Resurgam
Resurgam was founded in 2003 by Mark Duley, and is one of Ireland’s most acclaimed vocal ensembles, specialising in music of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Resurgam is committed to bringing a collaborative approach to its music-making in every corner of the country, and the western seaboard in particular. The ensemble values its relationships with local choirs in these communities and enjoys bringing the expertise of its singers and players alongside them with regular workshops and performance collaborations. Resurgam has worked with an international array of conductors including Monica Huggett, Christophe Rousset, Erin Headley, John Butt and Christian Curnyn, and has performed in the UK and continental Europe, including acclaimed appearances at the Bach Festival of Lausanne and Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg. Within Ireland, Resurgam has appeared at most of the major international festivals, including Galway International Arts Festival, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ardee Baroque Festival, Cork International Choral Festival. Resurgam has given many groundbreaking performances of music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, including the first Irish period-instrument performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. In addition to its work in the field of historically informed performance of Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, Resurgam has also brought to Irish audiences the great choral works of the Russian Orthodox tradition, touring the country with Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil and Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, and giving the first complete Irish performance of Schnittke’s monumental Concerto for Choir. Resurgam has collaborated with flagship Irish instrumental ensembles, and works regularly with the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, with whom it has undertaken tours of the west coast of Ireland performing music by Schütz, Praetorius, Lassus and Monteverdi. Recent highlights for Resurgam have included the release in 2023 of its first recording, ‘Thomas Weelkes: Gentleman Extraordinary’, with the disc garnering an array of laudatory reviews, including selection as Editor’s Choice for Gramophone Magazine. 2023 also featured the ensemble’s lauded sell-out performance of Claudio Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers as part of the Galway International Arts Festival. In 2024, Resurgam partnered with Opera Collective Ireland under the direction of Christian Curnyn, in presenting double-bill performances of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and John Blow’s Venus and Adonis. These performances were part of Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg, and were met with international critical acclaim.
Aisling Kenny
Soprano
Irish soprano Aisling Kenny is a soloist, recitalist and ensemble singer and in recent years has established herself as a specialist in early music. She frequently performs sacred and chamber works of the baroque and classical eras, in particular the music of J.S. Bach. She has sung as a soloist with leading Irish and European ensembles including Collegium Vocale Gent, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Balthasar Neumann Chor, Sestina, Resurgam, Camerata Kilkenny, Chamber Choir Ireland, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Ricercar Consort, Staatskapelle Halle and Pulcinella. An experienced ensemble singer, she has sung with Vox Luminis, Gabrieli Consort, Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, RIAS Kammerchor, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, Ensemble Marsyas and Atalante. Recent performances as a soloist include Johannespassion in Eisenach, the town of Bach’s birthplace and BWV 73 at Bachfest in the Thomaskirche, Leipzig, with Collegium Vocale Gent, directed by Philippe Herreweghe, Spirit and Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas with Collegium Vocal Gent and Ricercar directed by Philippe Pierlot at Le Rivage des Voix festival and several projects with Irish Baroque Orchestra directed by Peter Whelan. A dedicated recitalist, highlights include Dowland’s lute songs with Thomas Dunford in Paris and Kilkenny and concerts with historical harpist, Siobhán Armstrong at Galway Early Music Festival and East Cork Early Music Festival.
Kate Macoboy
Soprano
Australian soprano Kate Macoboy is a versatile and accomplished performer, known for her specialisation in Baroque and Renaissance music. She holds an Honours degree in Music from the University of Western Australia and relocated to London in 2007 to pursue a career in early music. As a freelance artist, Kate has performed across the UK and Europe, both as a soloist and ensemble singer. She has worked extensively with leading vocal groups including Ars Nova Copenhagen and Chamber Choir Ireland under the direction of Paul Hillier.
In 2010, she was awarded a scholarship to complete a Master in Advanced Vocal Ensemble Studies (MAS) at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland, where she studied under esteemed early music specialists Anthony Rooley and Evelyn Tubb. Kate is a regular member of the Grammy Award-winning Theatre of Voices and also sings with the Danish Radio Vokalensemblet as a deputy, in addition to working with several professional church choirs in London. Her performances are marked by clarity, sensitivity, and a deep connection to historical repertoire.
Laura Lamph
Mezzo-Soprano
Laura began her singing career in the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. After a year living on a volcano in Sicily, she moved to London, where she performed with leading UK and Irish ensembles including Arcangelo, The Dunedin Consort, Polyphony, The Gabrieli Consort and Chamber Choir Ireland.
Laura now lives in Copenhagen with her husband, pianist Miles Lallemant, and their sons, Lysander and Orlando. She is a member of Ars Nova Copenhagen and Theatre of Voices.
