©Kristin Hoebermann
Tara Erraught
WHERE CONCERTS MAKE CONNECTIONS
Erland Cooper
Paraorchestra
Bryce Dessner
FÁILTE
Welcome to our What’s on Guide for November and December 2024.
As the festive season approaches the NCH offers a vast array of performances both popular seasonal concerts and musicals alongside the best of classical, contemporary and chamber performances by celebrated international and Irish ensembles and musicians.
Our NCH Concert Season 2024/2025 continues with award-winning The Tallis Scholars and Peter Philips on the 2nd of November; the pioneering Paraorchestra with guest soprano Victoria Oruwari led by Charles Hazlewood on the 30th of November and America’s most exciting string quartet, Brooklyn Rider, perform on the 23rd of November.
The Season’s Artists-in-Residence will also feature when celebrated mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught performs with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) under the baton of Laurence Cummings, on the 1st of November and American composer Bryce Dessner will have his works performed, also by the NSO, on the 15th of November with violinist Pekka Kuusisto as soloist.
The National Symphony Orchestra welcome a range of international guest conductors and soloists as part of the season including: conductor Gerhard Markson with a cast of singers and the National Symphony Chorus for Stanford’s Requiem on the
22nd of November; cellist Camille Thomas is the soloist for Dvorˇák’s Cello Concerto on the 29th of November with Patrik Ringborg, conductor; violinist Stefan Jackiw plays Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, on the 6th of December; and acclaimed pianist Yeol Eum Son is the soloist in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on the 13th of December. On the 18th and 19th of December the NSO, under the baton of David Brophy, present ‘NSO Christmas Gala’ with Cór Linn and soprano Claudia Boyle for a feast of popular Christmas classics.
The magic of Christmas continues in a programme packed full of season concerts. ‘Let It Glow –presented by Georgie Crawford’ returns 1st of December. On the 4th of December the Christmas Festival Orchestra, Carlow Choral Society and special guests present ‘The Joy of Christmas’ presented by Lyric Opera Productions. Handel’s Messiah will be performed on the 9th, 10th and 11th of December by Our Lady’s Choral Society and guests; the popular Candlelit Carols returns on the 16th of December for two concerts, The Great Christmas Concert with Lasso Scholars, Piccolo Lasso, Orlando Chamber Orchestra with special guests returns on the 17th of December, and the Dublin Concert Orchestra and Chamber Choir
present ‘Christmas at the Movies’ on the 15th of December.
The National Concert Hall’s Family Christmas Show ‘This Way to Christmas Featuring The Snowman’ returns for 10 shows on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of December. Festival Productions present the all-singing, all-dancing production of the classic family film Annie from the 27th of December to the 3rd of January. Family audiences can also look forward to screenings of The Stick Man and The Snail and the Whale with the NSO, on the 24th of November.
Elsewhere in the programme we are delighted to present ‘Tradition Now’ on the 16th and 17th November, supported by The Arts Council, in which headline artists singer/ songwriter Lisa O’Neill will perform for the first time with the NSO and Scottish artist and multi-instrumentalist Erland Cooper will take to the main stage. The multi-room festival will also see a selection of artists perform from ‘This is How we Fly’ to Rónán Ó Snodaigh with Myles O’Reilly and many more.
In our contemporary series Perspectives, Derek Jarman’s Blue Now will be performed, 23rd of November. Acclaimed Irish singer/ songwriter Paul Brady returns,
3rd of November and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra present ‘The Music of Elton
John’, 28th of November.
The NCH’s Chamber Music Series continues with recitals by Ficino and Banbha Quartets and The Dublin Song Series features mezzo-soprano
Paul Murrihy in recital with pianist
Dearbhla Collins, 1st of December.
Our Learning and Participation programme offers a variety of activities and events promoting accessibility, knowledge and appreciation of music for all ages, from Mini Music to Family Christmas concerts with the Echo Band, a Special Schools Sing Along concert and more.
We hope you find much to whet the appetite for the season ahead in
this brochure and we look forward to seeing you at lots of great concerts over the coming months.
Robert Read CEO
National Concert Hall
NCH BOARD MEMBERS
Maura McGrath (Chairperson)
Don Thornhill • Rebecca Gageby • James Cavanagh • Cliona Doris Hilary Hough • Michelle O’Sullivan • Peter McKenna • Niamh Murray
PATRON
Michael D. Higgins President of Ireland
NATIONAL CONCERT HALL
2024 — 2025 SEASON
INTERNATIONAL ORCHESTRAS AND RECITALS
SATURDAY 2
NOVEMBER 2024
7.30PM
THE TALLIS SCHOLARS
Peter Phillips director
One of the world’s leading choral ensembles and ‘rock stars of Renaissance vocal music’ (New York Times) The Tallis Scholars bring their unique sounds to sublime, centuries spanning music with works by Hildegard von Bingen and Arvo Pärt.
Pre-concert talk 6.15pm-7pm
Tickets from €15
Discounts and Packages Available nch.ie
CALENDAR
November
Fri 1
MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025 National Symphony Orchestra: Laurence Cummings, conductor. Tara Erraught, mezzo-soprano.
Sat 2 MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025: The Ta llis Scholars: Chant
Sun 3 KBRR 3pm Schubertreise XXXI: Conor Biggs, bass & Michel Stas, piano
Sun 3 MS 8pm Paul Brady
Tues 5 JFR 10.30am/ Bring Along a Baby! 12.30pm
Wed 6 JFR 1pm Tea Dance Tunes: Dementia-Friendly Concert
Wed. 6 MS 7.30pm Guys and Dolls: Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Society
Thurs 7 JFR 1.05pm Stel la S ings Ella: A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
Thurs 7 MS 7.30pm Guys and Dolls: Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Society
Fri 8 JFR 1.05pm Cheek to Cheek – The Life and Music of Irving Berlin
Fri 8 MS 7.30pm Guys and Dolls: Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Society
Sat 9 MS 2.30pm/ Guys and Dolls: Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Society 7.30pm
Sun 10 MS 11.30am – SOULSPACE presents Coming Home with 4.30pm Gerry & Miriam Hussey
Sun 10 KBRR 3pm Chamber Music Series: Lumiere Quartet
Tues 12 MS 8pm Waltons World Masters: Soweto Gospel Choir
Thurs 14 MS 8pm NCH Talks: Jon Ronson’s Psychopath Night 2024
Thurs 14 S 8.30pm Metronome: Caterina Schembri: Sea salt and turpentine Album Launch Concert
Fri 15 JFR 1.05pm Pigalle – Music of Edith Piaf
MS: Main Stage JFR: John Field Room KBRR: Kevin Barry Recital Room S: Studio
Fri 15 MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025
National Symphony Orchestra: Pekka Kuusisto & André de Ridder
Sat 16 VAR 6pm Tradition Now: Lisa O’Neill & National Symphony Orchestra
Sun 17 VAR 6pm Tradition Now: Erland Cooper
Mon 18 MS 8pm Talk of the Devils Live
Fri 22 10.30am Behind the Scenes tour of the NCH
Fri 22 JFR 1.05pm Seasons of Sinatra - Winter
Fri 22 MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025: National Symphony Orchestra. Stanford 100
Sat 23 MS 8pm Perspectives: BLUE Now a special live performance of Derek Jarman’s film
Sat 23 S 8.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025: Brooklyn Rider: The 4 Elements
Sun 24 MS 12.30pm/ NCH Season 2024/2025: Stick Man and The Snail and 3pm/5pm the Whale Screening with the National Symphony Orchestra
Sun 24 KBRR 3pm Chamber Music Series: Banbha Quartet
Mon 25 JFR 11am Special Schools Sing-Along
Mon 25 MS 7.30pm It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Tues 26 JFR 12pm Christmas Tea Dance Tunes: Dementia-Friendly Concert
Tues 26 MS 8pm NCH presents Dark Blue ANOHNI sings Lou Reed
Wed 27 S 7.30pm Sing Out! Choir: Christmas Concert
Wed 27 MS 8pm Phil Coulter, A Legacy of Music and Memories
Thurs 28 MS 8pm The Music of Elton John: RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Fri 29 JFR 1.05pm We’ll Meet Again: Vera Lynn
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Fri 29 MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025 National Symphony Orchestra: Ring, Dvorˇák, Tchaikovsky.
