Irish Chamber Orchestra Explained

The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is an Irish classical music ensemble, administratively based at the University of Limerick.János Fürst founded the ICO in 1963.^[1] The ICO consisted only of strings as its regular ensemble for many years, adding wind, brass and percussion players on a freelance basis when needed. The ICO was reformed in 1970 under the name of the New Irish Chamber Orchestra and the principal conductorship of André Prieur.^[2] The orchestra first toured North America in 1978. In 1995, the orchestra was again reconstituted, reverting to its original name of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.^[3]

Overview

Since May 2022, Thomas Zehetmair has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Partner of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.^[4]

Irish composers who have worked with the orchestra include Frank Corcoran,^{[5] [6]} Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin,^{[7] [8] [9]} and Bill Whelan.^[10]

Plectrum & Bow, a CD release, marked a collaborative recording with US composer and guitarist Steve Mackey.^[11] It features his Concerto for Violin and Strings, Four Iconoclastic Episodes, which was jointly commissioned by the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, University of Notre Dame, US. Other recordings include Night Moves, conducted by Gérard Korsten,^[12] and Hommage, which features works by Irish composer John Kinsella.^{[13] [14]}

It owns a custom built studio, which has been acoustically modelled, on campus at UL, Limerick.^[15]

Music and artistic directors

• János Fürst
• André Prieur
• Nicholas Kraemer (Artistic Director, 1986–1992)
• Fionnuala Hunt (Music Director, 1995–2002)
• Nicholas McGegan (Music Director, 2002–2005)
• Anthony Marwood (Artistic Director, 2006–2011)
• Jörg Widmann (Principal Guest Conductor/Artistic Partner, 2011–2017; Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner, 2017–2022)^[16]
• Gábor Takács-Nagy (Principal Artistic Partner, 2013–date)
• Thomas Zehetmair (Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner, 2022–present)

See also

• Something Else (The Cranberries album), a 2017 live album featuring the group

External links

• • Classics Today.com review of Black Box 1013
• Concert programme from 21 November 1978, University Musical Society of the University of Michigan, New Irish Chamber Orchestra concert in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Notes and References

1. News: Martin Anderson . Obituary for Janos Furst . The Independent . 10 January 2007 . 16 October 2011.
2. 30100640. Boydell . Brian . Half a Century of Music in Dublin . Dublin Historical Record . 37 . 3/4 . 117–121 . June–September 1984.
3. News: Take a bow . The Irish Times . 7 June 1997 . 18 October 2011.
4. Web site: Thomas Zehetmair – Classical Music . Irish Chamber Orchestra . 20 November 2018 . 9 May 2022.
5. Web site: Adams. Martin. Showcase for strings. 17 January 2021. The Irish Times. en.
6. Web site: Reviews. 17 January 2021. The Irish Times. en.
7. Web site: Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin obituary: Exceptional musician who straddled classical and Irish traditional music. 17 January 2021. The Irish Times. en.
8. Web site: Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin Composer. 17 January 2021. RTÉ Archives. en.
9. Web site: Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. 17 January 2021. The Journal of Music. en.
10. Web site: Wallace. Arminta. Irish-America comes out in force for night of island arts. 17 January 2021. The Irish Times. en.
11. Web site: Plectrum and Bow . Irish Chamber Orchestra . 27 November 2018 . 26 June 2021.
12. http://www.gerard-korsten.com/de/portfolio/night-moves/ Gérard Korsten, Night Moves
13. Web site: Hommage – John Kinsella . Irish Chamber Orchestra . 27 November 2018 . 26 June 2021.
14. Web site: Reviews . The Irish Times . 21 March 2013 . 26 June 2021.
15. Web site: 5 November 2008. Irish Chamber Orchestra to move to €3m campus studio. 17 January 2021. Irish Examiner. en.
16. Web site: Scully . Meghann . Jörg Widmann hosts his final concerts as Principal Conductor in UCH . Limerick Post Newspaper . 19 April 2022 . 9 May 2022.