Killaloe set for the beautiful live experience

KATHERINE Hunka can’t wait to play music in front of a live audience again during the eagerly-awaited SCS Killaloe Music Festival.

Last year, the artistic director found it very difficult playing in front of an empty Killaloe Cathedral when the festival had to be live-streamed during to Covid-19 restrictions.

However, the tenth annual festival will be able to showcase the best of musical talent from Ireland and abroad in front of an audience again from June 3 to 5, much to Katherine’s delight.

Keenly anticipating playing in front of people for the first time in two years, Katherine said, “The impact of Covid-19 was terrible for musicians. I know we had to focus on tackling this serious illness but our livelihood’s stopped completely. Concerts were one of the first events to be cancelled and one of the last to return.

“This means there is a heady excitement for musicians who are meeting each other again. It is great for musicians who will all be milling around the twin villages with the audience, which is what this festival is about.

“This festival invites all these fabulous musicians to share music with the locals.”

She recalled music lovers from across the globe tuned in to their live-streamed concerts last year, some of whom are coming this year to see live performances.

“We have grown our audience through live streaming. I hadn’t predicted that. I was a bit of a sceptic about live streaming. Playing in front of an empty church was a very strange experience without any applause or smiling faces.

“A live audience are as much a part of a concert as the musicians. It is a whole collective experience, which makes it amazing. I played a lot of music on my own during lockdown, but it is not the same thing. It is not about showing off, it is about sharing.”

“When music is going really well, there is something that happens in a room with a live audience that you can’t explain. It is a feeling that we are all experiencing something together that we can’t put into words.”

During lockdown, Katherine discovered why she plays music and how much it feeds people’s souls, which she believes is very important.

“The festival programme is not stuffy and the musicians are not stuffy. There is no need for anyone to feel they will have to know anything about classical music to enjoy this festival.

“We will not be playing music is a stuffy way. Some people think they have to behave in a certain way when they go to a concert, they don’t, they can clap when they want.

“Kathleen Turner is a folk singer who is adored by people living in the village,” she notes.

Hailing from London, Katherine was born with music in her bones. After her studies in the Royal Academy of Music and Indiana University, she found her love for academia and has since been both a guest and resident professor in many prestigious colleges around the world.

Since 2002, she has been the leader of the Irish Chamber Orchestra and has had many renowned international tours from West Cork to Singapore and everywhere in between.

As well as her hugely successful solo career, she is also a member of the fun “Far Flung Trio”.

After two unconventional years, the festival committee are delighted to return to in-person live performances.

In the words of the committee, Katherine has put together an “incredible” festival programme, inviting artists from across Ireland and the world to the cathedral town to celebrate music and the arts.

In 2020, the music festival had to be cancelled, albeit there were some virtual performances due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Musicians broadcast from various different locations and sent in recordings of their performances.

A year later, the festival was live-streamed from St Flannan’s Cathedral without an audience in line with Covid-19 restrictions.

This year, Katherine is celebrating the viola, usually the middle less-hear voice in a group, and she is excited that the extraordinary violist Yuval Gotlibovich will join the festival for performances on his music as well as collaborating with others.

Talented violist Kevin O’Loughlin will be the featured young artist who will be joined by Vuval and other viola colleagues Joachim Rower and Cian O’Duill for a viola extravaganza.

She has also decided to celebrate female composers such as Clara Schumann and Rebecca Clarke who were not properly acknowledged in their own lifetime.

Dianne Daly will perform contemporary composer Lynda Buckley’s “exploding stars” in the presence of the composer, while the festival will have a premiere by young Kerry composer, Murrough Connolly.

Running through the festival will be the lyrical music of Schubert, and Katherine has included sublime pieces by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Fanure and Ravel.

Mezzo- soprano, Sharon Carty will open the festival with her rich caramel voice and the music of Bach.

For Kathleen Turner fans, she will be appearing in a late night concert, guaranteed to be a night full of heart, and on Sunday afternoon the next generation of musicians will take to the stage for the annual children’s concert, which is always a treat.

It is expected that in the region of 18 musicians in total will be showcasing their wide repertoire of talents.

Katherine described Killaloe Cathedral as “insanely beautiful”.

“Musicians who come to play in the festival love the cathedral. The acoustics are great in the front part of the cathedral, which is a stunning venue.

“The festival started because they are fantastic musicians living here. They include Diane Daly and Joachim Roewer, who was the artistic director for eight years, and myself who are all playing in the Irish Chamber Orchestra. I invite other musicians who can play with us. We enjoy meeting the audience after the concert.”

Every piece of music that is played is rehearsed for four or five hours in the lead up to the concerts.

The London native has lived in Ballina since 2002 and now considers the village as her home.

The Irish Chamber Orchestra was looking for a lead violinist, who sits in the front of the orchestra, and is artistically responsible for what happens within the group.

In addition to liaising with the conductor, she also plays solo when required as the artistic lead.

The 49 year-old mother-of-two has been playing the violin since she was four.

“I can’t remember not playing the violin. My mother played the violin and I thought this is what you do. I always found it an incredible way of communicating. I was taught to read music, but I had a teacher from a very young age who believed in playing by ear a lot.

“I always play by ear and I play a lot of different styles. I think it is wonderful to be able to do both. I love playing jazz and folk music and play all types of music with the Far Flung Trio.”

Blessed with a heady cocktail of fun, energy and music, the trio, which includes Katherine on violin, Dermot Dunne on accordion and Malachi Robinson on double-bass, bring an element of joy and playfulness to every performance. They will be playing different kinds of music including soul and gypsy.

The trio brought out a new CD before the start of the pandemic.

The festival is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and festival sponsor Shannon Coiled Springs

She stressed the festival would not be possible only for the hard work of a voluntary committee, chaired by Trish Taylor-Thompson, who organise all the funding and the logistics such as booking flights and accommodation for musicians for about eight months.

The festival kicks off on Friday, June 3 with an evening concert in St Flannan’s Cathedral at 8pm celebrating the work of Johann Sebastian Bach.

On Saturday, June 4, Michael Murphy will give an illustrated talk exploring the unique sound qualities and diverse repertoire of the viola, which features prominently in the festival in St Flannan’s Cathedral at 10.30am.

The Rising Star Concert at 11am featuring violist Kevin O’Loughlin with Ciara Moroney on piano is expected to generate a lot of interest.

The Far Flung Trio – Katherine Hunka, violin, Dermot Dunne, accordion, Malachi Robinson, double bass – will provide a free informal family concert for all ages in Killaloe Catholic Church at 3pm.

Joyce’s Ulysses was published a century ago. To mark this occasion, Michael Murphy will present an illustrated lecture on Joyce’s abundant use of sound and music in his literary masterpieces in St Flannan’s Cathedral at 7.30pm.

This precedes the evening concert celebrating Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Flute Quartet in D K 285 about 30 minutes later.

Kathleen Turner with Sean Óg on guitar will hit the high notes for the late night concert at 10pm.

Musicians of the future will showcase their wide repertoire of talents during the afternoon concert in St Flannan’s Cathedral on Sunday at 3pm. This is fun, free event for all ages.

The festival finale takes place in St Flannan’s Cathedral with an evening concert at 8pm celebrating the work of Rebecca Clarke (1886 – 1979): Midsummer Moon.