A versatile soloist, Laura performs repertoire ranging from baroque and contemporary music to folk song. Recent solo appearances include Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Easter Oratorio and St Matthew Passion, Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater, Arvo Pärt’s Passio, and Britten’s Phaedra. Highlights of 2025–26 include her debut at Carnegie Hall with Theatre of Voices, performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and collaborations with Irish Baroque Orchestra, Ulster Consort and Sestina.
Francesco Giusti
Countertenor
Born in Bologna, Italy, after studies of pianoforte, organ, composition and musicology, Francesco Giusti began singing as a countertenor and has performed in many concerts in Europe, Japan and the USA. After a BMus in singing at London Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he studied at HMT Leipzig and Amsterdam Conservatorium, where he obtained an MMus.
Francesco moved to Ireland in 2017 where he collaborates regularly with Irish ensembles such as Resurgam, Sestina and the Goethe Choir. He was a member of Northern Ireland Opera studio in Belfast for the 2018/19 season and of the Irish National Opera ABL Studio for the 2021/22 season, during which he covered Tamerlano’s role in Vivaldi’s Bajazet. Francesco’s performance with the Irish Baroque Orchestra conducted by Peter Whelan saw his Royal Opera House London debut.
Francesco’s oratorio repertoire includes Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio, B minor Mass and Magnificat, and Handel’s Messiah. His opera roles include Ottone in Handel’s Agrippina and The Cheshire Cat in Will Todd’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as well as title roles in Scarlatti/Martini’s La Dirindina, Greg Caffrey’s Pamplemousse and Handel’s Fernando, Re di Castiglia.
Christopher Bowen
Tenor
Christopher Bowen studied singing alongside medicine in New Zealand. While in London he was a member of the BBC Singers and after moving to Dublin in 2020 was soon immersed in the Irish classical music scene. He was tenor evangelist in Bach’s Johannespassion and Weihnachtsoratorium with the Academy of Ancient Music, sang Handel’s Solomon at the Dublin Handel Festival and was evangelist for A Patchwork Passion at the BBC Proms.
On the opera stage he created the role of James Joyce in Old Ghosts for Irish National Opera. He played Bill in Dove's Flight and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland for Opera Collective Ireland. He was First Jew in Salome, Fr. Brendan in The Ballybruff Trilogy and Samuel Beckett in Blue Electric. His diverse concert appearances include Britten’s Serenade with the Hibernian Orchestra, a world premiere of Ina Boyle’s Lament for Bion with ConTempo Quartet, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius and Britten’s War Requiem.
Christopher’s recordings include Lyell Cresswell songcycles, Purcell duets for The Hibernian Muse, Vaughan Williams’ A Cambridge Mass, Delius’ Song of the High Hills and Janácek’s Excursions of Mr Broucek as well as recordings with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, Monteverdi Choir, BBC Singers and I Fagiolini.
Edward Woodhouse
Tenor
Edward Woodhouse is a tenor based in London. He is in regular demand as a soloist, and has appeared with the Dunedin Consort, Irish Baroque Orchestra, the Baroquestock Festival, Sestina Music and numerous cathedral choirs and choral societies.
Recent solo performances include: the world premiere of Tansy Davies’ Passion of Mary Magdalen with Dunedin Consort at the Barbican, J.S. Bach’s B-Minor Mass with Sheffield Bach Society and Evangelist in J.S. Bach’s St John Passion with Hampstead Chorus and later Tremeirchion Bach Choir. Future solo engagements include: performances of Handel’s Messiah across Norway with Det Norske Blåseensemble (directed by Peter Whelan) and the second performance of Tansy Davies’ Passion of Mary Magdalen at the Edinburgh International Festival, directed by John Butt.
As a consort singer, Edward has worked with some of the foremost ensembles in the UK, including The Tallis Scholars, Alamire, I Fagiolini and Tenebrae. Edward has also performed extensively on the continent with groups such as Edvard Grieg Vokalensemble, DR VokalEnsemblet and Theatre of Voices. Edward is a regular member of The Marian Consort and recently departed his position as a member of Chamber Choir Ireland. In his upcoming ensemble work, Edward is venturing as far afield as Orkney, Utrecht, Tbilisi, Taipei, Seoul and Shanghai.
