First concerto for Irish Harp and Orchestra

Harpes au Max 2018 Début recording for Camac’s Canopée

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June 9, 2018

Máire Ní Chathasaigh

Exciting news from Máire Ní Chathasaigh – she will be the soloist premiering the first concerto ever to be written for Irish harp and orchestra.

RTÉ lyric fm is celebrating its 20th birthday by commissioning three new works, with a total prize fund of €14 000 available to composers born or living in Ireland. These new compositions will be performed live by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and RTÉ Philharmonic Choir at a gala concert on 1st May 2019. The Irish harp concerto will be the primary birthday composition, with €10000 of prize money available for a 10-15 minute Irish harp concerto, in three movements, for Máire and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra.

Camac’s ‘Janet’ Irish harp

Announcing the launch of the competition, Director General of RTÉ, Dee Forbes, said: “Since its inception, RTÉ lyric fm has championed the very best in classical music from home and abroad and occupies a unique and cherished place in the lives of its listeners. It is fitting that a station that celebrates both composition and live performance should mark its anniversary by investing in the composition and performance of new Irish works. I look forward to hearing the results, and to celebrating 20 ground-breaking years of RTÉ lyric fm.”

Aodán Ó Dubhghaill, Managing Director, RTÉ’s Orchestras, RTÉ lyric fm, Quartet & Choirs, described the competition as follows: “Irish musicians have always been at the heart of the station. What better way to mark our birthday than with a new work for the national emblem of Ireland the Irish harp with one of its leading exponents Máire Ní Chathasaigh premiering it with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra.”

Entrants should think about creating melodic, accessible new compositions that will engage the lyric listener and that can ultimately be recorded in studio for repeat broadcast on the station’s prime time programmes. All entrants must submit approximately 1 minute of their proposed score, a 200 word outline of their work and a detailed musical CV including MP3/ WAV audio. Three hard copies of each of these documents must be posted to: RTÉ lyric fm, 20th Anniversary Competition, Top Floor, Cornmarket Square, Limerick by 5pm Friday 1st September 2018. For more information, see here, or contact [email protected] / +353 1 20825-6.