The ninth Waterford New Music Week focuses on an opera by Marian Ingoldsby.

The festival centres around four performances of the opera for young people Lily's Labyrinth, with music by Marian Ingoldsby and libretto by Ben Hennessy.

Other events through the week include lunchtime recitals, workshops and masterclasses. A series of free lunchtime concerts will include pianist Finghin Collins performing music by Gerhard, Shostakovich and Gerry Murphy, a group of Waterford jazz musicians led by Ronan Guilfoyle, and the premiere of a new piece by Eric Sweeney, Music for Multiple Keyboards.

The PM Ensemble from Wales will give an evening recital with a programme including work by Berg, John Buckley, Plowman and Schoenberg.

Four local schools have been working with composers since November in preparation for a performance of their own compositions. The workshops are based on Cathy Berberian's Stripsody, a piece of music with a visual cartoon score inspired by the comic strips of Superman and Peanuts.

Young students of WIT's School of Music will give a performance of contemporary music, while WIT undergraduates and postgraduate students of composition will present their own works. There will be a performance talk on Lily's Labyrinth with composer Marian Ingoldsby and librettist Ben Hennessy, and a symposium with final year WIT Degree Music students entitled 'The Lion Tamer's Night Off -- Contemporary Music Writing for Young People'. The PM Ensemble will provide wind, string and composition masterclasses through the week.

Waterford New Music Week runs from Sunday 4 to Saturday 10 February 2007. See Calendar for details.

Posted: 5 January 2007