William Gaunt
Bass
William Gaunt, a native of Yorkshire, received his early musical education as a chorister at Ripon Cathedral. He was a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and spent 17 years as a member of Westminster Cathedral Choir. As a soloist, William performs a broad variety of genres and styles. Performances have included Carissimi Historia di Abraham et Isaac and Jephte; Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610; Bach Johannes-Passion, Matthäus-Passion, Mass in B Minor, Magnificat, and numerous cantatas; Handel Messiah, Acis and Galatea, Brockes-Passion and Samson; Haydn Creation; Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater; Mendelssohn St Paul; Fauré Requiem; Stravinsky Les Noces; Pärt Passio; Turnage The Silver Tassie; Beamish The Judas Passion. He has appeared with the Gabrieli Consort/McCreesh; Choir of King’s College, Cambridge/Cleobury; Choir of Christ Church, Oxford/Darlington; Dunedin Consort/Butt; Arcangelo/Cohen; Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht/Leertouwer; Portland Baroque Orchestra/Earley; Chamber Choir Ireland, Ars Nova Copenhagen, Theatre of Voices and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir/Hillier; Orchester Wiener Akademie/Haselböck; Freiburger Barockorchester/Bezuidenhout.
William’s solo recordings include Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610 with both the OAE/Howarth and the Dunedin Consort/Butt; Fauré Requiem with the LSO Chamber Ensemble/Short; Handel Messiah with Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht/Leertouwer; Bach Matthäus-Passion with the Academy of Ancient Music/Cleobury.
Eoghan Desmond
Bass
Eoghan Desmond is a bass-baritone from Cork, resident in London. His oratorio repertoire includes Mendelssohn's Elijah, Die Erste Walpurgisnacht Handel's Messiah, Alexander’s Feast, J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, B-Minor Mass, Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio , Graun's Der Tod Jesu, Vaughan Williams' Hodie, Willow-Wood, 5 Mystical Songs, Fantasia on Christmas Carols and the Requiems of Brahms, Duruflé, Fauré, Howells, Mozart and Verdi. His art song repertoire ranges from early music to music composed specifically for him.
An accomplished choral singer, Eoghan is a member of Chamber Choir Ireland. He is also a regular guest with choirs such as Resurgam, Polyphony, EXAUDI, The BBC Singers, The Gabrieli Consort and The ORA Singers. Outside of his singing work, Eoghan is a sought-after choral composer. Recent commissions include a major work in the Irish language, entitled Guthanna ar an gCnoc, which received its premiere in February 2025. His music has been recorded by The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, New Dublin Voices and The Sixteen, and is regularly performed across Europe, the UK and the USA.
Mark Duley
Artistic Director of Resurgam and Galway Early Music Festival
Mark was born in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, and studied at Auckland University, the North German Organ Academy and Amsterdam’s Sweelinck
Conservatorium, where he was an organ pupil of Jacques van Oortmerssen. Mark came to Ireland in 1992 and has held several major posts in the country, including organist and director of music
at Christ Church Cathedral Dublin, chorus master to the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir, artistic director of the Irish Baroque Orchestra, and artistic director of Pipeworks.
As conductor and organist he has appeared with most of the major Irish ensembles, including RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Chamber Choir Ireland,
Irish Baroque Orchestra, and his own chamber choir Resurgam. He has given organ recitals in all the major Irish venues as well as in the UK and his native New Zealand. Mark is one of Ireland’s
most well-known choral specialists, and has led workshops and masterclasses for choirs and conductors in Ireland, the UK, and continental Europe. Aside from a busy freelance career, Mark holds the posts of organist at the Collegiate Church of St Nicholas, Galway, founder-director
of St Nicholas Schola Cantorum, and artistic director of Resurgam.
Linda O'Shea Farren
CEO of Resurgam and
Galway Early Music Festival
A solicitor, attorney-at-law (NY) and CEDR-accredited mediator by profession, Linda practised as a corporate lawyer in New York and London with Debevoise & Plimpton. Since returning to Ireland, she has worked in the public, private and voluntary sectors across a broad spectrum of law, banking, government, education, health, disability and the arts. Linda founded Music Education Action Group to promote peripatetic instrumental music education in primary schools (which ultimately led to Music Generation), and she was an early instigator of the BA in Composition degree at RIAM. She also holds an MEconSc in Public Policy, the thesis for which examined the living and working conditions of composers in Ireland.
While working at the Contemporary Music Centre, Linda developed an increased profile at home and abroad for the work of composers and performers of contemporary music from Ireland through development of new collaboration and promotion partnerships, international showcases and creative projects. She also supported composers and performers through a range of collaboration programmes such as CMC Colleagues, NMDX and Coffee Catch Ups. Linda has extensive board and corporate governance experience, including Chairperson of the Dublin International Chamber Music Festival. In addition to serving as General Manager of Resurgam, Linda is a freelance music promoter.
