Sounds of Our Time: The natural world explored in Irish choral music

Join CMC Scholar-in-Residence Laura Sheils for a relaxed talk at the CMC Library exploring contemporary Irish choral music inspired by the natural world. Laura will present on a variety of pieces such as O Curlew (Jonathan Nangle) and Natural History (Emma O’Halloran), highlighting some of the unique ways in which composers of choral music today reflect nature and the climate crisis in their work.

Laura Sheils

Laura is a PhD researcher, choral composer, and music educator based in Dublin. She completed her undergraduate studies at Mater Dei Institute of Education (Dublin City University), before undertaking an Advanced Diploma in Choral Conducting and Kodály Music Pedagogy at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Academy in Hungary, and an MA in Choral Studies at DCU. Her choral compositions have been published by Oxford University Press and Cailíno Music Publishers and have been performed by choral groups in Ireland and abroad, broadcast on RTÉ Lyric FM, and feature on UCD Choral Scholars’ album James Joyce Chamber Music Vol. I (Signum Records) and St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls’ Choir’s Vox Feminina II.

Laura Sheils's doctoral research focuses on the choral works of contemporary Irish composers Rhona Clarke and Eoghan Desmond, analysing their approaches to text setting and their respective compositional styles. As part of her CMC residency, Laura will share presentations on her research, write online articles highlighting different aspects of the archive, and curate a new choral catalogue from CMC’s collection. 

Tickets

All welcome to this free event, booking on Eventbrite.

For venue access information visit the CMC Library homepage. If you have access requirements to attend this event, please contact the Library team at library@cmc.ie.