Ireland and Beyond: Cormac Byrne, Matthew Noone and Adam Summerhayes
Enjoy a night of music on Thursday, April 20 in the Large Room, City Hall with three celebrated musicians—Cormac Byrne (Bodhrán and Percussion), Matthew Noone (Sarode) and Adam Summerhayes (Violin).
Starting at 7.30 p.m., this special concert brings together these diverse musicians to perform a unique programme of cross-cultural music that draws on Western classical, Indian classical, Irish traditional, folk and world music.
Waterford-born Cormac Byrne is a critically acclaimed bodhrán player, percussionist, composer and educator. He has received many awards for his work, including the BBC Young Folk Award, the BBC Fame Academy Bursary and the John Wray Percussion Prize at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. He was named Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2019 FATEA Music Awards in the UK.
Matthew Noone is an Australian-Irish Sarode player and composer. He studied Indian classical music with Sougata Roy Chowdhury in Kolkata and K. Sridhar in the UK for two decades and works in diverse genres of music including Irish traditional music, Indian classical music, electroacoustic music and free improvisation. Matthew completed an arts practice PhD at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick in 2016, and he is currently the course director of the BA in World Music at UL.
Adam Summerhayes is a critically acclaimed violinist from England. He performs in many genres of music and has toured internationally as a chamber musician and chamber orchestral director, primarily with London Concertante. He has a wide concerto repertoire including Bach, Vivaldi, Barber, Prokofiev, and a self-composed violin concerto, ‘A Fiddler’s Tale’. He has recorded many albums including premier recordings of Aaron Copland and Alan Bush. Adam was named Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2021 FATEA Music Awards in the UK.
Expect a dazzling display of musicianship and virtuosity from this trio. For tickets, go to: https://waterford-music.org/events-2/
Grad Award Exhibition/Roots at GOMA
Every year, GOMA awards recent graduates in Ireland with an exhibition. This year, the graduates are from SETU Waterford and Crawford College of Art and Design. The exhibition showcases the work of two emerging artists from across a range of disciplines. Artists exhibiting as part of this exhibition are Marco Di Sante and Monika Kosmowska.
Marco was born in Italy and has lived in Ireland since 2010. He is an emerging artist who recently graduated in Visual Art from SETU Waterford and is currently attending the MFA year 1 at NCAD Dublin.
His work is multi-disciplinary and often explores concepts and concerns with nature, it’s preservation, ancient cultures and impact on human emotions. See: https://www.marcodisante.com/
Monika’s work is about drifting from place to place without knowing where you’re going or where you came from. It depicts a Polish landscape and bus stops that appear to be out of use. The paintings are meant to evoke feelings of discomfort and nostalgia; feelings you might have towards a place you wouldn’t call home, as they represent the lack of it, but a place you are still strangely familiar with.
The exhibition at GOMA is free and runs from April 29 to May 28.
Japanese Film Festival at Garter Lane
Running over two days (April 18 and 19), Garter Lane are showing three Japanese films—Plan 75, Suzume and Come Back Anytime.
Set in a not-too-distant future, Plan 75 imagines a Japan where the government has introduced a “voluntary euthanasia” scheme in a bid to combat the challenges posed by an ageing population. Anyone aged 75 or older can apply, and they are given a financial grant for a final extravagant meal or trip before their last day. Michi is an older woman actively considering applying for Plan 75 due to the economic uncertainty of forced retirement. Hiromu is a Plan 75 “salesperson” who faces a dilemma when his own uncle applies for the scheme. Maria, meanwhile, is a Filipino nurse and migrant to Japan who has found work cleaning up at the facility where Plan 75 is carried out.
Ramen fans won’t want to miss Come Back Anytime, a documentary about the effort that goes into every bowl of self-taught ramen master Masamoto Ueda’s delicious shoyu (soy sauce) ramen.
For decades, Masamoto and his wife Kazuko have run Bizentei—a tiny Tokyo ramen joint. On the weekends, they venture out into the countryside where they harvest natural ingredients for their ramen and homely side dishes. After 40 years in business, Bizentei has its own little community of regulars, and many of them have funny or moving stories to share about their personal connections with Masamoto’s ramen. This documentary is a tribute to the craft involved in creating the perfect ramen, but also a celebration of how the humblest of dishes can bring people together.
As the skies turn red and the earth trembles, Japan stands on the brink of disaster. But one determined teenager, Suzume, sets out on a mission to save her country. Able to see the supernatural forces that others can’t, it’s up to her to close the mysterious doors spreading chaos across the land. A perilous journey awaits as the fate of the country rests on her shoulders.
For tickets, go to: https://garterlane.ie
Theatre Royal Presents Comedy@PhilGrimes With Áine Gallagher
On April 27, comedian Aine Gallaghar takes to the stage at Phil Grimes pub at 9 p.m.
Áine Gallagher has been coined, “the queen of the offbeat,” as her unique style of comedy guarantees audiences a “divinely awkward” experience. She masterfully uses deadpan humour which continuously keeps audiences guessing and her novel and wholly accessible use of the Irish language makes her a truly original act. Her dry and quirky style has been compared to the likes of Maria Bamford and Kevin McAleer and underneath it all she is guided by her passion to share her joy of the mundanity of life and bring people together through laughter.
Áine has been working on the professional circuit for years, performing at major international festivals and with some of the country’s biggest names. Similarly, she has become a leading advocate for the Irish language and continues to be involved in interesting projects, namely Bright Club, the science comedy night. In addition to comedy, Áine is also an award-winning actor, documentary filmmaker and gifted social commentator, as displayed by the success of her recent Tedx Talk.
For tickets, go to: https://theatreroyal.ie/shows/.
