The 2004 Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music at Queen's University Belfast celebrated the opening of its new Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC) recently. Over the weekend of 24-26 April a number of performances and world premieres by Irish composers took place.

Ed Bennet's El Tigre focused on the sound of Spanish flamenco dancers’ feet while Rachel Holstead's piece, Enchant, is based around the female voice. A new work by Iain McCurdy, Shapes for 8-channel audio, reflects on previous elements in his compositions. All three of the works were diffused live by the composer within SARC's newly-constructed performance space. The UK premiere of Paul Wilson's Without Words was played brilliantly by the Portuguese percussionist Pedro Carneiro, while Frank Lyons, Irene Kelly and Philip Calvert performed their new works with the Wired Ensemble. Frank Lyons’s new piece, Rush for violin and live electronics, worked as an electronic violin concerto exploring the sound of rock for material, with Darragh Morgan as soloist.

Now in its 23rd year, the Sonorities festival continues its longstanding tradition of working alongside Irish composers in presenting works and premieres of Irish contemporary music. With the recent completion of the Sonic Arts Research Centre, a new chapter in music making has begun at Queen's University Belfast and will no doubt mark a pivotal point in Irish contemporary composition.

Jonathan Bailie