The English Sackbut and Cornett Ensemble
The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble is a virtuoso period instrument group with a host of distinguished recordings to its name. In addition to its recital work, the ensemble collaborates with leading vocal ensembles such as I Fagiolini, The Tallis Scholars, Alamire, Resurgam, The BBC Singers, The Marian Consort, Westminster Cathedral Choir, and is a regular at major festivals. ECSE is in demand as a recording ensemble, contributing to Gramophone Award-winning discs such as The Spy’s Choirbook (Obsidian) in 2015, and the monumental Striggio mass in 40 parts Missa ecco si beato giorno with I Fagiolini (which scooped the Gramophone Award for Early Music 2011 and also the Diapason d’Or). ECSE celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018 with a solo CD on the Resonus label entitled Music for Windy Instruments: sounds from the Court of James I. Our latest disc being a collaborative CD with the Irish vocal ensemble Resurgam of music by Thomas Weelkes ‘Gentleman Extraordinary’ released on the Resonus label with Gramophone Magazine awarding it Editor’s Choice for January 2024. Now in its 32nd year, ECSE has another busy year of engagements ahead. Highlights include our debut performance at HM Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace and several UK performances of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers with the multi award-winning I Fagiolini. Internationally - this month includes a trip to Galway with the Irish vocal ensemble Resurgam. June sees ECSE’s first visit to the USA in collaboration with the Tallis Scholars for the opening of the Boston Early Music Festival as well as our own recital. This is followed by performances in Florence & Rome with Vox Medicea celebrating the Papal Jubilee 2025, including participating in the opening concert of the 2025 Rome Chamber Music Festival. July 2025 sees ECSE join forces again with HM Chapel Royal Choir for a recording at Hampton Court Palace - swiftly followed by their inaugural collaboration with Opera Mascarade for the Florence Choral Course. ECSE again returns to Florence in November for another collaboration with Vox Medicea as part of Opera Mascarade’s Sacred Music Programme.
This week, we are delighted to be collaborating again with our friends at Resurgam - under the expert direction of Mark Duley for GEMF 2026 and we greatly look forward to rekindling our ongoing relationship with them in what promises to be a most glorious festival.
Conor Hastings
Cornett
A native of Dublin, Conor Hastings was born into an extensive musical family, and was exposed to a wide variety of music from an early age. He began to learn the Recorder at age five, and the Trumpet at age twelve, at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
He went on to study Orchestral Trumpet at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. During the course of his studies he stumbled upon the Renaissance Cornetto, and very swiftly took to Historical Performance on original instruments. Whilst at the Royal Welsh he studied Cornetto part time with Jeremy West (His Majesty’s Sackbutts and Cornetts) and Gawain Glenton (The English Cornett and Sagbutt Ensemble), and has since been an active Performer in the UK. In 2014 he began his current studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, under the tutelage of the legendry Bruce Dickey.
During his time in Basel, Conor has performed profes-sionally all over Europe, including more Monteverdi Vespers than he can count, and taken part in projects through the Schola Cantorum including a tour of Historical Organs and churches in northern Italy, most notably San Marco in Venice, San Petronio in Bologna and Santa Barbara in Mantua.
In addition to his studies and performing schedule, Conor is a busy teacher of the Cornetto, and recently began to tutor students in his old college in Cardiff, hoping to expose as many people as possible to the world of early music.
Conor has also kept up his trumpet playing, and remains a busy performer in Ireland and UK, including regular performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, mainly buying coffee for the trumpet section and very occasionally some trumpet playing!
Emily White
Alto and tenor sackbut
Emily White is a freelance musician specialising in historical performance. She brought out her first solo disc A Cry Was Heard with Deux-Elles record label in 2022, and her second: Made Human is released July 26th 2024. She launched her YouTube Channel in 2020,and in 2024 was invited to present an episode of Inside Music on BBC Radio 3, sharing her insights into music she loves with listeners.
She is an artist at The Slide Factory, Rotterdam 2024 giving a solo recital D'or Galon. She is a member of The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble who’s 16 discs include Classic FM disc of the month, BBC Choice, several Gramophone Awards and Diapason d’Or winners. She also plays principal regularly for Il Giardino Armonico in Italy, playing on the Diapason D'or Disc of the Year La Morte della Ragione. She works with Les Talens Lyriques in France, B’Rock in Belgium and the 'crack British ensemble’ (The Observer) In Echo. She loves the freedom that can be found in early music performance and contemporary music. Her trio Pandora's Box with John Kenny and Miguel Sevilliano Tantos has toured their improvisatory take on contemporary and early music to Portugal, Spain, Ireland, UK and USA.
Emily formed Sackbut Frenzy in 2011 to share her love of early music with her local
community in Gloucestershire, and now London as well. The ensemble continues to
comprise her current and former students, friends, and was awarded an Continuo
Foundation Support for performances including premieres of commissions for new music for sackbut.
