Features 2005

An Interview with Andrew Hamilton [October]

'I want to write music I'd want to play,' says Andrew Hamilton, who's just about to take up a year-long residency in Schloss Solitude in Germany. He talks to Jonathan Grimes about his work and his experiences of studying in the UK and Holland.

What's it like to be Andrew Hamilton? [October]
A short, informal question and answer interview with Andrew Hamilton.

An Interview with Roger Doyle [September]

Roger Doyle, the ‘Godfather’ of Irish electronic music, has been composing for over thirty-five years. ‘I have a good two-way relationship with technology,’ he says, ‘and if I find a piece of technology that opens up a world I’m interested in exploring then I’ll jump right in.’ He talks to Jonathan Grimes.

What's it like to be Roger Doyle? [September]
A short, informal question and answer interview with Roger Doyle.

An Interview with James Wilson [August]

In his last interview recorded shortly before his death in August 2005, James Wilson talks to Jonathan Grimes about his life and composing career.

What's it like to be James Wilson? [August]
A short, informal question and answer interview with James Wilson.

An Interview with Donnacha Dennehy [July]

Donnacha Dennehy speaks to Jonathan Grimes about his current projects, his anti-establishment leanings, and his working methods.

An Interview with Stephen Gardner [June]

Belfast-born composer Stephen Gardner didn’t even know there was an orchestra in his school -- he was in the ‘remedial music’ class -- but after a few years in a band and a visit to the Ennis IMRO Composition Summer School, it all started to make sense. He talks to Jonathan Grimes.

What's it like to be Stephen Gardner? [June]
A short, informal question and answer interview with Stephen Gardner.

An Interview with John Gibson [May]

Pianist and composer John Gibson was brought up in a musical family and began writing music at an early age. His first opera has just been staged, but he has several other projects he wants to work on now. He speaks to Jonathan Grimes.

What's it like to be John Gibson? [May]
A short, informal question and answer interview with John Gibson.

An Interview with Benjamin Dwyer [April]

Benjamin Dwyer is one of the few composer-performers in Ireland. He talks to Jonathan Grimes about his musical development, his current projects, and his life in Barcelona.

What's it like to be Benjamin Dwyer? [April]
A short, informal question and answer interview with Benjamin Dwyer.

An Interview with Mary McAuliffe [March]

Mary McAuliffe talks to Jonathan Grimes about her current projects, many of which involve close contacts with musicians in the USA and Canada.

What's it like to be Mary McAuliffe? [March]
A short, informal question and answer interview with Mary McAuliffe.

An Interview with Fergus Johnston [February]

Fergus Johnston talks to Jonathan Grimes about astrophysics, the highs and lows of being a composer, and the current state of music in Ireland.

What's it like to be Fergus Johnston? [February]
A short, informal question and answer interview with Fergus Johnston.

An Interview with Marian Ingoldsby [January]

Marian Ingoldsby talks on video to Jonathan Grimes about her current projects, her love of setting texts, and how she ended up composing three operas.

What's it like to be Marian Ingoldsby? [January]
A short, informal question and answer interview with Marian Ingoldsby.

Contemporary Music from Ireland, Volume Five [November]

Presented by Bernard Clarke of RTÉ lyric fm, this lively introduction to CMC's latest CD release, Contemporary Music from Ireland, Volume Five, includes interviews and audio clips with some of the composers featured on the CD.

Elizabeth Maconchy: Intense But Disciplined [December]
2007 marks the centenary of composer Elizabeth Maconchy’s birth. Born in England to Irish parents, she spent her childhood here and retained a strong sense of identification with Ireland all her life. In anticipation of the centenary, Anthony Burton surveys her considerable output.

James Wilson Remembered [September]
The composer James Wilson, who died recently, is remembered not only for the significance of his musical output but for his contribution to new music in Ireland.