Sat 30 MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025: Paraorchestra. Charles Hazlewood, conductor. Victoria Oruwari, soprano.
December
Sun 1 KBRR 3pm NCH Chamber Series: Dublin Song Series: Paula Murrihy & Dearbhla Collins
Sun 1 MS 5pm Let It Glow - Presented by Georgie Crawford
Tues 3 MS 10.30am/ NCH Season 2024/2025: Music in the Classroom: 12.30pm Leaving Certificate Music Guide
Wed 4 MS 7.30pm The Joy of Christmas by Lyric Opera Productions
Thurs 5 MS 8pm Sunday Miscellany Celebrates Christmas with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Fri 6 JFR 1.05pm December Songs
Fri 6 MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025 National Symphony Orchestra: BRUCKNER 200
Sat 7 JFR 11.30am/ Family Concert: Christmas concert with the Echo Band 1pm
Sun 8 KBRR 3pm Chamber Music Series: Ficino Quartet
Sun 8 MS 7pm A Christmas Celebration by Dublin County Choir
Mon 9 MS 8pm Handel’s Messiah
Tues 10 MS 1.05pm National Symphony Orchestra Christmas Lunchtime
Tues 10 MS 8pm Handel’s Messiah
Wed 11 MS 8pm Handel’s Messiah
Thurs 12 MS 8pm Goethe Choir Christmas Concert
Fri 13 JFR 11am/ Christmas with New Dublin Voices 1pm
Fri 13 MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025: National Symphony Orchestra: Dukas, Chopin, Tchaikovsky
Sat 14 MS 3pm/7pm The Glory of Christmas with the Palestrina Choir
Sun 15 MS 3pm/8pm Christmas at the Movies
Mon 16 MS 3pm/8pm Candlelit Carols
Tues 17 MS 8pm The Great Christmas Concert 2024
Wed. 18 & MS 7.30pm NCH Season 2024/2025: Thurs. 19 Christmas with the National Symphony Orchestra & Cór Linn, Claudia Boyle & David Brophy
Fri 20 MS 3.30pm/ NCH Family Christmas Concert 6pm This Way to Christmas! featuring The Snowman
Sat 21 MS 10.30am/ NCH Family Christmas Concert 1pm/3.30pm This Way to Christmas! featuring The Snowman /6pm
Sun 22 MS 10.30am/ NCH Family Christmas Concert 1pm/3.30pm This Way to Christmas! featuring The Snowman /6pm
Fri 27 MS 6pm Annie
Sat 28 MS 2pm/6pm Annie
Sun 29 MS 2pm/6pm Annie
Mon 30 MS 2pm/6pm Annie
Tues 31 MS 10pm Swing in to ’25 with the Jive
ERLAND COOPER
On Sunday 17 November Scottish artist Erland Cooper makes his National Concert Hall debut headlining the second night of the Tradition Now Festival.
Here are 5 Things to Know about the composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Stromness:
1. As a solo artist, Erland has released five acclaimed studio albums, with five additional companion albums and multiple EPs. He is also a founding member of bands The Magnetic North (with Simon Tong and Hannah Peel) and Erland and the Carnival, with whom he has released five studio albums
2. His work combines field recordings with traditional orchestration and contemporary electronic elements. Through music, words and cinematography he explores landscape, memory and identity.
3. In 2021 he buried the only existing copy of the master tape of his first classical album in Scotland, deleting all digital files and leaving only a treasure hunt of clues for fans and his record label alike to search for it. The tape was found by two fans and Carve the Runes Then Be Content with Silence was released exactly as it sounds from the earth this year.
4. Dubbed ‘nature’s songwriter’ by the Guardian, he lived up to his billing when he was commissioned to soundtrack the Tower of London’s stunning Superbloom installation to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne.
5. Erland regularly works with Paul Weller and has numerous writing credits with him including ‘Burn Out’ on Paul's latest album 66. Paul has also guested on some of Erland’s songs including ‘A Nightingale Sings Outside Our Window’ and ‘Longhope by Ayre’.
Tara Erraught
NCH Season 2024/2025
NSO: Tara Erraught & Laurence Cummings
Friday 1 November 7.30pm
Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra
Lawrence Cummings conductor & harpsichord
Tara Erraught mezzo-soprano
Martínez Cantata Berenice, ah che fai?
Haydn Symphony No. 25
Haydn Scena di Berenice, Berenice, che fai?
Mozart Exsultate, jubilate
Mozart Symphony No. 41, ‘Jupiter’
New NCH Artist-in-Residence, mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, is ‘taking the world by storm’ (The Arts Review ). Hear why as she partners with the NSO and Laurence Cummings, acclaimed for his work in historical performance, for the electrifying coloratura of Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate and virtuoso cantatas by Baroque master Haydn and his magnificent peer, Marianne von Martínez. Haydn’s serene, sunny Oxford Symphony with its fizzing finale, and Mozart’s mighty Jupiter promise music to captivate and charm.
Tickets: €15, €26.50, €33, €39, €45
Concessions Available
10% Discount for NCH Friends and Groups of 10 or more
Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
NCH Season 2024/2025
The Tallis Scholars: Chant
Saturday 2 November 7.30pm
Main Stage
The Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips director
Hildegard von Bingen In principio
Arvo Pärt Triodion
Hildegard von Bingen O Virtus Sapientiae
Arvo Pärt Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen
Allegri Miserere mei, Deus
Hildegard von Bingen O ignis Spiritus
paracliti
Arvo Pärt Magnificat
Arvo Pärt Da Pacem Domine
Hildegard von Bingen O Ecclesia
Arvo Pärt ...which was the son of…
One of the world’s leading choral ensembles and ‘rock stars of Renaissance vocal music’ (New York Times) The Tallis Scholars bring their unique sound to sublime, centuries-spanning music.
Hildegard von Bingen’s voice from the Middle Ages speaks of luminous spiritual rapture. Allegri’s heavenly Miserere mei, Deus , a deeply moving prayer and plea, is exquisite. ‘The world’s greatest living composer’ (Daily Telegraph), Arvo Pärt, is a voice for the ages, his entrancing music caught between the secular and the sacred.
Tickets: €15, €27.50, €36, €44, €55
Concessions Available
10% Discount for NCH Friends and Groups of 10 or more
Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
Tallis Scholars - Saturday 2 November
Schubertreise XXXI
Sunday 3 November 3pm
Kevin Barry Recital Room
Conor Biggs bass
Michel Stas piano
Johann Petrus Silbert Himmelsfunken, D 651
Friedrich von Schlegel Das Mädchen, D 652
Franz Grillparzer Bertas Lied in der Nacht, D 653
Johann Mayrhofer An die Freunde, D 654
Novalis Geistliches Lied („Ich sehe dich in tausend Bildern), D 658
Novalis Hymne, D 659
Novalis Geistliches Lied („Wenn ich ihn nur habe“), D 660
Novalis Geistliches Lied („Wenn alle untreu werden“), D 661
Novalis Geistliches Lied („Ich sag es jedem, daß er lebt“), D 662
Johann Mayrhofer Beim Winde, D 669
Johann Mayrhofer Die Sternennächte, D 670 (Zweite Fassung)
Johann Mayrhofer Trost, D 671
Johann Wofgang von Goethe
Die Liebende schreibt, D 673
Johann Wofgang von Goethe Prometheus, D 674
Friedrich von Schiller Strophe aus, Die Götter Griechenlands“, D 677 (Zweite Fassung)
Friedrich von Schlegel Die Sterne, D 684
Novalis Nachthymne, D 687
In part thirty-one of Schubertreise, in which Conor Biggs and Michel Stas continue their exploration of the vast output of Schubert’s songs. This concert is dominated by the strange poetry of Novalis, the pseudonym of Friedrich Leopold von Hardenberg (1772-1801).
