'Dialogues across Time and Place' The 13th Fidelio Trio Winter Chamber Music Festival

In November 2025, GlasDrum and Music at DCU presented the 13th Fidelio Trio Winter Chamber Music Festival at DCU’s Belvedere House and the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland.

Curated by and featuring the acclaimed Fidelio Trio, with guest artist principal violist for the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Joel Hunter, the festival programme presented musical ‘dialogues across time and place’. Iconic works from the 18th and 19th centuries by Robert and Clara Schumann, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Debussy and more, were juxtaposed with contemporary pieces by Ireland-based composers Rhona Clarke, Marian Ingoldsby, Simon Mawhinney, Jane O’Leary and Nick Roth, and Malaysian composer Tazul Tajuddin.

Composer Nick Roth in conversation with Fidelio Trio's Darragh Morgan at the world premiere performance of Roth's 'Ailanthus' in the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland.

Amongst the concert highlights was the world premiere performance of Nick Roth's 'Ailanthus’, brought to life by Fidelio Trio’s Darragh Morgan (violin) and Tim Gill (cello). The piece, commissioned with funding from the Arts Council, was inspired by the “Tree of Heaven” or Ailanthus altissima - which is visible from the window of the National Botanic Garden’s Gallery Space where the concert was held.

Composer Simon Mawhinney and the Fidelio Trio with composers Santiago Kodela, Laura Heneghan, Caterina Schembri, Abigail Smith and Anderinna Gooch at the festival's workshop for emerging artists, presented by Fidelio Trio and the Contemporary Music Centre.

In addition to the public programme of concerts, the festival included a composition workshop for artists participating in the Contemporary Music Centre’s 2023 - 2025 Emerging Composer Scheme and the CMC BRIGID Residency Programme. Each of the composers brought an original sketch to workshop with the Trio, receiving individual feedback on their piece from the performers, and from Professor of Composition at Queen’s University Belfast, and featured festival composer, Simon Mawhinney. This professional development initiative was presented in partnership by Fidelio Trio and the Contemporary Music Centre.

The Fidelio Trio Winter Chamber Music Festival was presented by GlasDrum in partnership with Music at DCU, with funding from the Arts Council Festivals Investment Scheme. The event was supported by RTÉ Supporting the Arts, and the Saturday lunchtime concert at the National Botanic Gardens by the Office of Public Works.