The 2025 edition of the New Music Dublin Festival returns to the capital for four days this April - and we're recommending a quintet of choice events at Ireland's foremost contemporary music festival.
When & Where: Thursday 3rd April, 7.30pm, National Concert Hall
Jean Cocteau's The Blood of a Poet (Le Sang d'un Poète), one of the greatest surrealist films ever made, is presented with the world premiere of a new live score co-written and performed by Erik Friedlander and Matthew Nolan, joined by Seán Mac Erlaine and Lisa Dowdall. The film, described by Cocteau as "a descent into oneself", explores the blurred line between reality and imagination and features the only on-screen appearance of photographer Lee Miller. Introduced by Dr Alexandra Lukes (Trinity College Dublin), this promises an extraordinary meeting of avant-garde film and live music- watch a preview above.
2. Berginald Presents Bombast!
When & Where? Thursday 3rd April, 1.30pm, National Concert Hall
Bombast! is a bold celebration of Black and Latiné composers, including a world premiere Clarinet Chamber Concerto by Joseph Hallman, improvisations on Joy Guidry’s work, and pieces by Gabriela Ortiz, Carlos Simon, Jessie Montgomery, and more. Berginald Rash (clarinet) leads an international and Irish ensemble including Chelsea Sharpe, Clifton Harrison, Ailbhe McDonagh, and others, with visual art by Ishmael Claxton. Expect powerful and provocative music exploring identity, connection, and resilience. Berginald Rash talks to Luke Clancy's Culture File below.
Where & When? Friday 4th April, 11pm, The Cooler, Smithfield
Inspired by Improvised Music Company’s Blind Date Jazz, In the Dark brings together secret pairs of improvising musicians from across New Music Dublin’s line-up. Neither performers nor audience know who will take the stage, as they begin playing together in total darkness — an encounter in pure, spontaneous sound. As the lights rise, the mystery is revealed: a thrilling celebration of intuition and musical discovery.
4. Thurston Moore: Guitar Explorations of Cloud Formations
When & Where: Saturday 5th April, 7pm, National Concert Hall
Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore debuts Guitar Explorations of Cloud Formations, a world premiere suite of nine works inspired by skies over Ireland, England, and Wales. Joined by Alex Ward, Jennifer Chochinov, and Jeremy Doulton, Moore uses 12-string and 6-string electric guitars to evoke cloud shapes from cirrus to asperitas. Fans of Moore's album Spirit Counsel will love this atmospheric new work exploring nature and sound.
5. RTÉ Concert Orchestra with Chamber Choir Ireland
Where & When? Sunday 6th April, 7.30pm, National Concert Hall
New Music Dublin’s flagship orchestral concert, under conductor Gavin Maloney, features the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Chamber Choir Ireland in an exciting programme of contemporary works. Irene Buckley’s opera Lament for Art O’Leary, with text by Vona Groarke, reimagines the 18th-century lament Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire; Olga Neuwirth’s Miramondo Multiplo is a dazzling trumpet concerto blending Mahler and Miles Davis; and Ed Bennett’s new Piano Concerto is performed by acclaimed pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett. A night of powerful, genre-defying music.
New Music Dublin 2025 runs at various venues from April 2nd-6th - find out more here.
