CMC and Galway Ensemble in Residence commission new music from three Irish composers for the ConTempo String Quartet.

Composers Ed Bennett, Rob Canning and David Flynn have been selected to participate in New Music Connects, a project involving workshops and concerts in Galway and Dublin.

New Music Connects is a collaborative project between the Contemporary Music Centre and the Galway Ensemble in Residence, funded by the Arts Council/An Comhairle Ealaíon’s Project: New Work Award Scheme 2006. The project offers the three composers an opportunity to write for the internationally renowned ConTempo String Quartet, originally from Romania and now based in Galway. It involves a series of workshops as well as open communication between the composers and performers involved, culminating in two concerts in Galway and Dublin in December 2007.

The work of Dublin born David Flynn (b.1977), now based in Spiddal, Co. Galway, encompasses many musical genres including classical, jazz, rock and traditional. He is very active as a multi-genre performer and recently launched Draíocht, his debut CD. Ed Bennett (b.1975), originally from Co. Down and now based in Birmingham, has been commissioned and performed internationally by many diverse artists and organisations. He collaborates with artists of other disciplines and directs his own ensemble, decibel. Rob Canning (b.1974) is originally from Dublin and now lives in London, where he is pursuing doctoral studies with the assistance of an Arts Council award. His main area of interest is in computer-assisted performance and composition strategies.

The New Music Connects project runs throughout 2007 with the first workshop taking place in Galway on 30 March 2007. Further information from Karen Hennessy, Promotion Manager, CMC. Tel: 01 673 1922 or email khennessy@cmc.ie.

Posted: 7 March 2007