seattle Symphony - Black Swan (after Brahms' 6 Piano Pieces: No. 2 Intermezzo)Alexander Balanescu, Balanescu Quartet - SpotdanceTalivaldis Kennis, Latvia Festival Orchestra - Piano ConcertoKevin Lau, Ensemble Made In Canada - Race to the Midnight Sun

Episode 4 of CMC's fortnightly podcast features interviews with Donnacha Dennehy, Iarla Ó Lionáird and Tom Creed on Dennehy's recent opera, ‘The Hunger', and former RTÉ producer and RTÉ lyric fm station head Seamus Crimmins on composer and choral conductor Colin Mawby, who died recently. Production - Jonathan Grimes Recording and editing - Keith Fennell The feature on Donnacha Dennehy's The Hunger was devised and researched by Maynooth University music lecturer and researcher, Stephanie Ford. Show Notes Donnacha Dennehy www.donnachadennehy.com Iarla Ó Lionáird iarla.com Tom Creed tomcreed.org The Hunger - Abbey Theatre www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats-on/the-hunger Music The Hunger The Hunger: Black Potatoes, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Alarm Will Sound, conductor Alan Pierson - 00:02, 20:28, 23:23, 28:39 The Hunger: I Feared He Would Die, Alarm Will Sound, conductor Alan Pierson - 06:17, 26:18 Grá agus Bás, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Crash Ensemble, conductor Alan Pierson - 09:09, 12:38, 15:55 Stainless Staining, Lisa Moore - 14:52 Grá agus Bás, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Crash Ensemble, conductor Alan Pierson - 15:55 The Hunger: I Have Seen and Handled the Black Bread, Katherine Manley, Alarm Will Sound, conductor Alan Pierson 17:20 The Hunger: The Keening, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Katherine Manley, Alarm Will Sound, conductor Alan Pierson - 31:44 Colin Mawby Ave verum corpus, Westminster Catherdral Choir, City of London Sinfonia, conductor James O'Donnell - 32:51, 41:16 When David Heard, Chamber Choir Ireland - 36:49 O magnum mysterium, Kölner Kantorei, conductor Volker Hempfling - 38:44

Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy takes us on a deep dive into his docu-oratorio The Hunger, inspired by Ireland's Great Famine (1845-52). At once devastating and hauntingly beautiful, The Hunger draws on the letters of American humanitarian Asenath Nicholson, who traveled to Ireland to bear witness to the horrible events. The new album (from Nonesuch Records) features contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound with soprano Katherine Manley, and legendary sean nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird.

Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy takes us on a deep dive into his docu-oratorio The Hunger, inspired by Ireland's Great Famine (1845-52). At once devastating and hauntingly beautiful, The Hunger draws on the letters of American humanitarian Asenath Nicholson, who traveled to Ireland to bear witness to the horrible events. The new album (from Nonesuch Records) features contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound with soprano Katherine Manley, and legendary sean nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird.

In this episode we speak to director Tom Creed about how he came to be an opera director and his upcoming production of ‘The Hunger’ a new opera by Donnacha Dennehy opening at The Abbey Theatre.