The death of his fiancée led to a religious crisis and a marked penchant for things spiritual. His poetry is a combination of the erotic and the sacramental: ‘One day all will be one body; one body, the blessed couple swim in celestial blood.’
Tickets €17.50
10% Discount for Friends of NCH
Presented by NCH
Paul Brady
Sunday 3 November 8pm
Main Stage
An evening with Paul Brady on stage is a captivating experience, as he invites you into his world of songs and music in a way that will surprise in its intimacy, sense of fun and raw power.
A singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist he is one of Ireland’s most highly regarded and successful artists. He crosses musical boundaries again and again, incorporating folk, rock, blues traditional Irish & classic pop styles into his songwriting. His live performances, whether solo or with full band, include songs from his extensive catalogue of 40 years.
Tickets €35, €42.50, €50 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH
Paul Brady
Bring Along a Baby
Tuesday 5 November 10.30am/12.30pm
John Field Room
Bring Along a Baby is an informal, relaxed, accessible chamber music recital of the highest standard, aimed primarily at parents, while babies or very young children sleep, feed and play.
There is no pressure to keep still or quiet, leaving parents free to sit back and enjoy the music. In fact, we encourage the babies to interact naturally with the music, and we have play mats and soft toys to this end. Of course, the babies benefit from the music as well, so it’s a win-win.
Tickets Adults €13 Babies go free!
Presented by NCH in association with Classical Kids
Tea Dance Tunes: Dementia-Friendly Concert
Wednesday 6 November 1pm
John Field Room
We invite people living with dementia, their carers and families to enjoy a concert of favourite songs and music.
Tickets €2.50
Presented by NCH
Guys and Dolls
Wednesday 6 November 7.30pm
Thursday 7 November 7.30pm
Friday 8 November 7.30pm
Saturday 9 November 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Main Stage
Paul Byrom as Sky Masterson Sorcha Fenlon as Sarah Brown
The Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society swaggers into town this November with ‘Guys and Dolls’. Hailed as the perfect musical comedy this show sizzles with a cast of gamblers, gangsters and nightclub singers and boasts some of Broadway’s greatest tunes – ‘Luck be a Lady’, ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’ and ‘Bushel and a Peck’. Another show not to be missed!
Tickets €30, €40, €45 10% discount for Groups of 10 or more
Presented by Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society
Sorcha Fenlon
Stella Sings Ella: A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
Thursday 7 November 1.05pm
John Field Room
Stella Bass vocals
Johnny Taylor piano
Barry Donohue double bass
Dominic Mullan drums
Ella Fitzgerald is probably the most beloved jazz singer of all time, with hits like ‘Manhattan’, ‘Summertime’, ‘Bewitched’ and ‘Lady is a Tramp’. Stella Bass & The Johnny Taylor Trio celebrate the incredible 60-year career of The First Lady of Song.
Tickets €20
Concessions available 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and groups of 10 or more
Presented by Stella Bass Music
Cheek to Cheek - The Life and Music of Irving Berlin
Friday 8 November 1.05pm
John Field Room
Sandra Oman soprano
Simon Morgan baritone
David Wray piano
A celebration of the life and music of Irving Berlin, laden with his greatest hits from stage and screen, including ‘Cheek to Cheek’, ‘Blue Skies’, ‘Anything you can do’, ‘Always’, ‘Easter Parade’, ‘Count your Blessings’, and of course, ‘White Christmas!’.
Tickets €22
Concessions Available €20 for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by Sheldon Nulty Music
SOULSPACE
SOULSPACE presents Coming Home with Gerry & Miriam Hussey
Sunday 10 November 11.30AM - 4.30pm
Main Stage
Gerry and Miriam Hussey
Soul Space presents ‘Coming Home’, a powerful day to Pause, let go and begin again. It’s a day that will empower you to breakthrough and let go of self-limiting beliefs and thinking habits and develop a breakthrough mindset to allow you to thrive. It will enable you to refocus, reawaken and re energise and give you the tools and freedom to stand in your power and come home to your authentic self.
During this unforgettable day, you will be brought on an empowering experience of mind-blowing talks, meditation and music.
Tickets €139
Presented Gerry and Miriam Hussey
Á cur i láthair ag an gCeoláras Náisiúnta
TRAIDISIÚN ANOIS
Dé Sathairn 16 & Dé Domhnaigh 17 Samhain
Lisa O’Neill amhránaí cumadóir & Ceolfhoireann Shiansach Náisiúnta
Erland Cooper
Nick Hart & Tom Moore | Leonard Barry, Andy Morrow & Seamie O’Dowd | Frankie Archer
This is How We Fly | Ævestaden | Myles O’Reilly & Rónán Ó Snodaigh
Féile Cheoil ilsheomra ina léireofar nuálaíocht agus ilchineálacht i gceol traidisiúnta na hÉireann sa lá atá inniu ann.
Ticéid le haghaidh oíche amháin €30. Ticéid don deireadh seachtaine €50
nch.ie
PARAORCHESTRA
On Saturday November 30th Paraorchestra, led by Charles Hazlewood, perform Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs with soprano Victoria Oruwari and Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, a piece realised for full string orchestra by Mahler, as part of the NCH International Orchestras and Recitals Series 2024/2025.
Here are 5 Things To Know About the Paraorchestra.
They are the world’s only large-scale virtuoso ensemble of professional disabled and non-disabled musicians, pro-actively increasing their representation of professional disabled players, whilst creating meaningful opportunities for world-class music making and career development. Their mission: to redefine what an orchestra can be.
1. Internationally renowned Artistic Director Charles Hazlewood established Paraorchestra, the first of its kind in the UK, in 2011. He credits his daughter, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, for the inspiration.
2. The orchestra performed its first live show at Glastonbury Abbey in July 2012 - which was also the subject of a Channel 4 documentary - and received international attention when it played alongside Coldplay at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. More recent collaborations include Hannah Peel and Brett Anderson.
3. In 2022, Paraochestra featured in a documentary on Sky Arts entitled Reinventing the Orchestra presented by Charles Hazlewood.
4. This year they made their BBC Proms debut with a world premiere of The Virtuous Circle at Bristol Beacon, performing Mozart’s 40th Symphony on the move, combining with dancers in an array of choreographic formations, interspersed with brand new compositions from the pioneering composer Oliver Vibrans.
5. Paraorchestra have been commissioned to create a large-scale project with Jeremy Deller, for and in co-production with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
Chamber Music SeriesLumiere Quartet
Sunday 10 November 3pm
Kevin Barry Recital Room
Lumiere Quartet
Claire Duff violin
Elaine Clark violin
Nathan Sherman viola
Carina Drury cello
Mozart String Quartet in C major K.465 Dissonance
Caterina Schembri Grüner Strahl (Dublin Premiere)
Mendelssohn String Quartet in A minor Op.13
The Lumiere Quartet is a new group led by acclaimed Irish Baroque Orchestra leader Claire Duff, playing with classical bows on gut strings and offering fresh interpretations of Mozart’s Dissonance Quartet and Mendelssohn’s A minor quartet. The transition between Classicism and Romanticism as represented by these iconic works is the inspiration behind Caterina Schembri’s new quartet Grüner Strahl commissioned by the National String Quartet Foundation. This is the name of a rare meteorological phenomenon that sometimes occurs at sunset or sunrise - a green flash above the sun that lasts for a few seconds before disappearing, a fleeting moment of transformation.
