The West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival returns for its flagship festival from 8 -18th May 2025 with its most ambitious and exciting programme to date! Over the course of two long weekends, the festival will deliver an inspired and varied selection of concerts at Russborough House, St Mary’s Church and the Tramway Theatre, Blessington, Co. Wicklow. The festival also continues its extensive education and outreach programme in local West Wicklow schools in the build-up to the festival, this year built around a new family-friendly festival commission entitled Barnyard Carnival.

The festival’s opening concert on Thursday 8th May pairs together Ireland’s leading violist of her generation, principal viola of the world-renowned Aurora Orchestra, Ruth Gibson with the festival’s Founder and Artistic Director, pianist Fiachra Garvey. Ruth and Fiachra have collaborated together for over 20 years and this latest reunion will feature some of the most iconic works for viola and piano as well as some lesser-known jewels in the repertoire. Alongside the mighty pillars of the programme, Sonatas by Rebecca Clarke and Franck, will be the rarely heard and stunningly beautiful Phantasy by pioneering Wicklow composer Ina Boyle, as well as works by Brahms and Kodály.

Trio Isimsiz, former recipients of both the 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at the prestigious Trondheim Competition, Norway perform at the festival on Friday 9th May. “It’s hard to know how Trio Isimsiz could have bettered such artistry and distinctiveness” (The Strad). Schubert and Beethoven wrote some of the most celebrated piano trios in the repertoire and for their debut Irish performance the trio offer Schubert’s greatly adored Piano Trio No. 1, written in the last year of the composer’s life, alongside Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 70. No. 2, considered to be an awakening into a new world of sonic and instrumental expression.

The festival’s Rising Star this May is Robert Finegan, one of the most exciting Irish saxophonists in a generation. He will be joined for a lunchtime recital on 10th May by his colleagues; soprano Clara Barbier Serrano and pianist Joanna Kacperek, for a recital entitled Paris Chapters. Featuring the poetry of Yeats, Joyce and Wilde, who all spent significant time in Paris; and music by the greatest exponents of Parisian café culture such as Poulenc and Josephine Baker. This recital will also feature the winning work from the festival’s Composition Competition in partnership with the Contemporary Music Centre, as well as a new commission by Irish composer Gráinne Mulvey.

The United Strings of Europe is shaped by a multi-cultural background and a drive to develop experimental and engaging programming. Continually seeking ways to re-imagine string playing and the concert experience, their inter-disciplinary projects inspire the ensemble to move beyond their training, to stretch their thinking, and to find new ways to engage and enthral audiences. On Saturday 10th May they will deliver Spring Ascending, an inspired programme in collaboration with the masterful visual artistry of contemporary circus company Gandini Juggling. Music and juggling, what could be better on a Saturday night!

Multi-GRAMMY nominee, former BBC New Generation artist and recipient of the coveted Leonard Bernstein Award, Sean Shibe continues to prove himself as a truly original mind at the frontier of contemporary classical music. The diversity of his abilities will be reflected in his programme on Sunday 11th May featuring both acoustic and electric guitar sets. The intimacy of solo J.S Bach’s Cello Suite No. 6 alongside Irish composer David Fennessy’s Rosewood in the first half, provides a perfect complement to a second half of electric guitar featuring works by Steve Reich, Sasha Scott and Meredith Monk’s Nightfall.

Cassiopeia Winds, Ireland’s leading wind quintet, appear at the festival on Thursday 15th May. Comprised of principal players from the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, their performances are marked by sensitivity and virtuosity. Their passion, idiosyncratic humour and sheer joy of performing together is shared by audiences alike. Their programme spans the classical era to the present day, including Briccialdi’s ode to Rossini’s popular The Barber of Seville, French and Spanish flavours by Milhaud and Márquez, the jazzy inflections of Irish composer Ronan Guilfoyle and playful mischievousness by Joan Trimble and Adele O’Dwyer.