Acclaimed young composer Viet Cuong joins the show to share his thoughts about band music, his work as a composer, and how growing up in the Lassiter band helped him fit in and find his place in the world. Topics: 
Viet’s background and how he got his start as a musician, percussionist, and composer. How band and music helped Viet “find his place” in the world and the importance of band as a place where kids who are struggling to feel accepted have a place where they can fit in and grow. Growing up in the legendary Lassiter Band Program under the baton of Alfred Watkins. Thought about what band directors can do to support young musicians who are writing music or want to become composers. Thoughts about academic music, new music for band, and some insights into building design at Princeton. The Blue Dot Collective Links: Viet Cuong, Composer The Blue Dot Collective Cuong: Diamond Tide Cuong: Moth Stravinsky: Rite of Spring Biography: Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the “ingenious” and “knockout” (Times Union) music of Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as Sō Percussion, Eighth Blackbird, Alarm Will Sound, Sandbox Percussion, the PRISM Quartet, JACK Quartet, Gregory Oakes, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, among many others. Viet’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Aspen Music Festival, New Music Gathering, Boston GuitarFest, International Double Reed Society Conference, US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, and on American Public Radio’s Performance Today. He also enjoys composing for the wind ensemble medium, and his works for winds have amassed over one hundred performances by conservatory and university ensembles worldwide, including at Midwest, WASBE, and CBDNA conferences. Viet holds the Curtis Institute of Music’s Daniel W. Dietrich II Composition Fellowship as an Artist Diploma student of David Ludwig and Jennifer Higdon. Viet received his MFA from Princeton University as a Naumburg and Roger Sessions Fellow, and he is currently finishing his PhD there. At Princeton he studied with Steve Mackey, Donnacha Dennehy, Dan Trueman, Dmitri Tymoczko, Paul Lansky, and Louis Andriessen. Viet holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts and Oscar Bettison. While at Peabody, he received the Peabody Alumni Award (the Valedictorian honor) and the Gustav Klemm Award for excellence in composition. Viet has been a fellow at the Mizzou International Composers Festival, Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, Cabrillo Festival’s Young Composer Workshop, Copland House’s CULTIVATE emerging composers workshop, and was also a scholarship student at the Aspen, Bowdoin, and Lake Champlain music festivals. Additionally, he has received artist residencies from Yaddo, Copland House, Ucross Foundation, and Atlantic Center for the Arts (under Melinda Wagner, 2012 and Christopher Theofanidis, 2014). Viet is a recipient of the Barlow Endowment Commission, Copland House Residency Award, ASCAP Morton Gould Composers Award, Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composers Award, Theodore Presser Foundation Music Award, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Call for Scores, Cortona Prize, New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, Boston GuitarFest Composition Competition, and Walter Beeler Memorial Prize, among others. In addition, he received honorable mentions in the Harvey Gaul Composition Competition and two consecutive ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prizes. Scholarships include the Evergreen House Foundation scholarship at Peabody, a 2010 Susan and Ford Schumann Merit Scholarship from the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the 2011 Bachrach Memorial Gift from the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

Sheelagh Dempsey has a wealth of festive events including the Hardrain Soloist Ensemble performing Donnacha Dennehy, Steve Reich and Jane O’Leary, plus European Renaissance and Irish Music at the Mermaid Arts Centre. Cantairí Avondale premier A Christmas Childhood by Tom Lane and Christmas Jazz at the The Workmans Club.

Guide Sheelagh Dempsey has details of the 25th William Kennedy Piping Festival in Armagh, Chamber Choir Ireland tour a programme of Bach and David Fennessy, Kirkoskammer Season 2 has music by Donnacha Dennehy and Amanda Feery and Ensemble Eriu make their National Concert Hall debut.

This episode continues the series exploring the new music of Ireland. John Schaefer sits down with Jonathan Nangle at the Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin. Nangle tells how Donnacha Dennehy influenced him to explore more experimental music, and then shares how electronics and silence factor into his compositions. Listen to how Nangle uses electronics to subtly augment conventional instrumentation on "Where distant city lights flicker on half-frozen ponds". Hear Nangle explain how his piece "Then Falls by Shadow" takes the inspiration of Irish weather to combine shuffle mode with a choral performance. Later in the hour, John Schaefer talks to David Bremner about his own compositions and playing the pipe organ at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. Hear Bremner's piercing organ compositions "Variations upon 'the usual reason'" and "Amhrán na Leabhar." PROGRAM #3715 New Music from Ireland: Part 3 (First aired on 4/17/2015)   ARTIST(S) RECORDING CUT(S) SOURCE Kate Ellis Jump Donnacha Dennehy: Aisling Gheal [2:09] Diatribe Records Jonathan Nangle Self-released DIY Aeolian Harp [:39] Soundcloud Jonathan Nangle new music::new Ireland 2 Where distant city lights flicker on half-frozen ponds [excerpt 1] [2:14] CMC Ireland Jonathan Nangle new music::new Ireland 2 Where distant city lights flicker on half-frozen ponds [excerpt 2] [4:47] See Above Ergodos Musicians I Call To You Jonathan Nangle: Ich ruf' zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ  [2:22] Ergodos Records Jonathan Nangle Commissioned for Dublin SoundLab untitled (after Dan Flavin) [1:42] Soundcloud Jonathan Nangle Commisioned by David Bremner and Elizabeth Hilliard Then Falls thy Shadow [:51] Soundcloud Jonathan Nangle Contermporaty Music from Ireland, Volume Nine Our headlights blew softly into the black illuminating very little [5:21] CMC Ireland – CMC CD09 Contemporary Music Centre Jonathan Nangle & David Bremner Ergodos 2009 'Off-Grid' Festival Untitled improvisation [1:25] Soundcloud David Bremner Contemporary Music from Ireland, Volume 2 Variations upon ‘the usual reason’ [4:40] CMC Ireland David Bremner L’Air Du Temps Amhrán na Leabhar [2:49] Soundcloud

