Pianist Isabelle O'Connell will perform piano music by contemporary Irish composers in a series of concerts during March.

Originally from Dublin and currently based in New York, Isabelle O'Connell has always been a strong advocate for contemporary music, in particular that of Irish composers. She has premiered Irish works all over the world, including Japan, Canada, the U.S. and Ireland. She also makes a point of regularly including pieces by Irish composers in her recital programmes.

This month, Isabelle will share a performance at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall with flautist Jessica Schmitz, where they will give the world premiere of Flu by Irene Buckley. This will be followed at the end of March by a series of recitals, the last of which will take place at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin as part of the 'Sundays @ Noon' series on 1 April 2007.

Later that afternoon, Isabelle O'Connell will be giving a lecture at the Royal Irish Academy of Music at the invitation of EPTA Ireland on the topic of student piano repertoire by contemporary Irish composers. During the course of the talk she will explore various ways of approaching contemporary piano music from a pedagogical point of view, focusing on specific examples of music by Irish composers. The lecture will be followed by a piano masterclass.

April performances include a performance of Philip Martin's Along the Flaggy Shore, commissioned for her when she won the Mabel Swainson Piano Award in 1998, and which she subsequently premiered both at the John Field Room in Dublin and at Carnegie Hall. This recital will be held in Preston Bradley Hall as part of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series and will be broadcast live on WFMT radio.

Further information on Isabelle O'Connor is available at www.classicallinks.com. See Calendar for performance details.

Posted: 16 March 2007