Tickets €17.50 10% discount for Friends of NCH
Presented by NCH in association with the National String Quartet Foundation.
Waltons World Masters: Soweto Gospel Choir
Tuesday 12 November 8pm
Main Stage
After their sold-out concerts for the Waltons World Masters Series in 2008 and 2013, we are delighted to welcome back the glorious Soweto Gospel Choir for their only performance in Ireland in 2024. The Soweto Gospel Choir is an awe-inspiring vocal ensemble, and their performances are an inspirational mixture of tribal, traditional and popular African and Western gospel.
Tickets €20, €32, €36, €44 Concessions Available 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by Waltons New School of Music
NCH Talks: Jon Ronson’s Psychopath Night 2024
Thursday 14 November 8pm
Main Stage
Jon Ronson and special guests.
Join Jon for an electrifying journey into the enigmatic world of psychopaths and the perplexing concept of normalcy. In an age where society’s rationality is called into question, Jon will deliver an evening of incisive inquiry, seasoned with his trademark wit and profound insights.
Age recommendation is 16+
Tickets €27.50, €32, €36 10% discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH
Lumiere Quartet
Gospel Choir - Tuesday 12 November
Soweto
Metronome: Caterina Schembri: Sea salt and turpentine Album Launch Concert
Thursday 14 November 8.30pm
The Studio
Ficino Ensemble:
Macdara Ó Seireadáin clarinet
Geraldine O’Doherty harp
Elaine Clarke violin
Danny McCann-Williams violin
Nathan Sherman viola
Ailbhe McDonagh cello
Michelle O’Rourke voice
Máire Carroll piano
Programme: opening solo piano set, including new work by Caterina Schembri and the world premiere performance of Sea salt and turpentine by Caterina Schembri.
Ergodos is proud to present the launch concert for Sea salt and turpentine, the debut album by Caterina Schembri, as part of the Metronome series. Caterina Schembri is an Italian-Colombian composer and producer based in Dublin.
Sea salt and turpentine is her debut album and showcases a deeply personal and highly sensitive approach to chamber and vocal music.
For this special album launch performance, Ficino Ensemble and vocalist Michelle O’Rourke will perform the album in entirety from beginning to end without breaks – an immersive, focused audience experience. This main set will be preceded by a short opening solo piano set from acclaimed Irish pianist Máire Carroll, also featuring new compositions by Caterina Schembri.
The creation of the music on this programme was partially supported by a Music Bursary Award from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
“There is a willow” was composed during participation in the 2022 Ficino Ensemble Composition Workshop, supported by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon. The Sea salt and turpentine album on Ergodos has been produced with the support of an Arts Grant Funding award from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
Tickets €18
10% for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH in assocation with Ergodos
Pigalle – Music of Edith Piaf
Friday 15 November 1.05pm
John Field Room
Derby Browne Pigalle Ensemble
Chanteuse Derby Browne performs her personal tribute to The Little Sparrow –Edith Piaf, with performances of ‘La Vie En Rose’, ‘No Regrets’, ‘Autumn Leaves’ and ‘Under the Bridges of Paris’.
Tickets €20
Concessions Available
10% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by Derby Browne
Caterina Schemberi
NCH Season 2024/2025
Pekka Kuusisto & André de Ridder
Friday 15 November 7.30pm Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra
André de Ridder conductor
Pekka Kuusisto violin
Bryce Dessner Mari (Irish Premiere)
Bryce Dessner Violin Concerto (Irish Premiere)
Dvorˇák Symphony No. 7
An exciting occasion: new music from new NCH Artist-in-Residence, The National guitarist and leading composer, Bryce Dessner.
Named after the Basque Forest goddess, Mari borrows from Dvorˇák and Mahler for an immersive ‘reflection on the pastoral’. Written for ‘fantastically exciting violinist’ (The Times) Pekka Kuusisto, Dessner’s Violin Concerto, inspired by thoughts of pilgrimage and the sea, is a fierce, fiery journey towards a blazing end. Dvorˇák’s masterpiece Seventh Symphony is a thing of orchestral wonders.
Post-concert talk and performance will commence approximately 15 minutes after the main stage performance ends. Bryce Dessner, André de Ridder and Pekka Kuusisto in conversation with John Kelly. Event to include a performance of Dessner’s solo violin work by Pekka Kuusisto.
Tickets €15, €27.50, €35, €42.50, €49 Concessions Available 10% Discounts for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
Pekka Kuusisto
Lisa O’Neill
Tradition Now
Saturday 16 November 6pm
Main Stage
Lisa O’Neill with the National Symphony Orchestra
Gabriella Teychenné conductor
Nick Hart and Tom Moore
Frankie Archer
Leonard Barry with Andy Morrow and Seamie O’Dowd. John Field Room Sessions
6pm Nick Hart and Tom Moore – Studio
7.30pm Lisa O’Neill & NSO – MA
9pm Leonard Barry with Andy Morrow and Seamie O’Dowd – KBBR
10pm Frankie Archer – Studio
“O’Neill is a cultural hero in her own right. She has released five albums since 2009, building a reputation as a modern artist tapped into the ancient.” New York Times Long since noted as one of the most
evocative singers and writers in contemporary Irish music, Lisa O’Neill’s latest album, All of This Is Chance is a collection of new work that takes Lisa’s voice to greater heights, or depths, depending on which way you look at it. She now makes her orchestral debut with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gabriella Teychenné.
Tickets €30
Weekend Tickets €50
Concessions Available 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH in partnership with The Arts Council (Traditional Arts)
Erland Cooper
Tradition Now
Sunday 17 November 6pm
Main Stage
Erland Cooper
This is How We Fly Myles O’Reilly and Rónán Ó Snodaigh
Ævestaden
John Field Room Sessions
6pm – Ævestaden - Studio
7.30pm - Erland Cooper - MA 9pm - Myles O’Reilly and Rónán Ó
Snodaigh - KBBR
10pm - This is How We Fly – Studio
Erland Cooper is a Scottish composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist originally from Stromness, Orkney. As a solo artist, he has released three acclaimed studio albums, with four additional companion albums and multiple EP’s, including a trilogy of work inspired by his childhood home, as well as themes of
nature, people, place and time. His work combines field recordings with traditional orchestration and contemporary electronic elements. Through music, words and cinematography he explores landscape, memory and identity.
Tickets €30
Weekend Tickets €50
Concessions Available
10% Discount for Friends of NCH and groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH in partnership with The Arts Council (Traditional Arts)
Talk of the Devils Live
Monday 18 November 8pm Main Stage
Get ready for an unforgettable evening with Talk of the Devils, the world’s biggest Manchester United podcast brought to you by The Athletic. Back by popular demand, the sell-out tour is returning, and you don’t want to miss it. Join us as we bring you exclusive insight and knowledge from inside Old Trafford with The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell and Carl Anka, United We Stand editor Andy Mitten and host Ian Irving. You also hear a fresh set of stories that could never make the regular podcast, giving you an inside scoop like never before. But that’s not all – this is your chance to ask the team those burning questions that have been on your mind. Don’t miss out on Talk of the Devils – the biggest Manchester United podcast live on stage reflecting on another season of the never-ending drama that surrounds this incredible club. See you there!
Tickets €29.50, €35
Presented by Singular Artists
Behind the Scenes Tour of NCH
Friday 22 November 10.30AM NCH Foyer
Explore the history and legacy of Ireland’s cultural icon, The National Concert Hall.
Join us for a rare behind-the-scenes tour of the National Concert Hall. Explore hidden areas of this historic venue from backstage areas to architectural details rarely seen by the public, this tour offers a unique opportunity to delve into the hidden corners and history of a building that has hosted some of Ireland’s greatest performances.
