The premiere of Softday’s multimedia artwork Amhrán na mBeach takes place on 27 April 2013

Amhrán na mBeach (Song of the Bees) is the result of a project by the Limerick-based art/science collaboration Softday (Sean Taylor and Mikael Fernström). The project aims to connect the life of honeybees and the threats to their wellbeing from diseases, and raise public awareness about this sensitive part of our ecosystem.

Softday have collaborated with beekeepers and scientists in Ireland and abroad, gathering scientific data and field recordings of the acoustic ecology of bee habitats, and converting this research into music. As part of the project, the duo have worked with the monks of Glenstal Abbey in Murroe, Co. Limerick, who are beekeepers, running a number of workshops there for beekeepers on how to record and play sounds from their own habitats.

The premiere of the work takes place in the church at Glenstal Abbey at 3pm on 27 April 2013, and features a range of performers including the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the monks from Glenstal Abbey, and the Softday Apiary Ensemble.

Amhrán na mBeach (Song of the Bees) is supported by the Arts Council’s Artist in the Community Scheme managed by Create. Further information on the project is available from www.softday.ie/bees/.