In 1844, Asenath Nicholson, a school teacher, reformer and proprietor of an all-vegetarian boarding house in New York City, travelled to Ireland to "personally investigate the condition of the Irish poor." Upon her arrival, she saw the beginnings of the Great Famine, a seven-year period of mass starvation and disease in which it is estimated over one million people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland. Nicholson's writings and first-hand observations from the time are stitched together to form the narrative backdrop of The Hunger, a multi-media opera by Donnacha Dennehy. Commissioned by Alarm Will Sound, The Hunger provides an overtly emotional and personal account of the devastation created by the famine. Interwoven into the live performance are vintage recordings of sean nós (old style) Irish folk tunes as well as video clips of economists and historians discussing the social-political causes and ramifications of the disaster. As part of an exclusive Meet the Composer Bonus Track, download movements one, two and five of The Hunger, a work-in-progress that was performed at the Sheldon Hall in St. Louis by Alarm Will Sound and mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway. 

Donnacha Dennehy is an Irish composer who thought he was going to study with spectral icon Gérard Grisey in Paris. When he showed up, however, it was apparent that Grisey had accepted him into his study under the mistaken notion that he was not, in fact, a gentleman but a lady. A bit put off by Grisey's visible disappointment with his gender, as well as the strikingly uninteresting uniformity in the style of his students work, Donnacha headed to Amsterdam, where he met Louis Andriessen, who changed his life. Donnacha's music fuses the old (sean-nós and other Irish styles) and the new (just intonation, pulse-based textures) to create something all his own. It's a music that is at once satisfying and supremely strange.

Q2 Music celebrated the launch of its inaugural podcast, Meet the Composer, on Tuesday, June 24 at 7 pm with a music party and live video webcast in The Greene Space at WQXR.  Hosted by Nadia Sirota, the evening included interviews with all five members of Season One of Meet the Composer, including the two most recent Pulitzer Prize winners, John Luther Adams (2014) and Caroline Shaw (2013), as well as fellow innovators Andrew Norman, Marcos Balter, and Donnacha Dennehy. The concert featured a star-studded array of dynamic, award-winning performers: flutist and International Contemporary Ensemble artistic director Claire Chase performs Balter's Pessoa; Hotel Elefant performs Adams's Red Arc/Blue Veil; Attacca String Quartet performs excerpts from Norman's Peculiar Strokes; Cellist Hannah Collins performs Shaw's in manus tuas; and Bang on a Can All-Star pianist Vicky Chow, cellist Ashley Bathgate and violinist Todd Reynolds perform Dennehy's Bulb. Watch video of the entire show: Q2 Music’s Meet the Composer pays homage to the landmark show of the same name hosted by Tim Page for WNYC in the mid to late '80s. Thanks to New Music USA for their flexibility with the use of the “Meet The Composer” name, which became famous though their legacy organization founded by composer John Duffy.

As part of British music season on Radio 3, poets from across the country talk about their musical passions with Michael Berkeley. Paul Muldoon, born and raised in Northern Ireland, is one of our most distinguished poets, having won the Pulitzer, TS Eliot and Irish Times Prizes. In this programme he celebrates his Northern Irish roots in music and poetry, and discusses his fascination with the place where popular and serious music meet. For five years he was professor of poetry at Oxford, and he now teaches at Princeton University in the USA, where he is writing libretti and goes to as many rock gigs as possible. Paul's choices include Lou Reed singing Kurt Weill, music from Stravinsky, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy, and a Metallica song played on four cellos.