As part of its Nature and Ecology theme for 2025, Galway Music Residency is exploring the beauty and mystery of birds.
Throughout the month of May, ConTempo Quartet, Galway's ensemble-in-residence, will perform works celebrating various birds, from their song to their mesmerising flight.
Works will include Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet, Op. 64 No. 5, nicknamed 'The Lark’ with its soaring theme in the first violin evoking the melodious voice of this beautiful species of bird.
The programme will also explore the sounds of the swallow and barn owl through excerpts from Leoš Janáček’s ‘On an Overgrown Path’.
The frenetic energy of bird flight will be explored through performances of Alex Roth’s ‘Bird Drama’, a movement from his first string quartet ‘Klee Pictures’, as well as ‘Flocking III’ by Irish-based composer Nick Roth.
The programme will be performed at St Nicholas Collegiate Church in Galway City as part of Lunchtimes with ConTempo and in the newly renovated Mount Carmel Chapel in Loughrea.
Ahead of the concerts, some of the featured repertoire will be explored through Galway Music Residency’s guided listening programme, Music Unveiled, supported by the Galway City Cultural Partnership programme.
These events are presented in partnership with the University of Galway’s Music Department and Galway City Council Arts Office at Galway’s city libraries.
The For the Birds programme will be deconstructed on 29 April at 11am in Westside Library, Galway City, with contributions from Dr Aidan Thomson, senior lecturer in Music at University of Galway, composer Nick Roth and ConTempo Quartet. The session will also be filmed and made available online.
Teresa Mannon
