Acclaimed violinist and conductor Patrick Rafter introduces this year's installment of the Marble City Music Festival, the event he founded to bring exceptional concerts to the heart of his native Kilkenny City.
At 12 years old, I stood on the streets of Kilkenny with a violin, busking to save for my first proper instrument. It was a simple goal: to buy a violin that would help me make that beautiful sound I heard in my head and experience the incredible emotion that came with it all. This May, I return to that same city, my brilliant Kilkenny, but in a very different position. As solo violinist and artistic director of the Marble City Music Festival, I will bring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra back to Kilkenny as the festival's headline event and also direct the Luminosa Orchestra.
That distance - from busking to performing with a national orchestra - is something I don’t take lightly. It has shaped how I think about music, about access, and about what it means to build something from the ground up. It has certainly helped me remain very on the ground and have quite practical approach to life.
Watch: Sarasate Zigeunerweisen - Patrick Rafter & the RTE Concert Orchestra
In the years since, my work has taken me far beyond Kilkenny: performing across Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia, appearing as a soloist and directing from the violin. But the lesson I learned at 12 has remained the same: music is to connect with people, to communicate, and to share, it is a privilege and a responsibility.
This year's festival feels like a turning point.
The pandemic changed everything. Like many musicians, I watched my career disappear overnight. But in that silence came a shift. I began to conduct, to direct, to think more broadly about my role as a musician. The pandemic gave us all time to actually know who we are - our identity is not our work. It is something that as a musician, I wrestled with for a long time. What started as survival during the pandemic became direction and an opportunity to seriously study conducting came up. Coming back after COVID has felt less like a return and more like a restart—with clarity, momentum, and a stronger sense of purpose.
That thinking led to the founding of the Marble City Music Festival in 2023. The idea was straightforward: to create something ambitious in Kilkenny, something that could grow, and something that belonged to the city. In a short time, the festival has expanded in to two annual editions, bringing leading artists and orchestras into a the magnificent city of Kilkenny.
Watch: The Luminosa String Orchestra Live in 2025 - Abhaile
This year’s festival feels like a turning point. Alongside the concert with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, there is the incredible Luminosa Orchestra who are thrilling. The momentum is not stopping there - we have amazing plans going forward.
I am grateful that my career has moved in a positive direction since coming out of the pandemic. The next period includes performances with the Ulster Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, London Mozart Player, Menuin Soloists, and further collaborations with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, alongside international work in UK, Brazil, France, Italy, Switzerland, Scandinavia and a tour to China! Oh, and a new album with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra is also in preparation. Life is busy but wonderful.
The Marble City Music Festival runs 8th -15th May - find out more here
