Acclaimed US ambient music duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen will headline the 2024 New Music Dublin Festival, which returns to the capital for four days this April.
They'll feature alongside world and Irish premiere performances from the National Symphony Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Chamber Choir Ireland & major international performers.
Running from April 25th to 28th, 2024. this year's NMD programme features 27 world premieres and 17 Irish premieres. Notable highlights include Saturday-night headliners A Winged Victory for the Sullen, who will play an original set in a double bill with the National Symphony Orchestra playing Jóhann Jóhannsson's symphony, A Prayer to the Dynamo.
New Music Dublin is no stranger to large ensembles and orchestras, and this year is no exception with the return of festival favourites RTÉ Concert Orchestra with Gavin Maloney conducting two world premieres; the National Symphony Orchestra performing with renowned sean-nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird as soloist; Chamber Choir Ireland; Evlana Sinfonietta; Cór na nÓg & Cor Linn; plus Brian Irvine's Totally Made Up Orchestra, a New Music Dublin favourite, who will devise, create and perform a completely new work from scratch over the course of just a few hours.
Elsewhere, the line-up includes the Irish debut performance from an ensembled described as a 'supergroup within new music circles in Ireland', Stone Drawn Circles; Decoder Ensemble performing with composer-performer-provocatrice Laura Bowler as she has a tattoo applied live on-stage; poetry from Adam Wyeth performed by renowned Irish actors Owen Roe and Aisling O'Sullivan to music by David Downes on the Diatribe Stage, as well as a first appearance by chamber music collective Musici Ireland.
Saturday morning will see a 36-trumpet ensemble formed from the international Monochrome Project, led by Marco Blaauw with students from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, the Royal Academy of Music London and brass players from across the island of Ireland fanfaring their way, first across Dublin and then to Dublin Castle courtyard to perform a major new participatory work by American composer David Lang.
Crash Ensemble will be bringing back their Crashworks work-in-progress project showcasing new and emerging composers, as well as performing major world premieres from international award-winning sensations Bekah Simms and Ann Cleare.
Diatribe Records present their bi-annual multi-venue Diatribe Stage at the festival, including a collaboration between violinist Aoife Ní Bhriain and viola da gamba player Liam Byrne; mother and daughter duo Diamanda La Berge Dramm and Anne La Berge; duo Nathan Sherman and Alex Petcu; and the Barry Guy Quartet playing a double bill with turntablist extraordinaire Mariam Rezaei closing out the festival.
"We don't just host a festival; we create a space where the new, the unknown, and the unheard can flourish," says Festival Director. "Our programme is a testament to the vibrant creativity alive in Ireland and around the world, offering something truly new for everyone."
New Music Dublin runs from April 25th - 28th, 2024 at the National Concert Hall and in various venues across Dublin - find out more here.