Tom Lees
Tenor sackbut
Tom studied the trombone at the Royal Northern College of Music, before becoming the first full-time student of the sackbut at the Royal College of Music, winning a Countess of Munster musical scholarship to continue his early music studies there. Since then, Tom has regularly performed and recorded with many of the specialist period instrument ensembles at home and abroad and is a full time member of the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble and the City Musick.
Performing on ‘historical’ trombones, Tom has recorded music for a number of tv and film sessions, including Wolf Hall, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Shrek the Third and Pride and Prejudice, in which he also appears in the film playing an early 18th century trombone.
Adrian France
Bass sackbut
In a career spanning over 32 years, Adrian enjoys a broad spectrum of bass trombone playing from all aspects of historical performance practice from the baroque, classical and romantic periods through to chamber music (incl. solo performing) to the modern orchestral bass trombone.
He tours extensively with many of the World’s finest period instrument ensembles - The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (incl. Glyndebourne) The Hanover Band, The Gabrieli Consort, The King’s Consort, The English Concert (incl. Garsington Opera) Academy of Ancient Music, English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra, Collegium Vocale Gent, Concerto Palatino, L’Orfeo Baroque Orchester (Linz), Ensemble La Fenice, Musica Antiqua Salzburg and Cappella Mediterranea. 2019 saw his debut with renowned Budapest Festival Orchestra (dir.Ivan Fischer) in a production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo.
He also continues to play the modern bass trombone and has worked with the likes of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia (CLS & Opera Holland Park), The Ulster Orchestra, Orquesta Filhamónic de Gran Canaria, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, (Abbado/Harding).
As a teacher – Adrian is Professor of bass sackbut at The Guildhall School of Music & Drama and guest Professor of sackbut at the Academy of Music, Ljubljana. He’s adjudicated for The Royal College of Music, The BBC Young Musician of the Year and The International Brass & Woodwind Competition, Varaždin, Croatia (2019) and the bi-annual British Trombone Societies Sackbut Competition (in conjunction with ECSE & Egger sackbuts). Adrian also previously held the positions of Head of Brass & trombone tutor, Newcastle University (2011-2021) where he remains a visiting specialist.
Festival Artists
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Claire Duff
Violin
Claire Duff is an internationally acclaimed violinist, in demand as a soloist, chamber musician, leader and director. She has worked as Director of the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the Irish National Opera, while also nurturing emerging talent as the Artistic Director of the award-winning Irish Youth Baroque Orchestra. Claire is Associate Leader of the Irish Baroque Orchestra, with whom she has performed and recorded as soloist to critical acclaim for over twenty years. Claire has worked as leader of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, under the batons of Sinkovsky, Hill and Davies. Her leadership extends across prestigious baroque ensembles such as Florilegium, I Fagiolini, and The King's Consort and she has co-led the Academy of Ancient Music and The English Concert. She has toured extensively across Europe, Asia, and America with these distinguished period instrument ensembles.
In 2024, Claire qualified as a Body Mapping Educator for musicians. She was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in London in 2016 and received the Arts Council of Ireland Bursary Award in 2021. In 2022, Camerata Kilkenny earned the prestigious Jurica Murai prize at the Varazdin Baroque Festival in Croatia and received the following review from the jury:
"The concertmaster of the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the first violin of the Camerata Kilkenny, virtuoso violinist Claire Duff has a particularly high level of artistic preparation. Her way of playing music, technical bravura and way of conducting each of the interpretations are truly exemplary."
Claire has had many solo works composed for her, including pieces by Karen Power, Eoghan Desmond, Sean Doherty, Jane O'Leary (performed with harpsichordist Benjamin Alard) and Sam Perkins (The Copy and the Original performed with Diane Daly). She teaches baroque violin and historically informed performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and directs the RIAM Baroque String Orchestra.
Rachel Factor
Harpsichord
Rachel Factor concertises on harpsichord as a soloist and chamber artist. She has performed with many of Ireland’s leading ensembles at prestigious festivals throughout Ireland and England and has participated in concerts recorded for and broadcast by RTÉ lyric fm. Rachel plays a wide range of repertoire spanning four centuries and has interest in Irish baroque music and also contemporary music and has premiered works by many emerging composers in Ireland. Rachel is harpsichord professor at TU Conservatoire of Music and Drama Dublin and an examiner for the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Rachel has been the recipient of The Arts Council 2017 Artist Bursary Award, 2011 and 2018 Music Network Music Capital Scheme, 2019 and 2021 Arts Council Agility Award. Rachel gratefully acknowledges support from Music Network and The Arts Council of Ireland.
