A new work by Rachel Holstead will be premiered by the Irish Chamber Orchestra this month.

The Irish Chamber Orchestra regularly commissions and performs new works from Irish and international composers, and Rachel Holstead's new work (Can't) have your cake and eat it was written specially for this event.

The composer writes:

"The original title for this work was Have your cake and eat it and the idea was to explore that all-too-rare 'too good to be true' state of heightened exhilaration. Like almost all of my work, however, the piece became grounded in nature, and something which began as an expression of human emotions and interactions became anchored in the natural world and the intensities of the environments in which I found myself. (Can't) have your cake and eat it was conceived and written across three continents (Europe, the Americas and Antarctica) and all three have left their mark on it."

The concert also includes a new arrangement of Janácek's On an Overgrown Path, Mendelssohn's String Symphony No. 6 and Hindemith's Trauermusik.

The premiere takes place on Tuesday 23 May in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, with a second performance taking place on Sunday 28 May in Limerick's University Concert Hall. See Calendar for details.

Posted: 16 May 2006