Over seventy of Ireland’s finest young wind, brass and percussion players have been selected to play in this year’s Irish Youth Wind Ensemble as they bring their national tour to University Concert Hall, Limerick on Friday 26 July.
The performance promises to share a little something for everyone as the group perform exciting and energetic music for large scale ensemble such as Philip Sparke’s Navigation Inn March, Martin Ellerby’s Silent Movie Suite and James Barnes’ arrangement of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.
Speaking about the performance, IYWE Artistic Director, Ronan O’Reilly says:
“The music programme has been selected to demonstrate the technical and musical abilities of some of Ireland's finest young wind, brass and percussion instrumentalists from which they themselves will reap a great educational appreciation for this medium.”
The ensemble will be led by the talented conductor Ronan O’Reilly, who is the Director of the Artane School of Music, and guest conductor Dr Ken Dye, Director of Bands at the prestigious University of Notre Dame. The highly accomplished young musicians of the ensemble come from across Ireland and will work intensively in a week-long residential course in the University of Limerick with some of Ireland’s top brass, wind and percussion tutors.
Molly Burke, a flautist from Cork, is performing with the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble for her fifth year. She shares why she returns to IYWE each year:
“I’ve learned and continue to learn so much from the tutors, guest conductors and artistic director Ronan O’ Reilly. IYWE has definitely helped mould me into the musician I am today and it is an incredible feeling every year to share the stage with such talented and like-minded people who are all so passionate and motivated about making music.”
The Wind Ensemble was formed in 1985 by James Cavanagh and Fred O’Callaghan. Since its beginnings, over a thousand young musicians have participated in the event. The ethos of IYWE is to offer young players an opportunity to study, perform and experience music specifically composed for the wind ensemble medium and to present music which otherwise would not be heard by Irish audiences. Not only is the Wind Ensemble the leading platform for these young musicians to exhibit their musical prowess but, due to its unique nature, is often the birthplace of many Irish and even world premieres of wind ensemble compositions. That IYWE has survived and flourished for over three decades is due to the enthusiasm and vision of its founders, the talent and enthusiasm of its members and the efforts and commitment volunteered by numerous supporters.
Tickets are €20 / €10 concession and are on sale now from uch.ie or by calling 061 331 549 (University Concert Hall) and from takeyourseats.ie (O’Reilly Theatre) and will also be available on the door for each concert. See iywe.ie for more details. The Irish Youth Wind Ensemble is funded by the Arts Council and supported by RTÉ Supporting the Arts.