Sarah Groser
Violone
Sarah Groser first played the viola da gamba as a child, encouraged by her viol-playing father, whilst waiting to start on the cello. She concentrated on the cello until her late teens when she heard viols playing in consort and was captivated by the sound. At Manchester University she was able to study both Baroque cello and viol with Charles Medlam of London Baroque and continued on to Rotterdam's Conservatorium to study Baroque cello with Jaap ter Linden. Later she had lessons with Jordi Savall as an external student at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
Since her studies, Sarah has concentrated on the viol, and more recently the violone. She was a member of the Rose Consort of Viols for fifteen years and of Sonnerie under Monica Huggett for three years. She has also played with London Baroque, Fretwork, Charivari Agréable, and the Dowland Consort. In 2001, Sarah moved from England to West Cork, Ireland, where she is in frequent demand as both a solo bass viol player and as a continuo player. In Ireland, she has collaborated with The Irish Baroque Orchestra, the IBO Concert Soloists, Resurgam, Sestina, Camerata Kilkenny, Morisca, The Orchestra of St Cecilia, Madrigal 75, and as a duo with Sarah Cunningham and with Yonit Kosovske.
Yonit Kosovske
Harpsichord
Yonit Kosovske performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and interdisciplinary artist on harpsichord, modern and historical piano, clavichord, and chamber organ. She specialises in repertoire from the 16th-century through contemporary, regularly championing music outside of
the mainstream canon of classical western art music. Yonit has commissioned and premiered many new works for both historical and modern instruments, and will soon be realising her newest album, APRICITY, featuring contemporary music for solo and collaborative harpsichord, made possible with generous support from the Arts Council Music Project Award. Yonit is founding co-director of the Limerick Early Music Festival and H.I.P.S.T.E.R. (Historically Informed Performance Series, Teaching, Education, and Research), as well as founding Artistic Director of WAVE~LINKS, a video documentary series exploring modalities between music-making and artisanry. She is an Associate Professor in Music at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick. Yonit gratefully acknowledges support from the Arts Council of Ireland, Music Network Music Capital Scheme, Culture Moves Europe Individual Mobility Award and Goethe-Institut, Limerick Arts Office, and Tipperary Arts Office.
Norah O'Leary
Viol
Norah O’Leary is an Irish cellist and viol player specialising in period instrument performance. She holds a Master's degree in Performance of Early Music from the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, where she studied with Louna Hosia and Markku Luolajan-Mikkola.
Norah performs regularly with leading early music ensembles, including the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Camerata Kilkenny, Sestina Music, Cork Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Scania Barock, and Ensemble OrQuestra. She records with London Early Opera for Signum Records and has collaborated with artists such as Bridget Cunningham, Dame Emma Kirkby, Laurence Cummings, and Lars Ulrik Mortensen.A founding member of both Ensemble Dagda and The Earls of Ormond, she has appeared at major festivals across Ireland and Finland. An active researcher and writer, she currently teaches at the County Wexford School of Music and lectures in cello at South East Technological University Music School.
Norah is supported by Music Network's Music Capital Scheme, funded by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport. Music Network is funded by The Arts Council.
Malcolm Proud
Organ
Malcolm Proud won first prize at the 1982 Edinburgh International Harpsichord Competition. He is a member of the Irish Baroque Orchestra and Camerata Kilkenny and has performed with the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. In 2018 he curated a series of concerts at the National Concert Hall in Dublin to mark the 350th anniversary of François Couperin’s birth. In 2022 he performed Book 1 of Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier at West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Kilkenny Arts Festival and Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery to mark the 300th anniversary of the work. He has recorded Purcell’s harpsichord music, Bach’s Brandenburg 5 with both the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Baroque Soloists, Bach’s 6 Partitas, Goldberg Variations and on organ Clavierübung 3.
Bogdan Sofei
Violin
Bogdan Sofei is an accomplished violinist and founding member of the ConTempo String Quartet. He trained at the University of Music in Bucharest and completed advanced studies at the Royal Academy of Music (London) and the Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada). As a chamber musician, Bogdan Sofei has performed extensively across Europe, North America and Asia, appearing in major concert halls and festivals and collaborating with leading soloists, conductors and contemporary composers.
With the ConTempo String Quartet, Bogdan Sofei has won 14 international prizes and made numerous recordings, receiving critical acclaim for both classical repertoire and contemporary commissions. The quartet has been Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Galway, Ireland since 2003, undertaking concert series, education outreach and community engagement projects. During 2014-2019 Bogdan Sofei has also held a Quartet residency with RTÉ, contributing to national broadcasts, premieres and special projects that expanded contemporary Irish chamber music programming.
Dedicated to education, Bogdan Sofei gives masterclasses and workshops for university students and community ensembles and has served as a guest lecturer for performance practice and chamber music.
James Taylor
Harpsichord
James Taylor lives in Cork and is a Lecturer in Music at the MTU Cork School of Music, teaching organ, harpsichord, harmony and counterpoint.