Tickets €10 Spaces are limited Booking advised
Presented by NCH
Seasons of Sinatra – Winter
Friday 22 November 1.05pm John Field Room
Sean Hession vocals Myles Drennan piano
Dave Fleming double bass Tom Dunne drums
A winter-themed lunchtime concert showcasing the Great American Songbook. In this ode to Winter, leading Sinatra exponent Sean Hession accompanied by the stellar jazz trio of pianist Myles Drennan, double-bassist Dave Fleming and Tom Dunne on drums, performs a lunchtime concert of beguiling wintertime classics, in the intimate setting of the John Field Room.
Tickets €23
Concessions Available 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by Seán Hession & Produced by Michele Rock
Talk of the Devils Live
10 JANUARY 2025
NATIONAL CONCERT HALL , DUBLIN
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | STEFAN GEIGER conductor
NCH Season 2024/2025
NSO: Stanford 100
Friday 22 November 7.30pm Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra
Gerhard Markson conductor
Máire Flavin soprano
Sharon Carty mezzo-soprano
James Way tenor
John Molloy bass
National Symphony Chorus
David Young choral director
Stanford Requiem
Former NSO Principal Conductor
Gerhard Markson returns to conclude the NSO’s centenary commemorations of Dublin-born Charles Villiers Stanford’s death with one of his crowning glories: the monumental and moving Requiem. Admired by Verdi and cast on the grandest of scales, it is a heartfelt and tender work of involving intimacy and blazing faith in which Stanford’s mastery of drama, opera, song and orchestration come triumphantly together.
Tickets €15, €26.50, €33, €39, €45
Concessions Available
10% Discounts for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
Perspectives: BLUE NOW a special live performance of Derek Jarman’s film
Saturday 23 November 8pm Main Stage
A special live performance of Derek Jarman’s film with Simon Fisher Turner, Russell Tovey, Travis Alabanza , Jay Bernard , Joelle Taylor, Lucy Railton
BLUE NOW is unique opportunity to reflect on the impact of the AIDS epidemic, and the importance of creating space for compassion, rage and poetry in the face of prejudice and oppression.
Directed by Neil Bartlett
Produced by James Mackay
This will be an Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreted performance.
BLUE NOW, in this live event version, was commissioned by WePresent by WeTransfer, first presented by WeTransfer in association with Fuel and Basilisk Communications, and originally produced by Fuel.
Tickets €15, €20, €25 10% discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH
National Symphony Chorus
23 November
Blue Now - Saturday
NCH Season 2024/2025
Brooklyn Rider: The 4 Elements
Saturday 23 November 8.30pm
The Studio
Colin Jacobsen A Short While to Be Here… (Irish Premiere)
Akshaya Tucker Hollow Flame (Irish premiere)
Andreia Pinto-Correia Aere senza stelle (Irish premiere)
Dutilleux String Quartet ‘Ainsi la nuit ’ Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8 Golijov Tenebrae
A must-see, must-hear appearance by America’s most exciting string quartet, Brooklyn Rider, with a deep dive into the four elements – Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
Colin Jacobsen’s A Short While to Be Here… finds earthiness in frontier songs, Dutilleux’s Ainsi la nuit seemingly filled by popping bubbles of air, Pinto-Correia’s
Aere senza stelle moving from air to the fire that flares in Akshaya Tucker’s Hollow Flame and Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8. Golijov says his Tenebrae ‘sounds like an orbiting spaceship that never touches ground’.
Tickets €25
Concessions Available 10% discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH
NCH Season 2024/2025
Stick Man and The Snail and the Whale Screening with the National Symphony Orchestra
Sunday 24 November 12.30pm/3pm/5pm
Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Terry Davies
Terry Davies conducts René Aubry’s inspired score for both the Stickman and The Snail and the Whale, based on the books by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. This live music, played by the National Symphony Orchestra will accompany screenings of these two films.
Stick Man: © Orange Eyes Limited 2015. The Snail and the Whale: © Magic Light Pictures Limited 2019
Tickets: Adult €30, Child €23
Family Tickets: €94 (4 tickets, max 2 adults)
Restricted View €15
Presented by NCH
Brooklyn Rider
Stick Man and The Snail and the Whale
Banbha Quartet
Chamber Music Series:
Banbha Quartet
Sunday 24 November 3pm
Kevin Barry Recital Room
Banbha Quartet
Lidia Jewloszewicz-Clarke violin
Maria Ryan violin
Ed Creedon viola
Aoife Burke cello
Beethoven String Quartet in F minor Op. 95 Seán Doherty Varsouviana (Dublin premiere)
Schubert String Quartet in D minor Death and the Maiden
The Banbha Quartet returns for its fifth tour for the National String Quartet Foundation with a new work by Donegal fiddler turned internationally renowned composer Seán Doherty, tracing the incorporation of the Polish folk-dance Mazurka into the Donegal fiddle tradition. Commissioned by the quartet’s Polish violinist Lidia Jewloszewicz-Clarke, this new quartet will be a fascinating exploration of shared musical heritage. The programme is completed by two of the quartet repertoire’s best loved works, Beethoven’s short, dramatic F minor Op. 95 and Schubert’s glorious Death and the Maiden.
Tickets €17.50 10% discount for Friends of NCH
Presented by the NCH in association with the National String Quartet Foundation.
Special Schools Sing-Along
Monday 25 November 11AM
John Field Room
The Echo Band
We invite special schools (pupils with moderate, severe and profound general learning disabilities) to join us for this interactive, multi-sensory concert-workshop.
Tickets: Free, booking required
Presented by NCH
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Monday 25 November 7.30pm Main Stage
Rathfarnham Concert Band Society –The biggest band in Ireland. Including our Junior Band and Jazz Band. Musical Director Vincent Kennedy and conductors Conor O’Riordan and Richard Treston With special guests - Children’s Choir of Ballyroan Boys NS , Divine Word NS , Loreto NS , St. Mary’s BNS , and Scoil Naomh Pádraig , Ballyroan, conducted by Vincent Kennedy and Loreto High School Beaufort choir directed by Kathryn Browne. MC Declan O’Brien.
An eclectic mix of music from stage, screen and concert hall including Christmas favorites, music from The Lion King , Oliver, favourites from the Concert Band and jazz worlds, and a world premiere by Vincent Kennedy.
Tickets €25 Concessions Available
Presented by Rathfarnham Concert Band Society
Christmas Tea Dance Tunes: Dementia-Friendly Concert
Tuesday 26 November 12pm
John Field Room
We invite people living with dementia, their carers and families to enjoy a concert of favourite festive songs and music.
Tickets €2.50
Presented by NCH
NCH presents Dark Blue ANOHNI sings Lou Reed
Tuesday 26 November 8pm
Main Stage
For her NCH debut, ANOHNI will perform a special set celebrating the late great Lou Reed, her friend and collaborator and some of her own music.
Having worked in genres ranging from electronic experimental to avant classical, dance and soul, ANOHNI’s music has been characterized above all by her affecting voice. Across her 30-year career ANOHNI has forged a singular path through popular music, pioneering a vigorous examination of societal structures, spirituality, and our relationship with the biosphere.
“For me, there’s no heavenly respite; Creation is a spectral and feminine continuum, and we remain and inalienable part of Nature.” ANOHNI, 2024
Tickets: €74.50, €59.50, €49.50, €40 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH
ANOHNI - Tuesday 26 November
Kelly Moran Phil Coulter
Kelly Moran
Tuesday 26 November 8:30pm
The Studio
Following a show-stopping performance at Haunted Dancehall in 2023, Kelly Moran returns to Dublin following the release of her outstanding new album Moves in the Field on Warp Records.
