MUSIC Summer Music Series starts this weekend

Talvin Singh

Seven concerts for seven venues


Mayo County Council’s Summer Music Series will feature seven musical performances in seven Mayo locations: Achill, Westport, Ballyhaunis, Castlebar, Louisburgh, Belmullet and Charlestown are all stops on the Summer Music Series in 2011. The eclectic programme features some of fine home-grown and international musical talent. As always, all the events are free – but booking is essential, as seats are much sought after.
The series starts in St Thomas’s Church, Dugort, this Friday, July 15, at 8pm with well-known duo, soprano Judith Mok and pianist Dearbhla Collins. Mok and Collins are just back from the US, where they performed at the Lincoln Centre as part of the Imagine Ireland showcase of Irish Art in America.
Judith Mok has performed in concert halls in almost every country in Europe, having sung with orchestras such as London Sinfonietta, the Netherlands Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony to name but a few.
As well as being an accomplished and prize-winning solo pianist with a distinguished international career, Dearbhla Collins is respected equally as chamber musician and vocal coach.
The Irish Chamber Orchestra will play in Holy Trinity in Westport on Saturday, July 16 at 8pm. Distinguished violinist Bradley Creswick will directs the orchestra in ‘Summer Serenade’, a programme that will featuring a host of orchestral classics, a world première alongside some magical Magyar melodies. Creswick is Leader of the Northern Sinfonia and the London Philharmonia and guest leads a wide range of orchestras throughout Europe.
On Thursday evening, July 21, The Friary, Ballyhaunis, will host Zoë Conway and John McIntyre. With an exciting blend of eclectic fiddle and guitar music, Zoë and John pride themselves in sympathetic arrangements of traditional Irish music, compositions and songs, old and new, drawing from other genres such as classical, jazz and world music.
Dublin-based collective Wassa Wassa, a colourful show of West African percussion, song and dance, will be performing on Main Street Castlebar on Saturday, July 23 at 1.30pm. Dynamically arranged and choreographed, each performance is an upbeat, joyous event to experience.
On Wednesday evening, July 27, the series moves to Louisburgh Parish Hall, with music on the evening being supplied by lively Australian band The Blue Mosquitoes. The group have an energetic, vibrant air, mixing traditional Celtic music with contemporary sounds. The band’s new album ‘Paper Boats’ is a collection of stunning compositions which convey also the vocal and instrumental skills of the band members.
The following Friday night, July 29, Aras Inis Gluaire will host internationally renowned artist Talvin Singh – accomplished tabla player, electronic musician, music theorist, record producer and DJ. As a solo artist, he is perhaps best known as the father of modern Asian electronica music.  Drawing inspiration from the classical Indian arts, Singh first came to prominence as tabla percussionist in the 1980s London music scene. He has been involved in experimental music collaborations beginning in the late 1980s and has collaborated with several musical pioneers in various genres, including Bjork, Blondie, Sioux and the Banshees, Madonna, DJ Spooky, The Master Musicians of Jajouka, Jay Z and Ustad Nusrat Fateh.  Definitely a night out not to be missed. 
This year’s Summer Music Series closes on Saturday night, July 30, with a performance by one of the country’s leading classical guitarists, John Feeley, in Charlestown Town Hall Arts Centre.
Highly regarded for his performance and recordings of new works by Irish composers, he has had many works written for him. Feeley is a regular performer at many international guitar festivals and worked with the Chieftains, flautist William Dowdall and famous Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballes. Concerts have taken him around the world, and include appearances at the Sydney Opera House, the Old Opera House, Frankfurt, the L’Arena in Verona, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Now it’s Charlestown’s turn.

For a full programme of events or to book seats for any of the concerts, contact the Arts Office on 094 9024444 (ext 7558) or e-mail: mayoarts@mayococo.ie.