He completed his postgraduate studies in 2006 at McGill University Montreal, specialising in organ and harpsichord. James has held church music posts at Ripon Cathedral (UK), Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul,New Zealand, Christchurch Cathedral Montreal, and St.Fin-Barre's Cathedral, Cork where he worked from 2006 - 2017. He has performed concerts across Canada, the United States, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and has participated in numerous television and radio broadcasts as a soloist and accompanist.
James conducts the award winning vocal ensemble, Madrigal ' 75 with whom he has toured Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The choir performs regularly in Cork and further afield, collaborating with other choirs, festivals and early music ensembles. Last year, the choir celebrated 50 years with a series of special concerts
marking the anniversary.
Kristiina Watt
Theorbo
Estonian lutenist and singer Kristiina Watt enjoys a busy concert schedule in the UK and further afield. As an instrumentalist she has performed with leading groups in the historical performance scene and beyond such as the Academy of Ancient Music, Aurora Orchestra, The English Concert, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, La Nuova Musica, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Ensemble. Kristiina regularly plays for vocal consorts such as Ensemble Pro Victoria, The Marian Consort, Musica Secreta and Vache Baroque. She is featured on The Marian Consort’s latest CD ‘Una Poesia Muta’ in which her performance was reviewed as ‘flawless’ by Gramophone Magazine.
As a singer Kristiina specialises in early song and particularly self-accompanied performance. She has performed operatic roles with The Kellie Consort and at Brighton Early Music Festival. In addition to training at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland she received coachings from Dame Emma Kirkby at the Guildhall School and continues her vocal studies with Dr Patricia MacMahon. In 2025 she looks forward to a solo performance at the Oxford International Song Festival as well as concerts featuring Barbara Strozzi’s duets at Buxton International Festival and St.George’s Bristol with her ensemble The Portrait Players.
Vespera
Vespera, Galway’s instrumental baroque ensemble, is dedicated to historically-informed performance. Vespera made its debut in late November 2021 performing Abendmusik concerts at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, with Peter Barley’s Sagittarius Hiberniensis choir and St. Mary’s Cathedral Choir, and at St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, Galway with the choristers of St. Nicholas’ Schola Cantorum.
Vespera is led by baroque violinist Claire Duff, encompasses the ConTempo Quartet musicians and is artistically directed by Mark Duley. Under the tutelage of Claire Duff of the Irish Baroque Orchestra, Vespera performs with historic instrument bows, which facilitate a particular kind of phrasing.
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Collegium
Collegium is the concert chamber choir that has its home in St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, as one of the five choirs of the church’s Schola Cantorum. It takes its title from the ancient designation of the church dating back to 1486. The choir comprises 16-20 singers depending on the type of project undertaken, and is made up of Galway’s finest choral singers. Most members sing in one of the Schola’s other choirs and many also sing in other Galway choral ensembles.
The choir presents concerts during the year, including the much-loved Music for Good Friday (presented in collaboration with Music for Galway). The principal artistic focus of the choir is music from the Renaissance period, and on presenting unusual programmes with a strong thematic and seasonal flavour. In addition to performing under the direction of founder-conductor Mark Duley, Collegium has also worked with Andrew Lawrence-King and the Harp Consort in presenting the medieval Play of Daniel as part of the 2015 Galway Early Music Festival.
Vox Orbis
Dr Mark Keane, director
Founded in 2019, Vox Orbis is a female choral ensemble based in Galway and directed by Dr Mark Keane. In 2019, the choir gave its first performance in Arundel Cathedral, UK, performing Cecilia McDowall’s Missa Mariae and Regina Coeli. In February 2020, Vox Orbis won the Plainchant Competition and the Dr Patrick McCormack Trophy for the best overall performance of an a cappella piece at the Limerick Choral Festival. The choir were awarded the Trofaí Cuimhneacháin Philip Ui
Laoghaire at Cork International Choral Festival in 2023 for the performance of a choral work in Irish, and the National Competition for Church Music in 2024. The choir has performed a number of large scale works including Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Michael Haydn Missa Sancti Leopoldi and Vespers, Emma Johnson Songs of Celebration, Kim Andre Arnesen Magnificat and Stabat Mater, Britten Missa Brevis and A Ceremony of Carols, and Duruflé Requiem. The choir performed at the American Cathedral, Paris (2023), Norwich Cathedral, UK (2024), and later this year will sing in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome.
Dr. Mark Keane, founder and director of Vox Orbis, is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, and holds diplomas from Trinity College London, London College of Music, Royal School of Music and the Royal College of Organists. A former organ scholar at the National Cathedral of St. Patrick, Mark is now Organist and Director of Music at Tuam Cathedral and Head of Music at Galway Community College.