Tickets €32
Presented by Foggy Notions
Sing Out! Choir: Christmas Concert
Wednesday 27 November 7.30pm
The Studio
Join the members of NCH: Sing Out! Community Choir for their Christmas concert.
Join them for some festive songs, and perhaps have a sing yourself!
Free but ticketed
Presented by NCH
Phil Coulter, A Legacy of Music and Memories
Wednesday 27 November 8pm Main Stage
Phil Coulter Geraldine Brannigan George Hutton
In this brand-new show ‘Legacy’, Phil Coulter takes a fresh look back into 60 years at the top of his game, so much music, so many songs, so many new stories, distilled into two hours of vintage gold.
Tickets €35, €38, €45 Concessions Available 10% discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by Pat Egan
The Music of Elton John
Thursday 28 November 8pm
Main Stage
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Richard Balcombe conductor
Graham Bickley, Stuart Matthew Price, Patrick Smyth and Abbie Osmon , vocalists
George King piano
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was released in 1973 and has since been regarded as Elton John’s magnum opus, with sales of over 20 million worldwide. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra pay tribute the album, and the Rocket Man’s tremendous career since, with renditions of I’m Still Standing , Don’t Go Breaking My Heart and more.
Tickets €15, €28.50, €42.50, Limited Concessions Available 10% Discount for Groups of 10 or more
Presented by RTÉ Concert Orchestra
We’ll Meet Again: Vera Lynn
Friday 29 November 1.05pm
John Field Room
Linda Kenny
Ryan Morgan
Alan Carney MD
Mark O’Shaughnessy actor
A dramatic retelling of Vera’s life and times, We’ll Meet Again: Vera Lynn gives the audience an opportunity to sing along to some of her most loved songs, Among My Souvenirs , Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart, White Cliffs of Dover and more.
Tickets €20
Presented by The Singalong Songbook
Elton John
NATIONAL CONCERT HALL
PERSPECTIVES
with Simon Fisher Turner, Russell Tovey, Travis Alabanza, Jay Bernard, Joelle Taylor and Lucy Railton
SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2024, 8PM
Tickets from €15
Discounts for Friends & Groups of 10 or more nch.ie
NCH Season 2024/2025
NSO: Ring, Dvorˇák, Tchaikovsky
Friday 29 November 7.30pm
Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra
Patrik Ringborg conductor
Camille Thomas cello
Judith Ring Everything was asleep as if the universe was a vast mistake
Dvorˇák Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
Affairs of the heart are to the fore in two compelling masterpieces. Dvorˇák’s passionate Cello Concerto fits the instrument’s voice like a glove. The tragic force of Tchaikovsky’s dark and dramatic Fifth Symphony is matched by his gift for melody.
Judith Ring’s first full orchestral piece, Everything was asleep… is a startling depiction of nature recovering from a man-made catastrophe to reclaim and repair the environment.
[Sat. 30 November 7.30pm – SETU Arena, Waterford]
Pre-Concert Talk Friday 6.15pm – 7pm
Tickets €15, €25, €29, €34.50, €39
Concessions Available
10% Discounts for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
NCH Season 2024/2025
Paraorchestra
Saturday 30 November 7.30pm
Main Stage
Paraorchestra
Charles Hazlewood conductor
Victoria Oruwari soprano
Schubert/Mahler String Quartet No. 14, ‘Death and the Maiden ’
Górecki Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
Cathartic and hauntingly beautiful, Henryk Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is an astonishing meditation on loss and transcendence.
Performed by Paraorchestra’s pioneering ensemble of disabled and non-disabled musicians with acclaimed soprano Victoria Oruwari, Charles Hazlewood conducts this harmonic ‘spiritual minimalist’ composition.
Górecki’s masterpiece is preceded by a performance of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden : a melancholic, iridescent, and urgent piece realised for a full string orchestra by Mahler.
Pre-Concert Talk: 6.15pm – 7pm
Tickets €15, €25, €29, €34.50, €39
Concessions Available
10% Discounts for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
Paraorchestra
©Paul Blakemore
Camille Thomas - Friday 29 November
Paula Murrihy
Dublin Song Series: Paula Murrihy & Dearbhla Collins
Sunday 1 December 3pm
Kevin Barry Recital Room
Paula Murrihy mezzo-soprano
Dearbhla Collins piano
The hugely successful Irish mezzo soprano, Paula Murrihy, is currently singing in the best opera houses in the world, including Opéra de Paris, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona. A singer who loves combining song recitals with her opera appearances, here she joins forces with Dearbhla Collins to bring some of her favourite songs to the NCH audience.
She performs the amazing song cycle ‘Les Nuits d’Été’ by Berlioz along with Britten Cabaret Songs and songs by Clara Schumann and Ina Boyle.
Tickets €28.
Concessions Available 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH
Georgie Crawford
Let It Glow - Presented by Georgie Crawford
Sunday 1 December 5pm Main Stage
Georgie Crawford and very special guests
Come together for a Christmas party to remember with The Good Glow’s Georgie Crawford. Following multiple sell-out shows, Let It Glow is a brand-new Christmas show featuring very special guests, live Christmas music and plenty of joy, with uplifting talks, comedy and high energy.
Tickets €46.50
Presented by Georgie Crawford
Sponsored by The Good Glow
NCH Season 2024/2025
Music in the Classroom: Leaving Certificate Music Guide
Tuesday 3 December 10.30am/12.30pm Main Stage
Presented by NCH Artist-in-Residence
Jessie Grimes
National Symphony Orchestra
Elaine Kelly conductor
Dynamic musician presenter Jessie Grimes and the National Symphony Orchestra under Elaine Kelly present a step-by-step guide to Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture. Highlighting key themes and sections and presented with musical illustrations, this will conclude with a full orchestral performance.
Tickets: €10 student. Accompanying teachers go free.
Presented by NCH
The Joy of Christmas
Wednesday 4 December 7.30pm Main Stage
Rachel Croash soprano
Jose de Eça tenor
The Christmas Festival Orchestra
The Carlow Choral Society
Paul McGrath conductor
Mozart Allelujah
Gruber Silent Night
McGrath Joy to the World
Handel Comfort Ye!
Adam O, Holy Night
Mendelssohn Hark! The Herald Angel Sing
Traditional arrangements of Good King Wenceslas, The Holly & The Ivy, Suantrái Ár Slánaitheora, Gesu Bambino plus many more carols and Christmas favourites.
A celebration of beautiful festive music both old and new in the company of the soloists Rachel Croash and José De Eça, the Christmas Festival Orchestra and the Carlow Choral Society.
Tickets €25, €36, €40, €44.50 Concessions Available
Presented by Lyric Opera Productions
Rachel Croash
Jessie Grimes
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Sunday Miscellany Celebrates Christmas with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Thursday 5 December 8pm Main Stage
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Stephen Bell conductor
One of the highlights of the seasonal RTÉ Radio1 calendar Sunday
Miscellany returns with new writing and accompanying music by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and special guests, with speakers including Paul Howard , Joseph O’Connor and Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe.
Tickets €15, €28.50, €42.50
Limited Concessions Available 10% Discount for groups of 10 or more
Presented by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
December Songs
Friday 6 December 1.05pm
John Field Room
Frank Beadle Brian Gilligan David Wray
Bringing you the magic of the holiday season to the National Concert Hall bringing you a mix of Christmas classics and beloved Broadway hits.
Tickets €22
Concessions Available Friends of NCH €18
Presented by Bobby Productions
Stefan Jackiw
NCH Season 2024/2025
NSO: Bruckner 200
Friday 6 December 7.30pm Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra Hans Graf conductor Stefan Jackiw violin
Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5, Turkish Bruckner Symphony No. 7
Two orchestral showpieces and the welcome returns of conductor Hans Graf and violinist Stefan Jaciw.
