Australian-born performer Craig Ogden, one of the most exciting guitarists of his generation, will hold a series of meetings and workshops at the Contemporary Music Centre on 15 and 16 September. His visit takes place under the auspices of the Arts Council's Critical Voices scheme and has been planned in co-operation with Music Network and Lyric FM.

In advance of a Music Network tour in November 2004, the Contemporary Music Centre and Music Network have invited Ogden to Dublin to meet Irish composers. Following an open call for participation, ten composers will take part in a series of networking meetings, discussions and a workshop, out of which Craig will select one composer to work with, based on factors such as compositional style and personal compatibility. Subject to the success of funding applications, a new work will be co-commissioned by Music Network and Lyric FM from the selected composer, to be premiered by Craig during his Music Network tour of Ireland in November 2004. Lyric FM will document Craig's visit to Dublin, and this will be featured on the Horizons programme which goes out on Mondays from 10.00-11.00pm.

The intention behind the whole process is to explore a new partnership approach to commissioning which it is hoped will prove fruitful not only for the composer and the performer, who will work closely on the new piece, but also for the local concert promoters and ultimately the audiences, both at the live concerts and via radio. This is also a new partnership for CMC, Music Network and Lyric FM, in which the support of the Arts Council's Critical Voices programme has been a crucial factor.

Based in the UK, Craig Ogden is involved with a wide range of musical activity encompassing solo recitals, concertos with major orchestras, chamber music, recording for film, writing, appearances on radio and television and tutoring at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He has recorded for Chandos Records, Nimbus, Virgin Classics, Hyperion, Collins Classics and Sony and has performed concertos with orchestras including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bournemouth Symphony and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. His most recent collaboration was with the American counter-tenor David Daniels with whom Craig performed at the prestigious Tanglewood Festival and the Lincoln Centre, New York, in Summer 2003.