Ailish Tynan concert listed as highlight of annual festival

There’s just a little over a week to go until the Mullingar soprano, Ailish Tynan, performs at Belvedere House, as part of the national Great Music in Irish Houses Festival.

It is the first time Belvedere has been part of the event, and Ailish Tynan’s concert there – on Friday June 14 at 8pm – is listed as a festival highlight.

Also performing at Belvedere will be the Van Kuijk Quartet from France, and the Irish pianist Finghin Collins.

The programme is to feature a number of works by French composers and songs by Faurè and Muriel Herbert.

Ailish, one of Ireland’s leading sopranos, has been described by The New York Times as “a sparkling soprano”.

Great Music in Irish Houses, Ireland’s longest running chamber music festival, was founded in Castletown House in 1970. Since then, the month of June has been a musical summer must for Irish chamber music devotees. The objective was, and still is, to present concerts of chamber music, “the music of friends” in the sort of smaller, intimate spaces for which the music was originally written, away from the more formal setting of a concert hall.

Ciara Higgins, artistic-director of Great Music in Irish Houses, says: “It’s always exciting to plan for this wonderful event and this year has been no exception.

“We look forward to presenting a line-up of truly celebrated artists at the top of their game from home and abroad, including the iconic American pianist Richard Goode, the electrifying Colin Currie Quartet and the vivacious Irish soprano, Ailish Tynan.”

The festival, which celebrates its golden anniversary in 2020, also announced a new fundraising campaign for this landmark birthday. Entitled, 5 x 50 @ 50, it is an initiative for supporters to donate the pocket-friendly amount of €5 for 50 weeks to help the festival make a significant musical impact in its 50th year.

Booking: www.greatmusicinirishhouses.com; tel 01 6604492; tickets from €5.