Music and Reviews from Clare, Limerick, Waterford and sometimes further afield

Friday, August 11, 2023

Celebrating Canadian Connections on the Keys at New Ross


A grand piano on a Tall Ship! I was in the riverside town New Ross in Co Wexford for the launch of the 2023 New Ross Piano Festival. The hook for this year's programme is the local connection to  Canada and there is a special  emphasis on the work of Rachmaninov on a significant anniversary.


The special guest was the Irish ambassador to Canada, Eamonn McKee. The ambassador spoke eloquently on the story of the Irish in Canada. McKee made the point that while the story of the Irish in America is well documented, the story of the Irish in Canada is relatively untouched. He whetted our appetites to know more about figures like Tadhg O Brennan, the first known Irishman in Canada, John Palliser a Dubliner who led a scientific exploration of the prairies and the waves of Irish influencers that shaped Canada's history. You can read more about this fascinating subject in this piece by McKee Fifty Irish Lives in Canada: It's Complicated and That's Great.


Ambassador to Canada Eamonn McKee
Having exhausted the Ros Tapestry idea with 15 pieces commissioned,  one for each panel, artistic director Finghin Collins has turned to another notable feature of New Ross, the Dunbrody Famine Ship. The original 19 century ship, he explained  was commissioned by the Graves family and built in Canada and sailed between New Ross and St Laurence until it ran aground in 1873. This year, two new pieces inspired by the original Dunbrody and its replica, will be heard at the Friday night concert; one by Irish composer , Marian Ingoldsby and one by Canadian composer, Francois Vallieres. 

There is much to tempt music lovers to the New Ross Piano Festival. Jazz fans are catered for with various events on Thursday. An event with words and music drawn from the music and writing of Rachmaninov is a novel feature on this year's programme. To round off the launch Collins sat at the piano and played a Chopin Ballade with his usual panache. Great music, eloquent words, wine and food and the rain held off. Hats off to the hard working committee who amazingly have kept this super festival going in for 17 years. 

www.newrosspianofestival.com 

Previous blog posts on NRPF

 

#newross, newrosspianofestival, #marianingoldsby, FinghinCollins, Canada, 





Director Finghin Collins




 

 

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