Amanda Feery wins the 2016 Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition

 

Her piece, Changed Utterly, will receive its premiere in St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral as part of the 2016 Cork Choral Festival on 29 April 2016 at 7.30. It will be performed by Chamber Choir Ireland and conductor Paul Hillier.

 

As well as the premiere and a cash prize donated by the Ó Riada family, Amanda Feery will also take part in the festival's new Choral Symposium, curated by Paul Hillier and John Fitzpatrick. The symposium will also feature works by the two runners up in the competition - Peter Moran and Criostóir Ó Loingsigh - with Paul Hillier and Chamber Choir Ireland in workshop sessions on Friday 29 April at 2pm and Saturday 30 April at 10am in Cork School of Music.

 

The Seán Ó Riada Competition has been running since 1971, and offers a platform for Irish composers to have their work judged and rewarded purely on its own merits without the judges being influenced by the reputation or status of the composer.  All compositions are submitted under a pseudonym, with the author’s real name not being revealed until after the judges’ decision has been made. Past winners include, among others, Rhona Clarke, Frank Corcoran, Séamas de Barra, Michael Holohan, Michael McGlynn, Kevin O’Connell, and last year’s winner, Eoghan Desmond.

 

More on the competition and prize here.