New Music Dublin is Ireland's foremost contemporary music festival, showcasing adventurous, experimental, and modern compositions that challenge traditional perceptions of music - we've picked some highlights from the 2026 programme, which runs at the National Concert Hall and various venues from Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th April.
When & where? Friday 17th April, Main Stage, NCH
Gerald Barry’s fiercely imaginative operatic take on Oscar Wilde’s Salome receives its Irish premiere at New Music Dublin this year. Barry’s music is known for its razor-sharp wit, restless energy and theatrical unpredictability, and his treatment of Wilde’s Biblical drama is no exception. Performed by the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland under conductor Jérôme Kuhn, the concert performance brings Barry’s surreal and darkly comic vision to the National Concert Hall, with Alison Scherzer in the title role and Amy Ní Fhearraigh as the Queen.
Donnacha Dennehy's Land of Winter
When & where? Saturday 18th April, Main Stage, NCH
Crash Ensemble performs the Dublin premiere of Donnacha Dennehy’s Land of Winter, a work that recently received a Grammy Award and marks another major milestone in the composer’s international career. Inspired by cycles of time, light and renewal, the piece unfolds across twelve movements corresponding to the months of the year.
Presented as part of a double bill, the evening opens with music from Old Segotia, the acclaimed collaboration between Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Seán Mac Erlaine, whose work blends Irish traditional influences with improvisation, electronics and experimental sound.
Dennehy has been one of the most influential voices in contemporary Irish composition for the past two decades, and this performance marks the first opportunity for Dublin audiences to hear Land of Winter live.
Ensemble Musikfabrik Performs Ailís Ní Ríain
When & where? Thursday 16th April, The Studio at NCH
One of Europe’s leading contemporary ensembles, Ensemble Musikfabrik brings a programme for brass to New Music Dublin featuring three Irish premieres. The concert includes and still it breathes… by Irish composer Ailís Ní Ríain, alongside new works by Jānis Petraškevičs and Camila Agosto.
Dedicated to the expressive possibilities of brass instruments, the programme explores breath, resonance and the physicality of sound. Known for their close collaborations with composers, the musicians of Ensemble Musikfabrik continue to play a significant role in shaping contemporary music performance across Europe.
Beckett Reimagined – The Last Tape
When & where? Sunday 19th April, Kevin Barry Recital Room, NCH
Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape takes on a new musical form in this hybrid adaptation of Marcel Mihalovici’s chamber opera The Last Tape. Presented by Gare St Lazare Ireland, the production blends theatre and contemporary music to revisit Beckett’s meditation on memory, regret and the passage of time.
Directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett, the performance features tenor Mark Padmore alongside actor Conor Lovett, with musicians performing Andrew Synnott’s new arrangement of Mihalovici’s score.
Crash Ensemble – Premieres and New Directions
When & where? Sunday 19th April, The Studio at NCH
Crash Ensemble closes the festival with a programme devoted to new works by leading contemporary composers including Hannah Kendall, Jonathan Nangle, David Fennessy and Tansy Davies. The concert includes the world premiere of Kendall’s Building a Burning House, a major new work co-commissioned with Miller Theatre in New York and Ensemble Musikfabrik.
Known for its long-standing collaborations with composers and its commitment to presenting ambitious new music, Crash Ensemble continues to play a central role in shaping Ireland’s contemporary music scene.
When & where? Saturday 18th April, Kevin Barry Recital Room, NCH
A recurring highlight of the New Music Dublin programme, the Totally Made Up Orchestra is unlike anything else in the festival. Led by composer Joanna Mattrey, musicians and members of the public of all ages come together to create a one-off performance that unfolds in real time.
Multi-instrumental and open to all abilities, the event blends improvisation with spoken word, objects, movement and sound, producing a performance that is unpredictable, collaborative and always surprising.
When & where? Friday 17th April, The Cube, Project Arts Centre
This late-night double bill explores two distinctive musical worlds. Scenes from Patrick Zimmerli’s contemporary opera Lucia Joyce draw on the life of James Joyce’s daughter, whose artistic legacy remains both influential and enigmatic.
The programme also includes Premonition, a new solo work for drums and electronics by Japanese-American percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. Together, the performances move between opera, improvisation and experimental sound.
Find out more about this year's New Music Dublin programme here
