Fauré and Stanford concert in Ballintubber Abbey

AS part of this year’s EU Presidency Cultural Programme in Mayo, supported by Mayo County Council, Cór Mhaigh Eo and Louisburgh Voices will present a concert in historic Ballintubber Abbey on Sunday, November 22, at 4.45 p.m.

The choirs, conducted by Kathy Quinn, will be joined by soloists Pauline Graham (soprano) and Owen Gilhooly-Miles (baritone), the acclaimed ConTempo String Quartet, and organist Michael Quinn to perform Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem.

Tickets (€25) are available online from Ballintubber Abbey website (ballintubberabbey.ie) and the Clew Bay Hotel, Westport - early booking is advised.

The concert highlights strong European connections, featuring Massenet’s Méditation as well as Fauré’s Requiem. It will also include music by Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford - the first movement of his String Quartet No. 2, performed by the ConTempo Quartet, and the second of his Bible Songs, ‘A Song of Trust’, performed by Owen Gilhooly-Miles.

Professor Harry White, Emeritus Professor of Music at UCD, and a noted scholar of the cultural history of Irish music, will present a talk providing insights into the relationship between Irish and European classical traditions.

Soprano Pauline Graham studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Royal Conservatory, The Hague. She also holds a doctorate in musicology from University College Dublin on William Byrd’s sacred music. Pauline has performed across Europe in oratorio, concert, and early repertoire with conductors such as Ton Koopman and Paul McCreesh.

Baritone Owen Gilhooly-Miles is a graduate of the Royal College of Music and National Opera Studio, London, and Head of Vocal and Opera studies at RIAM, Dublin. His operatic experience includes roles with Opera Theatre Company, as well as performances at Wexford Festival Opera, English Touring Opera and Scottish Opera. His oratorio and concert performances include collaborations with the Ulster Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Irish Chamber Orchestra.

Cór Mhaigh Eo was established in 1994, and sings a wide range of choral repertoire. The choir has performed across the country (including Handel’s Messiah in Knock, and performances at the National Concert Hall, Dublin), as well as in Italy, Spain, and Latvia. Cór Mhaigh Eo has competed at several choral festivals, including the Cork Choral Festival, and was chosen to represent Connaught for ‘An Island Sings’, a new choral work by Elaine Agnew in 2019. The choir is conducted by Kathy Quinn.

Louisburgh Voices is a mixed-voice choir established by Pauline Graham and Michael Quinn in 2018. They presented Purcell’s opera Dido & Aeneas in Louisburgh and have performed for the Mary Robinson Climate Conference in Ballina as well as in Ballintubber Abbey and the Michael Davitt Museum. Previous concerts include Vivaldi’s Gloria and a Medieval Christmas programme, performed at Holy Trinity Church, Westport.

The ConTempo String Quartet was established in 1995 in Bucharest, and has been Ensemble- in-Residence for Music Connects in Galway since 2003. Through this unique partnership, they have led numerous music education programmes and established enduring relationships with artists and communities across the county. The ConTempo Quartet has an international reputation for its interpretation of the Classical and Romantic quartet repertoire, while also commissioning and performing a wide range of contemporary music, including works by Irish composers such as Jane O’Leary, John Kinsella and Gráinne Mulvey.