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Press Release

The CMC Salon - 'Lost in Bar 20' Continues at the Project

Dublin, 9 February 2004

The next in CMC's Salon series takes place on 14 February with guitarist John Feeley. He will give informal read-throughs of works by Eric Sweeney, Three Irish Folktunes, 2003, Frank Corcoran, Three Pieces for Guitar, 1990 and Rhona Clarke's 2002 work, Drift-Knot. The series, initiated experimentally last autumn in conjunction with the Project, Temple Bar, is proving very successful and the audience is growing month by month. There is also a most encouraging response from performers, who are willingly volunteering their services without a fee. To date these have included Alan Smale, violin, Annette Cleary, cello, Paul Roe, clarinet, and Darragh Morgan, violin.

One of the most stimulating aspects of a CMC Salon is the opportunity for discussion in a relaxed atmosphere, the only defining characteristic of the event being that it is 'not a concert'. Audience, performers and composers are all drawn into debate around the music, thus giving one another feedback and exchanging views in a way that rarely happens in new music in Ireland.

The February Salon takes place in the Project, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 at 3.00 pm on Saturday 14 February 2004. Admission is free and discussion continues informally in the upstairs bar after the performance. Further information: Karen Hennessy email: khennessy@cmc.ie. tel: 01 673 1922.

These events are made possible through the continued support of the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

John Feeley
Feeley started his career playing popular music styles and at 17 was considered to be "one of the finest musicians in Europe" on electric guitar. He graduated in music from Trinity College, Dublin, and then went to the United States to continue his education, studying with a number of guitarists including Oscar Ghiglia, Angel Romero and David Russel. After completing a masters degree at Queens College of the City University, New York , he taught at Memphis State University for a number of years before returning to Ireland to take the post of Lecturer in Guitar at the Conservatory of Music, Dublin Institute of Technology.

In addition to his solo and chamber music concerts, Feeley has performed widely with orchestra -- with The American Symphony at Carnegie Hall , the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the Ulster Orchestra, and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, among others. Highly regarded for his performance of new works by Irish composers, he has had many works written for him. He is a regular performer at many international guitar festivals, including the Bath International Guitar Festival, the Dundee International Guitar Festival, the Dublin International Guitar Festival and the Wirral International Guitar Festival. He has made recordings with K-Tel, Gael-Linn Records, CBA Classics, Ossiain Records, Castle Communications and has recently released a highly acclaimed CD of contemporary Irish music with Blackbox Music, England. He has also recorded with the Chieftains and famous Spanish Soprano Montserrat Caballé.