Mozart’s Fifth Violin Concerto is an invitation to fantasy, moving from virtuosity to tenderness to carefree abandonment, echoes of ‘Turkish’ military music adding a splash of exotic colouring.
Our Bruckner 200 commemorations continue with the most popular symphony in his lifetime and still today, the dark, dreamlike Seventh.
Tickets €15, €25, €29, €34.50, €39
Concessions Available
10% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
Family Concert: Christmas concert with the Echo Band
Saturday 7 December 11.30am/1pm
John Field Room
The Echo Band
Get ready to swing into the holiday spirit with The Echo Band’s festive and fun-filled Christmas concert, perfect for the whole family!
Tickets Adults €12, Child €10, Family €37 (4 tickets, max 2 adults) Under 3’s go free!
Presented by NCH
Chamber Music Series: Ficino Quartet
Sunday 8 December 3pm
Kevin Barry Recital Room
Ficino Quartet
Elaine Clark violin
Ioana Petcu-Colan violin
Nathan Sherman viola
Ailbhe McDonagh cello
Beethoven String Quartet in A minor Op.132
Amanda Feery From Ashes
Garrett Sholdice The Secret Cause
Cora Venus Lunny Theft
Benedict Schlepper-Connolly Foreign Hand
The Ficino Quartet presents a revival of its memorable contribution to the National String Quartet Foundation’s 2020 Beethoven Reflected project, marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. The Foundation commissioned Amanda Feery, Garrett Sholdice, Cora Venus Lunny and Benedict Schlepper-Connolly to write short works inspired by and reflecting Beethoven’s breathtaking masterpiece, his A minor quartet Op. 132. The four pieces are performed as introductions to each of the quartet’s movements, creating a seamless whole with a multiplicity of new resonances and connections.
Tickets €17.50 10% Discounts for Friends of NCH
Presented by the NCH in association with the National String Quartet Foundation.
A Christmas Celebration
Sunday 8 December 7pm
Main Stage
John Dexter conductor
Dublin County Choir
David Leigh organ
Royal Irish Academy of Music
Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Loreto Primary School Grange Rd. Choir
Niamh Murray soprano
Celine Kelly piano
Billie Barry Stage School
A selection of carols and choral, vocal and orchestral pieces including:
Wells Rejoice and be Merry
Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride
Finer/MacGowan Fairytale of New York
Tippett Steal Away
Rice/Lloyd-Webber Extract from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Dublin County Choir returns to NCH this Christmas with an expanded programme of music, song and dance, including some of the choir’s wider repertoire joined by established artists along with some of Ireland’s promising new singers, musicians and stage performers.
Tickets €25, €30
Presented by Dublin County Choir
Ficino Quartet
Niamh Murray
Handel’s Messiah
Monday 9 December 8pm
Tuesday 10 December 8pm
Wednesday 11 December 8pm
Main Stage
Our Lady’s Choral Society
Ailish Tynan soprano
Leanne Fitzgerald alto
Patrick Hyland tenor
Tómas Tómasson bass
RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by Proinnsías Ó Duinn
G.F. Handel Messiah
Our Lady’s Choral Society and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra with Proinnsías Ó Duinn and world class soloists present Handel’s Messiah at the NCH, heralding the introduction of Our Lady’s Choral Society choir’s 80th.anniversary (2025) Christmas starts here…to avoid disappointment early booking is advisable for these sell-out performances.
Tickets €25, €32, €37
Presented by Our Lady’s Choral Society
NSO Christmas Lunchtime
Tuesday 10 December 1.05pm Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Bell conductor
Jade Phoenix soprano
Leroy Anderson A Christmas Festival
Pierpont Jingle Bells (arr. David Willcocks)
Tchaikovsky Selections from The Nutcracker
Handel ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ from Samson
Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride
Traditional Christmas Carol Fantasy (arr. Paul Campbell)
Adam O Holy Night
Traditional The Twelve Days of Christmas (arr. Stephen Doughty)
Traditional Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (arr. David Willcocks)
Traditional Sneewalzer (arr. Goff Richards)
What better way to welcome in and celebrate the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ (as the song has it) than with a Christmas cracker of a concert bursting with favourite carols, festive delights and fun aplenty.
Tickets €20
10% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more.
Presented by NCH
Ailish Tynan
Jade Phoenix
Goethe Choir Christmas Concert
Thursday 12 December 8pm
Main Stage
Eilís Dexter alto
Martin Höhler tenor
Benjamin Russell bass
Goethe Ensemble
Goethe Choir
John Dexter conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach
Christmas Oratorio - Cantatas 1, 4 & 5
A selection of carols including:
Michael Praetorius Resonet in laudibus I wonder as I wander, American melody arranged by John Rutter
Benjamin Britten , Shepherd’s Carol Quittez Pasteurs , French traditional carol arranged by Kenneth Leighton
Franz Xaver Gruber / Joseph Mohr Silent night- Oíche chiúin - Stille Nacht
Mainly featuring the ever-popular
Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the Goethe Choir returns to the NCH again this Christmas. They are joined by outstanding vocal and instrumental soloists, including the young German rising star tenor Martin Höhler, presenting spectacular seasonal choral music that brings Christmas cheer and happiness.
Tickets €25
Students €15
10% Discount for Groups of 10 or more
Presented by Goethe Choir
Christmas with New Dublin Voices
Friday 13 December 11am/1pm
John Field Room
New Dublin Voices
Bernie Sherlock conductor
Internationally acclaimed and award-winning chamber choir New Dublin Voices and Bernie Sherlock return to the John Field Room with the perfect blend of Christmas music, old and new, for a concert brimming with the spirit of the season.
Tickets €25
Concessions Available
20% Discount for Friends of NCH
10% Discount for Groups of 10 or more
Presented by New Dublin Voices
New Dublin Voices
Goethe Choir
NCH Season 2024/2025
NSO: Dukas, Chopin, Tchaikovsky
Friday 13 December 7.30pm Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra
Jaime Martín conductor
Yeol Eum Son piano
Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2
Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Suite
The ‘extraordinary, immensely impressive’ (Get the Chance) Yeol Eum Son performs Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto, a work of galvanizing youthful passion, its memorable second movement ‘a kind of reverie in the moonlight on a beautiful spring evening’.
Expect musical fireworks in Dukas’ dazzling cartoonish portrait of a lazy pupil, unstoppable bassoon-voiced brooms, and an angry Wizard. Love triumphs over evil in Tchaikovsky’s enchanting Swan Lake.
Tickets €15, €26.50, €33, €39, €45
Concessions Available
10% Discounts for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
The Glory of Christmas with the Palestrina Choir
Saturday 14 December 3pm/7pm Main Stage
The Palestrina Choir
with special guests
St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls Choir (2pm performance)
Continuum Youth Choir (7pm performance)
Ava Dodd soprano
Aleksandr Nisse organ
Niall Kinsella piano
Dublin Brass
Mary Kennedy compère
Blánaid Murphy conductor
Celebrate Christmas in spectacular style with The Palestrina Choir and very special guests, St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls Choir, Continuum Youth Choir, and soprano Ava Dodd, as they return to the NCH for their annual sell-out Christmas concerts.
Tickets €25, €30, €35
Concessions Available
10% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by The Palestrina Choir
Yeol Eum Son
The Palestrina Choir
Christmas at the Movies
Christmas at the Movies
Sunday 15 December 3pm/8pm Main Stage
Toby Purser conductor
Dublin Chamber Choir
Dublin Concert Orchestra
Don’t stay Home Alone this Christmas. Join the Dublin Concert Orchestra for a magical evening of Christmas treats at this concert of timeless classics stuffed full of great music from your favourite festive films.
