Friday December 26th: RTÉ lyric Live Irish Baroque Orchestra present Bach's Christmas Oratorio
From the jubilant opening chorus 'Jauchzet, frohlocket' to the serene and tender arias, every note of Bach's Christmas Oratorio celebrates the nativity story with reverence and exuberance. First performed for Christmas in 1734, the Christmas Oratorio comprises six cantatas, each intended for performance on a feast day in the Christmas period. In this performance the Irish Baroque Orchestra and Chorus present all six cantatas, for an immersive and enriching audience experience full of joy and peace.
Anna Dennis, soprano
Aisling Kenny, soprano
Rebecca Leggett, mezzo-soprano
Laura Lamph, mezzo-soprano
Jonathan Hanley, tenor
Ruairi Bowen, tenor
Frederick Long, bass-baritone
William Gaunt, bass
Wednesday December 31st: RTÉ lyric Live A Century of Song, Swing and Soul with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Join Paul Herriottt as he brings us a sensational New Year's Eve celebration with RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Associate Artist conductor/arranger Guy Barker. Sing and dance into 2026 as the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Barker welcome back vocalists Vanessa Haynes, Joe Stilgoe, Strictly Come Dancing's Tommy Blaize, and clarinet virtuoso Giacomo Smith, performing classics including Ella Fitzgerald's 'What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?', Ray Charles soul favourites, plus Bob Hilliard and Dick Miles' playful 'The Coffee Song' - originally recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1946, and shortly afterward by Louis Prima and His Orchestra. Expect show-stopping party pieces by Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Percy Mayfield, Fats Domino, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Al Green, Prince, Paloma Faith and more.
Friday January 2nd: RTÉ lyric Live Jamie Duffy live at the National Concert Hall
Paul Herriott brings us a recently recorded concert from the stage of the National Concert Hall in Dublin, by 24 year old, Jamie Duffy one of Ireland's most compelling new artists, blending folk, classical, and contemporary influences into a sound that's both intimate and cinematic. His debut single 'Solas' became the most streamed debut by an Irish artist since Hozier's 'Take Me To Church', with over 125 million streams on Spotify, 25 million YouTube views, and 6.6 billion views on TikTok.
Friday January 9th: RTÉ lyric Live RTÉ Concert Orchestra
On tonight's programme Paul Herriott showcases the work of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra with two concerts recorded in the autumn of 2025. First Drogheda Classical Music presents the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in a concert recorded in St Peter's Church with Mia Cooper leading the orchestra in a programme including Haydn, Vivaldi, Rossini and Schubert with soloists Emma Roche, Shaun Hooke and Eamonn Nolan.
Then Paul Herriott transports us to the National Concert Hall in Dublin where Gavin Maloney conducts the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in music by Beethoven and Schubert and the orchestra is joined by renowned Irish pianist Finghin Collins for Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor.
Haydn: Symphony No. 6 'Le Matin'
Vivaldi: Piccolo Concerto in C
Vivaldi: Concerto for two Trumpets in D
Rossini: String Sonata No. 1 in G
Schubert: Symphony No. 5
Mia Cooper Leader/Director
Emma Roche, piccolo
Shaun Hooke, Eamonn Nolan, trumpets
Beethoven: The Creatures of Prometheus Overture
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor
Schubert: Symphony No. 9 in C major
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Gavin Maloney, conductor
Finghin Collins, piano
Friday January 16th: RTÉ lyric Live National Symphony Orchestra Ireland
Barry Douglas brings his renowned feeling and flair for Russian music to bear on Shostakovich's edgy, exuberant Concerto for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra. In tonight's concert multi-award-winning conductor Anna Sulkowska-Migon makes her National Symphony Orchestra Ireland debut bringing us the spellbinding Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov and a soul-stirring work by Boulanger her D'un soir triste.
Lili Boulanger: D'un soir triste
Shostakovich: Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
National Symphony Orchestra Ireland
Anna Sulkowska-Migon, conductor
Barry Douglas, piano
Darren Moore, trumpet
