The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is an Irish classical music ensemble, administratively based at the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

János Fürst János Fürst (8 August 1935 – 3 January 2007) was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist. Biography Fürst originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his native Budapest. After the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hun ...

founded the ICO in 1963. The ICO consisted only of strings as its regular ensemble for many years, adding wind, brass and percussion players on a freelance basis when needed. The ICO was reformed in 1970 under the name of the New Irish Chamber Orchestra and the principal conductorship of André Prieur. The orchestra first toured North America in 1978. In 1995, the orchestra was again reconstituted, reverting to its original name of the Irish Chamber Orchestra. The ICO formally added horn players and oboes to its roster in 2008.

Overview

Following a number of artistic directors including Fionnuala Hunt,

Nicholas McGegan James Nicholas McGegan OBE (born 14 January 1950 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England) is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert. Biography McGegan received his early education at Nottingham High School. He sub ...

and

Anthony Marwood Anthony Marwood is a British solo violinist. Early life He was born 6 July 1965 to Michael Travers Marwood and Anne née Chevallier. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford. He then studied at the Royal Academy of Music and t ...

, the orchestra took a new approach, appointing two artistic partners: Hungarian conductor

Gábor Takács-Nagy Gábor Takács-Nagy (born 17 April 1956,''International Who's Who in Classical Music'' (25th edition). Routledge (London), p. 807 (2009) (). Budapest), is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz ...

(Principal Artistic Partner) and the clarinettist and composer

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freibu ...

(Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner). Since May 2022,

Thomas Zehetmair Thomas Zehetmair (born 23 November 1961) is an Austrian violinist and conductor. Biography Zehetmair was born in Salzburg, and studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, where both of his parents taught. His festival debut was at age 16. He was in mas ...

has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Partner of the Irish Chamber Orchestra. The orchestra visits various venues nationwide, and also runs a regular concert season, which takes place in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. In the past, the orchestra has also toured across Europe, Australia, South Korea, China and the US. Irish composers who have worked with the orchestra include

Frank Corcoran Frank Corcoran ( ; born 1 May 1944) is an Irish composer. His output includes chamber, symphonic, choral and electro-acoustic music, through which he often explores Irish mythology and history. Life ''"I came late to art music; childhood soundsca ...

Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (; 10 December 1950 – 7 November 2018) was an Irish musician, composer, academic and educationalist. Biography Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin was a pianist, composer, recording artist and academic; he held the Pro ...

, and

Bill Whelan Bill Whelan (born 22 May 1950 in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, ''Riverdance'', was a seven-minute display of tradi ...

. ''Plectrum & Bow'', a CD release, marked a collaborative recording with US composer and guitarist Steve Mackey. It features his Concerto for Violin and Strings, Four Iconoclastic Episodes, which was jointly commissioned by the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, University of Notre Dame, US. Other recordings include ''Night Moves'', conducted by

Gérard Korsten Gérard Korsten (born 1960) is an Austrian musician and conductor. Life Born in Pretoria, Korsten studied violin at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Ivan Galamian as well as in Salzburg with Sándor Végh. He was initially ...

, and ''Hommage'', which features works by Irish composer John Kinsella. The Irish Chamber Orchestra is resident at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick and is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. It owns a custom built studio, which has been acoustically modelled, on campus at UL, Limerick.

Music and artistic directors

* André Prieur *

Nicholas Kraemer Nicholas Kraemer (born 7 March 1945, in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. Career Kraemer began his career as a harpsichordist. From playing continuo (on a harpsichord) at the back of an orchestra he proceeded t ...

(Artistic Director, 1986–1992) * Fionnuala Hunt (Music Director, 1995–2002) *

(Music Director, 2002–2005) *

(Artistic Director, 2006–2011) *

(Principal Guest Conductor/Artistic Partner, 2011–2017; Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner, 2017–2022) *

(Principal Artistic Partner, 2013–date) *

(Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner, 2022–present)

References

External links

*
Classics Today.com review of Black Box 1013

Concert programme from 21 November 1978, University Musical Society of the University of Michigan, New Irish Chamber Orchestra concert in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Irish orchestras University of Limerick Chamber orchestras 1963 establishments in Ireland Musical groups established in 1963 {{Ireland-band-stub

Overview

Music and artistic directors

See also

References

External links