Cellist Patrick Dexter and writers Alice Kinsella and Daniel Wade present a performance of live literature and music from Wake of the Whale, a collaborative cross-disciplinary project at the West Cork Literary Festival on 12 July. We asked Patrick the BIG questions . . .
Photo credit: Karen Cox
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Patrick grew up in Dublin playing classical music with his sisters and brothers. At the age of seven he was given a cello and began learning with one of Ireland's top cellists, Arun Rao.
He graduated with a degree in Economics from Trinity College, Dublin and a Masters in Politics from the University of Leiden in 2015. He relocated to the West of Ireland to take up music teaching and he lives there with his wife, artist Jan Campbell.
Currently he is Head of Music at the County Hall Arts, London where he coordinates, composes, and produces music for their film and arts projects.
www.westcorkliteraryfestival.ie
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I am relentlessly curious about what on earth we are all doing here. I am most comfortable outdoors. Through my cello I can reach, either deeper into this world or through to other worlds, I'm not sure which, but either way it feels extremely grounding.
How would you describe your music?
Taking the cello to unfamiliar territory that, at the same time, feels very close to home. Classical sounds meeting Irish folk. Like JS Bach and Brian Eno lost in a daydream together in a flower-filled meadow somewhere in the west of Ireland.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Alice Coltrane, Renaissance choral music, Enya, Four Tet, David Darling, Slow Meadow, the Beethoven late string quartets.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Does my Dad playing organ and conducting in St Patrick's Cathedral count? If so, I would have been a newborn when first heard live music like that. First gig was probably Kíla or The Frames as a teenager in Dublin.
What was the first record you ever bought?
My Bloody Valentine's Loveless on cassette tape.
What's your favourite song right now?
Unravel by Björk.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Leonard Cohen's Listen to the Hummingbird, his last ever recorded lyrics: "Listen to the butterfly, don't listen to me, listen to the mind of God, which doesn't need to be, listen to the mind of God, don't listen to me, listen to the hummingbird who's wings you cannot see."
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Wow, that's a hard one. It would have to be something pretty dense to keep me going, perhaps Thomas Talis' 40 Part Motet.
Where can people find your music/more information?
On Spotify, YouTube, all the steaming platforms, my website, www.patrickdexter.com or follow me on social media: @patrickdextercello on Instagram or @patrickdextervc on Twitter/X.
Alan Corr