Quatuor Van Kuijk, 1st prize-winners of the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet competition, have been hailed for their “Style, energy and sense of risk” (The Guardian). On Friday 16th May festival audiences will experience their artistry in a Franco-German alliance, featuring songs by Poulenc and Fauré arranged for string quartet, before two of the greatest string quartets of all time, Ravel’s String Quartet, considered his first great masterpiece and Beethoven’s tumultuous String Quartet No. 8.

The Julian Bliss Septet have quickly become widely known for their trademark inspiring jazz-fuelled shows which have captivated audiences across the globe. Their dazzling virtuosity, extraordinary musicianship and charming humour shines through their programmes of swing, Latin, American and jazz music. They have appeared at iconic venues including The Lincoln Centre (New York) and Ronnie Scott’s (London) and their next stop is the Tramway Theatre, Blessington on Saturday 17th May! Their programme, celebrating The Sound of Film – Music in Hollywood, is a must see this festival. Starting with the silent film and the early ‘talkies’ in The Great Depression years, the Septet also plays music from wartime movies, musicals and even the classic Disney blockbusters. Including Cheek to Cheek, As Time Goes By, Sing Sing Sing, Days of Wine and Roses, and When you Wish upon a Star, be tempted to dance and sing along to this much-loved music, played by one of the most sparkling and talented jazz ensembles of our day.

The festival’s commitment to commissioning and education sees the delivery of a new, colourful and enthralling family friendly work this festival, Barnyard Carnival. Collaborating together in the creation of this new commission are Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon and British composer Paul Rissmann. Through descriptive poetry narration and enchanting music, audience’s favourite farm and domestic animals, from the cat to the cow, will come to life and delight listeners of all ages. This work is a co-commission between the West Wicklow Festival and Classical Vauxhall. Artistic Director Fiachra Garvey explains:

“Growing up as a pianist and farmer in West Wicklow and living in London for the past 10 years, for quite some time now I have wanted to commission a new work inspired by the wonderful flora and fauna the Irish and UK countryside has to offer. Having performed Saint Saens’ much-loved Carnival of the Animals for many years, which celebrates exotic animals like lions, elephants, kangaroos etc. I felt it would be of enormous value to commission a work celebrating animals children in Ireland and the UK have more direct experience with: sheep, cows, horses, pigs, dogs, cats etc.

The inspiration for the name “Barnyard Carnival” came from my initial meeting with Paul Muldoon, where we discussed my vision for the work and both Paul’s agreed that this would be an exciting project to be creatively involved in. I have asked Paul Rissmann to compose music for the same instrumentation as Saint Saëns’ Carnival (for Chamber Orchestra with the ability for the work to upscale to include a full symphony orchestra). Carnival of the Animals is often a child’s first introduction to programmatic music, offering a playful yet profound way to explore key musical elements such as pitch, timbre, and rhythm, while sparking their imagination through its vivid characterisations of animals. Saint Saëns’ work has 14 movements and our Barnyard Carnival will have 12 exciting movements, each accompanied by stunning new poetry from Paul Muldoon. Barnyard Carnival will be a vital new addition to the currently very limited family friendly concert repertoire. I can’t describe in words how excited I am about this new commission and I can’t wait for our audiences to experience the world premiere in Wicklow!”

The 2023 GRAMMY-nominated vocal ensemble VOCES8 inspires audiences through the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertoire in its a cappella concerts, delivering enormous variety in their musical programmes. On Sunday 18th May their programme celebrates 20 years of VOCES8 featuring their favourite songs, from Rachmaninov to Nat “King” Cole and our very own Enya. The perfect festival finale!

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Tickets (€10 – €38 + booking fee) for the West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival’s concerts are now on sale from www.westwicklowfestival.com.

The West Wicklow Festival is funded by the Arts Council, Wicklow Arts Office and supported by Fáilte Ireland, the Apollo Foundation and RTÉ Supporting the Arts.