Tickets €30, €40, €47, €50, 20% discount on groups of 10 or more
Presented by Raymond Gubbay Live
Carols
Candlelit Carols
Monday 16 December 3pm/8pm Main Stage
Michael Bawtree conductor
Harriet Burns soprano
New Dublin Voices
Following two sold out performances in 2023, join us for this sublime concert of carols and seasonal classics, staged in an evocative candle-lit style setting.
Tickets €30, €40, €48, €50, 20% discount on groups of 10 or more
Presented by Raymond Gubbay Live
Candlelit
The Great Christmas Concert 2024
Tuesday 17 December 8pm
Main Stage
The Lassus Scholars , Piccolo Lasso, The Orlando Chamber Orchestra
(Leader: Gillian Williams), Ite O’Donovan conductor
Guest Soloist: Orla Boylan soprano Feis Ceoil Prizewinners 2024
Adam Buttimer tuba
Sarah Brazil violin Yasmin O’Reilly mezzo-soprano
Alfredo Catalani Ebben? Ne andrò lontana from Wally Giacomo Puccini Un bel di from
Madame Butterfly
Giacomo Puccini Gloria from Messe di Gloria (abridged version)
C. P. E. Bach Magnificat (1st movement)
Handel Hallelujah Chorus
Vincenzo Bellini Se Romeo t’uccisi un figlio from I Capuleti e I Montecchi
Ralph Vaughan Williams Romanza (2nd movement from Tuba Concerto)
Jules Massenet Méditation from Thaïs
Audience Carols
The Lassus Scholars & Piccolo Lasso, with the Orlando Chamber Orchestra and conductor Ite O’Donovan, present a festive Christmas evening with rousing choruses, instrumental solos and audience carols! Special guests: Orla Boylan, soprano and Feis Ceoil Prize-winners 2024.
Tickets €20 , €25, €30, €35, €40
Concessions Available 15% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Presented by Dublin Choral Foundation
Claudia Boyle
NCH Season 2024/2025
Christmas with the NSO & Cór Linn, Claudia Boyle & David Brophy
Wednesday 18 December 7.30pm
Thursday 19 December 7.30pm
Main Stage
National Symphony Orchestra
David Brophy conductor
Claudia Boyle soprano
Cór Linn
Ciaran Kelly choral director
Star soprano Claudia Boyle returns for a Christmas cracker of a concert bursting with festive favourites.
Seasonal classics include Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival , ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, the gorgeous O Holy Night, and sing-along carols.
[Fri 20 December 7.30pm National Opera House, Wexford in association with the National Opera House]
Tickets €15, €27.50, €35, €42.50, €49
Concessions Available 10% Discounts for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
Limited €10 Student Tickets Available
Presented by NCH
The Lassus Scholars
National Concert Hall presents
THIS WAY TO CHRISTMAS!
Featuring THE SNOWMAN
Fri. 20 December 3.30pm/6pm Sat. 21 December 10.30am*/1pm/3.30pm/6pm Sun. 22 December 10.30am/1pm/3.30pm/6pm
*Please note 10.30am on Saturday is a relaxed performance
Tickets: Child €23, Adult €30, Family Ticket €95 (4 tickets, maximum 2 adults). 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and Groups of 10 or more
nch.ie
NCH
Family Christmas Concert
This Way to Christmas! featuring The Snowman
Friday 20 December 3.30pm/6pm
Saturday 21 December
10.30am/1pm/3.30pm/6pm
Sunday 22 December
10.30am/1pm/3.30pm/6pm Main Stage
Theatre Lovett
Fergus Sheil conductor
NCH Christmas Orchestra
Host Louis Lovett oversees this ever-popular seasonal show with its parading nutcrackers, classic Christmas songs and festive dance. As always, the heart-warming spectacle is followed by a screening of timeless family classic The Snowman with Howard Blake’s score performed live by our Christmas Orchestra.
Plus… ho ho ho…. special guests and lots of festive giggles for all the family.
Please note 10.30am on Saturday 21 December is a relaxed performance.
Tickets: Adult €30, Child: €23, Family Ticket: €95 (4 tickets, max 2 adults) 10% Discount for Friends of NCH and groups of 10 or more
Presented by NCH in association with Theatre Lovett
This Way To Christmas
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Swing into ‘25 with the Jive
Friday 27 December 6pm
Saturday 28 December 2pm/6pm
Sunday 29 December 2pm/6pm
Monday 30 December 2pm/6pm
Thursday 2 January 2pm/ 6pm
Friday 3 January 2pm/6pm
Main Stage
Rebecca Storm Miss Hannigan
Tony Finnegan Daddy Warbucks
Roisin Sullivan Grace Farrell Annie (to be announced).
Vivian Coates & Tony Finnegan directors
The Festival Orchestra, chorus, and dancers
Dermot O’Callaghan music director
Daniel Maguire choreographer
After a sensational sell-out run last Christmas, Festival Productions brings its much-celebrated production of Annie back to the NCH this year. This spectacular, fully staged and costumed production stars an incredible cast of Irish musical theatre talent, alongside the Festival Orchestra, Chorus and Dancers.
Tickets: €29, €35, €39
Child (12 Years & Under) MATINÉES ONLY €29 (all seats)
Limited Family Tickets Available
Presented by Festival Productions
Tuesday 31 December 10pm
Main Stage
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Guy Barker conductor
Giacomo Smith clarinet/saxophone
Vanessa Haynes , Joe Stilgoe, Tommy Blaize vocalists
Following on from last year’s successful dive into the ‘20s with “Gatsby and Beyond”, this New Year’s Eve celebration with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Guy Barker’s Big Band will move into the ‘30s and ‘40s – the swing era.
Swing, Swing, Swing in the new year with the music of the King of Swing
Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, Tommy Dorsey and more! With a nod to the musical explosion that happened in the mid ‘40s – bebop –we’ll celebrate the music of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk, plus new arrangements by jazz genius Guy Barker, Associate Artist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
Tickets €34.50, €40, €50, €60, €69.50
Limited Concessions Available 10% For Groups of 10 or more
Annie Guy Barker
TÁ SÉ DE CHUMHACHT AG EALAÍONTÓIRÍ AN SAOL A ATHRÚ CHUN FEABHAIS
Tá ESB ag tacú leis na healaíona le fada agus creidimid go bhfuil tábhacht nach beag ag baint leo maidir le ciall a bhaint as athrú an tsaoil agus an t-athrú sin a chur chun tairbhe do chách.
Téigh chuig esb.ie/arts le tuilleadh eolais a fháil.
THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS
We would like to acknowledge with appreciation and gratitude the generous support of our Corporate Partners, Corporate Members, Patrons, John Field Society Members and Friends.
PROGRAMME PARTNERS
TRUST & FOUNDATION PARTNERS
CORPORATE MEMBERS
OVATION
ENCORE
APPLAUSE
PATRONS & JOHN FIELD SOCIETY MEMBERS
Frank & Ivy Bannister • William Barton • James Billet • Michael Bourke • Sharon Burke
Brid Cannon & Juan Pablo Cortes Ocampo • Dr Tom Carey • Dorothy Clements • Bernadette Coggins Louis & Mary Fitzgerald • Dr Crona Gallagher & Jim Clery • Brian Kingham • Mary Mac Aodha • Brian Mc Elroy Sinead Nic Oireachtaigh • Prof Deirdre O Grady • Tiernan O hAlmhain • Dr Rachel Patton John Pollard Foundation • Beverly Sperry • Kieran Tobin • Dr Peter & Elva Wyatt
FRIENDS, SEASON FRIENDS AND SUPPORTING FRIENDS
Aisling Kennedy Corporate Development Executive aisling.kennedy@nch.ie
Please get in touch with a member of the Partnerships & Philanthropy Team to learn more and find out how you can support your National Concert Hall today: #SupportYourNCH RCN.
Emmet McSwiney Individual Giving Executive emmet.mcswiney@nch.ie
NCH SEATING PLAN
GIFT CARDS
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