Mark’s recording of the complete domestic music of John Amner on the Rubicon Classics label enjoyed favourable reviews in Gramophone, Early Music, Choir & Organ, The Sunday Times and BBC Music Magazine. Mark’s compositions are published by Cailíno Music Publishers in Ireland and he is the editor of The Oxford Book of Upper-Voice Polyphony, published by Oxford University Press in 2021.
Mark has received many awards for his contribution to the arts in Galway including the Mayor of Galway’s Award for Arts and Culture, the Galway REHAB People of the Year Award, and the Galway Junior Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Leadership Award.
St Patrick's Brass Band
Michael Dooley, director
St. Patrick’s Band provides a brass band in Galway and members have been teaching music, providing engagement through all age ranges, and performing for Galwegians (as well as nationally and internationally) since it was founded in 1896, 130 years ago. The Band has been involved in almost every major event to come to Galway and has played for visiting presidents, other dignitaries and for some major historical occasions. It also provides a music/cultural centre - affectionately known as the Bandroom - for the Band and other organisations in Galway, filling a void due to the lack of such public facilities in the city.
As a community-based organisation, St. Patrick's Band strives to spread inclusion, participation and joy through the magical medium of music. It tries to develop the potential of young people as well as providing vital social outlets for people of all backgrounds and ages in our community.
An honours graduate of Waterford Institute of Technology and of Trinity College Dublin, Michael Dooley began his brass and woodwind studies with Tommy Joyce, continued with Martin Prynn, Professor J.M. Thome and Graham Salvage. Michael is a regular orchestral performer with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and has worked with the National Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Lyric Opera, Irish National Opera, and The Irish Chamber Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Limerick Wind Octet, The Limerick Philharmonic and is the Bandmaster of St. Patrick's Brass Band, Galway while also conducting the Galway Youth Orchestra and the University of Limerick Orchestra. Michael has worked also as musical director for a number of Galway musical societies and the Limerick City Big Band. A keen early jazz enthusiast, he is a member of the Downtown Dixieland band in Limerick and the Galway Bay Jazz Band, appearing with them at many jazz festivals around the country.
Galeon Ensemble
Snezhana Rybalska, Galician bagpipes, cornemuse de Béarn, fiddle, flutes
Snezhana is the founder and permanent member of the medieval theater group Musica Radicum. Since 2002, she has been researching early music and street theatre at Vyborg Castle. Together with Musica Radicum, she staged several medieval plays, including Life of St. Olaf (2003), Knight Olaf and the Queen of Elves (2004) and Tamlin and Sir Galevin (2005). In 2007, they recorded the album Worlde Blis Ne Laste in Lviv. Snezhana studied traditional European music and participated in the SKM ensemble (focused on early peasant music). In 2015, she moved to Lviv and joined the Lviv Music Guild.
Vsevolod Sadovyi, tabor pipe, tarotta, percussion
Vsevolod is a musician and researcher from Lviv. Since 2001, he has been part of numerous ensembles and projects spanning alternative and electronic music. Since 2004, he has explored the heritage of early and traditional European music through various projects, including Minstrels Leopolita, Ground Folk, Vita Nova, Gardarica, Laterna Magica, Vita Norda, Lemko Bluegrass Band, and Kurbasy. In 2014, he co-founded the Lviv Music Guild. In 2015, Vsevolod and Snezhana founded the Galeon Ensemble, an eclectic project that weaves together the roots of their musical aesthetics and life experiences.
Galeon’s music blends the medieval codices and dance traditions of the European Renaissance with the vibrant strength of reeds and percussion. Their postmodern sound marries the Nordic coolness with the lively spirit of Iberian Galicia and the aristocratic charm of Sarmatian Galicia. As heirs to the legacy of wandering jugglers and forerunners of the grand Alta Capellas, Galeon continues to journey through cities, cultures, and epochs - and this year, they have arrived in the welcoming, colorful port of Galway.
Cluain Óir Society
for Creative Anachronism Galway
Cluain Óir is a branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) in Galway. SCA enjoys researching life in the past and learning how people lived and worked. Members pursue historical periods and skills that interest them and then share their knowledge.
SCA works with many medieval arts, crafts and sciences, regularly cook and brew medieval recipes and, best of all, organise events to do all these things together. SCA also enjoys doing public demos.
Jacopo Bisagni and Lise Carrel-Bisagni
Lise Carrel-Bisagni started dancing when she was 10 and since then has practiced different styles of dance, ranging from modern jazz to Irish step dancing and flamenco, and from Breton and other French traditional dances to Renaissance and Baroque dance.
Jacopo Bisagni plays different kinds of bagpipes and flutes and specializes in traditional repertoires (Italian, French, Irish) as well as in medieval and Renaissance instrumental music.
