CLIFDEN, THE capital of Connemara, will resound to the sound of classical music, folk, rock, Irish trad during the 34th Clifden Arts Week Festival from Thursday September 15 to Sunday 25.
The Irish Chamber Orchestra, under the directorship of Katherine Hunka, will be in concert with violinist Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill in the Church of Ireland church, Clifden, on Friday 16 at 8pm.
The RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet also play the Church of Ireland at 8pm on Thursday 22, performing Mozart’s ‘Dissonance’ and Schubert’s ‘Death & the Maiden’, alongside work by Shostakovich.
The hugely respected and much loved pianist John O’Conor will perform works by Haydn, Field, Beethoven, and Schubert on Friday 23 at 8pm in St Joseph’s Church.
Irish-American trad band Cherish The Ladies - Joanie Madden (whistle and flute ), Mary Coogan (guitar, mandolin and banjo ), Mirella Murray (piano accordion ), Grainne Murphy (fiddle ), and Kathleen Boyle (piano and accordion ) - play the West Connemara Leisure centre on Tuesday 20 at 8.30pm.
Another trad highlight is piano accordion maestro, Alan Kelly, who will be joined by Tola Custy (fiddle ), Steph Geremia (flute and vocals ) and Tony Byrne (guitar ), along with the great Scottish folk-rock singer Eddi Reader in the Clifden Station House on Monday 19 at 10pm
Straddling folk, trad, and blues are The Henry Girls who play on Friday 16 in Foyle’s Hotel at 10pm. Their three-part harmony singing is much admired and has been called “spine tingling” by critics.
Guitar fans and jazz fans can look forward to 13-year-old prodigy Andreas Varady. Taught by his father, Bandi, Varady gained his first experiences busking in Limerick and Cork, before studying at the Skidmore Jazz Institute in New York.
This year, he became the youngest musician to headline at London’s Ronnie Scott’s, receiving two standing ovations and four-star reviews from The Times and Evening Standard. He will perform on Tuesday 21 in Griffin’s Bar and on Wednesday 22 in Mullarkey’s Bar, both at 10pm.
A charity concert for the Galway Hospice Foundation, featuring Ultan Conlon, Tom Lyden, Fiachra O’Regan, Sophie Lavoie, Lara Norris, Marie Walsh, Aidan Ward, John Durning, takes place on Sunday 18 from 5pm to 8pm in Mullarkey’s.
