Sharon Shannon, vintage Hollywood & choral classics among RTÉ Concert Orchestra spring highlights

Below please find details of RTÉ Concert Orchestra concerts in March and April.

In brief.
- They took the BBC Proms by storm and feature on a brilliant new EMI CD - conductor John Wilson and vocalist Kim Criswell celebrate Hollywood leading ladies from Garland to Streisand in Can't Help Singing, with the RTÉ Big Band joining the RTÉ CO for the fun (Thurs 1 March, National Concert Hall)
- Golden Globe and IFTA nominee Brian Byrne joins the RTÉ CO and again the full RTÉ Big Band for a night including music from Albert Nobbs and featuring world-class saxophonist Nigel Hitchcock and top jazz singer Claire Martin (Sat 10 March, NCH)
- Welcoming Sharon Shannon back - the success of her 2008 concert with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra prompted a collaboration on the upcoming CD Flying Circus with live gigs announced for Cork and Dublin (Mon 16 April, Cork Opera House & Tues 17 April, NCH)
- Tchaikovsky's famous Violin Concerto is one of the most gloriously romantic, richly melodic and fiendishly difficult of them all - virtuoso Andrew Haveron is the player to do it full justice in an all-Russian programme under conductor John Wilson (Thurs 29 March, NCH)
- O Fortuna, Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, Zadok the Priest, the Habanera from Carmen - too many favourites to pick from in Ultimate Choral Classics with the Galway Baroque Singers, mezzo Sharon Carty and conductor Richard Balcombe (Thurs 22 March, NCH)
- And for the first time, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra join forces for a special invitation afternoon concert to mark the Cultural Olympiad (Sunday 4 March, Belfast Waterfront)

RTÉ CONCERT ORCHESTRA MARCH/APRIL 2012
CAN'T HELP SINGING
Kim Criswell vocals
John Wilson conductor
RTÉ Concert Orchestra & Big Band
Thursday 1 March, 8pm
National Concert Hall
Tonight we celebrate the golden age of the film musical brought to us by many of Hollywood's leading ladies including Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand and more. Featuring Dear Mr. Gable (You Made Me Love You), Stormy Weather, The Sound of Music and San Francisco, all restored to their original film orchestrations by Maestro John Wilson. Many of these songs have never been publicly performed in these original arrangements, so it promises to be a very special night!

Tickets: €11-€38 (conc. €10-€35)
Booking: 01 417 0000/www.rte.ie/concertorchestra

BBC INVITATION CONCERT WITH THE ULSTER ORCHESTRA
SUNDAY 4 MARCH, 1PM
BELFAST WATERFRONT
Part of Music Nation, a spectacular weekend of music around the UK to set the scene and create excitement in the lead-up to the London 2012 Festival, the finale of the Cultural Olympiad.
For the first time, orchestras from each side of the border, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra, join forces for a special concert, which will include the world premiere of a new piece by Brian Irvine.

Conductor TBA
Tickets only from the BBC.
Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. Under 12s not permitted.

To apply for tickets for BBC Invitation Concerts with the Ulster Orchestra, visit www.bbc.co.uk/ni/tickets or call the BBC Ticket Line on 0044 370 901 1227.

RTÉ CONCERT ORCHESTRA & BIG BAND WITH BRIAN BYRNE
Brian Byrne musical director
Nigel Hitchcock saxophone
Claire Martin vocalist
Saturday 10 March, 8pm
National Concert Hall
Golden Globe nominated and IFTA award winning composer and arranger Brian Byrne returns to direct the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Big Band in a programme including music from his soundtrack to Albert Nobbs and his Concerto for Saxophone as well as his trademark brilliant jazzy arrangements of classic numbers.
Special guests are the phenomenal Nigel Hitchcock, one of the world's top saxophonists, and jazz vocalist Claire Martin, of whom The New York Times wrote: 'In an era when young jazz singers tend to sound far too much like their idols, there is no mistaking the voice of Claire Martin who combines a cool, burnished tone with the ear of a born musician.'
The Albert Nobbs soundtrack, which Brian recorded with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, was
nominated for a Golden Globe and for an IFTA. Brian has said: 'I am incredibly proud of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and its enormous contribution to the Albert Nobbs soundtrack. I am so glad I got to do it with the home team. This orchestra's versatility is unmatched in Europe - let's hope there will be many more collaborations like this one.'

Brian already has an IFTA under his belt from 2010, when he won Best Original Score for Irish sci-fi comedy Zonad, directed by John Carney.

Tickets: €11-€38 (conc. €10-€35)
Booking: 01 417 0000/www.rte.ie/concertorchestra
ULTIMATE CHORAL CLASSICS
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Galway Baroque Singers
Sharon Carty mezzo-soprano
Richard Balcombe conductor
Thursday 22 March, 8pm
National Concert Hall
The Galway Baroque Singers make a welcome return to the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for an evening of much-loved choral classics. A whole host of powerful, moving choral and vocal music will raise the roof of the National Concert Hall in vivid performances also featuring the wonderful mezzo Sharon Carty and renowned conductor Richard Balcombe.

Expect stirring choruses like O Fortuna from Carmina Burana, Handel's Zadok the Priest and sacred gems ranging from the Dies Irae from Mozart's Requiem to the Sanctus from Fauré's Requiem. Among the favourite operatic choruses on offer are the Humming Chorus, the Anvil Chorus and the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, while solo treats from Sharon Carty include the famous Habanera from Bizet's Carmen, Don't Cry for Me, Argentina from Evita and the Lament from Karl Jenkins' Stabat Mater.

Tickets: €22-€38 (conc. €20-€34)
Booking: 01 417 0000/www.rte.ie/concertorchestra

RUSSIAN VIRTUOSO
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Andrew Haveron, violin
John Wilson, conductor
Thursday 29 March
National Concert Hall, 8pm

Programme includes
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Khachaturian Adagio from Spartacus
Borodin Overture from Prince Igor
The highest British prize-winner at the prestigious Paganini competition for the last fifty years, first violinist of The Brodsky Quartet, Leader of the John Wilson Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Haveron is a much sought after violinist. He joins the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for a performance of Tchaikovsky's gloriously romantic and incredibly virtuosic Violin Concerto. One of the most famous of all violin concertos and one of the most technically difficult works for violin being performed by a superb violinist - this will certainly be a performance to remember!
The wonderful Russian sounds continue with the Adagio from Spartacus - known to millions as the theme to the Onedin Line and the Overture to Prince Igor.

Tickets: €11-€38 (conc. €10-€35)
Booking: 01 417 0000/www.rte.ie/concertorchestra

RTÉ CONCERT ORCHESTRA WITH SHARON SHANNON
Jim Murray guitar
David Brophy conductor

Following her acclaimed appearance with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in 2008, Sharon Shannon takes to the stage with the orchestra once again with an entirely new collection of music.

Her new album with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra marks another musical direction for Sharon. Ninety per cent of the material is newly composed while the remaining ten per cent is a reworking of traditional tunes. Three years in the making, Flying Circus is being released this March.

"Sharon Shannon defines casual brilliance. She plays accordion with carefree fluidity, virtuosic but not flashy, performing traditional Irish music with contemporary freshness."
Boston Globe

Monday 16 April, 8pm, Cork Opera House
Tickets: €25-€35
Booking: 021 427 0022 or www.corkoperahouse.ie
Tuesday 17 April, 8pm
National Concert Hall
Tickets: €27-€38 (conc. €25-€35)
Booking: 01 417 0000/www.rte.ie/concertorchestra