View from the Green Room: Mount Congreve hosts inaugural Waterford Chamber Music Festival

There's a very special classical music event happening this week in Waterford in the sumptuous surroundings of Mount Congreve House and Gardens, and there's strong local participation in the organisation of the event. 

There are significant and prestigious classical music festivals around the country and now, hot on the heels of a very successful organ festival at Christ Church, we have our very own chamber music festival.

The Waterford Chamber Music Festival is largely the brainchild of dazzling young pianist Billy O’Brien from Butlerstown who is the Artistic Director of the Waterford Chamber Music Festival. 

Billy is a significant performer on the Irish classical music scene and has performed as a concerto soloist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Hibernian Orchestra, UCD Symphony Orchestra, RIAM Symphony Orchestra, Wexford Sinfonia and Trinity Orchestra in concertos by Chopin, Ravel, Grieg, Gershwin and Beethoven. 

He has given solo recitals in the Field Room, National Concert Hall, the National Gallery of Ireland, the Hugh Lane Gallery and has also performed in Spain, France, Finland and the UK.

He has appeared in concert series and festivals, such as the New Ross Piano Festival, New Music Dublin, and Music for Wexford.

Billy, who has also won a number of prestigious international piano competitions, also enjoys teaching and recently completed his PhD in Music Performance at Trinity College in Dublin. 

He now lectures in the Cork School of Music, TU Dublin Conservatoire and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. 

Billy’s passion for chamber music is clearly one of the driving forces behind the new Waterford Chamber Music Festival that kicks off at Mount Congreve on Friday night.

Internationally renowned soprano Róisín O’Grady, who lives in Tramore, also appears as a soloist on the programme and she also appears with Waterford-Music with Billy later in the Large Room. 

Róisín O’Grady has performed in recital, oratorio and chamber music and her performance repertoire ranges from the Baroque era to modern day compositions. She was a member of and a soloist with the National Chamber Choir of Ireland for over two years. She performed with the choir throughout Ireland and performed for US President Barack Obama in the White House on St. Patrick’s Day. 

Róisín studied Music and Italian at University College, Cork and is currently working on her PhD.

Róisín has performed with early music ensembles, orchestras and choral societies throughout Ireland and the UK, including the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Cecilia. She is a member of the early music duo “Tonos” who performed in the John Field Room, National Concert Hall, the National Gallery of Ireland, the Sligo Festival of Baroque Music, and was broadcast in concert by Lyric FM.

French Horn player Hannah Miller grew up in Ireland, received her Bachelor’s degree from Finland’s Sibelius Academy and graduated with a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School, where she was awarded with the William Schuman Prize for outstanding achievement in music and leadership.

Hannah is currently Principal Horn with the Irish National Opera and joined the Irish Chamber Orchestra in 2023. She also performs with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Wexford Festival Opera, and is a former member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland and the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra in Finland. 

With a keen interest in new music, Hannah is a member of the experimental Kirkos Ensemble, and she has also worked extensively with Crash Ensemble, Le Concert Impromptu and Ulysses Ensemble in recent years. 

Hannah is the Festival Director and founder of ‘FuddleFest’, a family-run music festival based at her home in Fuddletown, Wexford, where she also works part-time as a farmer.

There are two concerts on Friday and Saturday night at 7.30pm and a closing lunchtime concert on Sunday at 1pm featuring favourites of the chamber music canon by Brahms, Schubert, the Schumanns, Dohnyani and more, with special emphasis on the music of Gabriel Fauré and his compatriots as we celebrate his centenary year.

On Saturday morning at 11am , a Young Artists' Concert will feature the music-making of talented young pianists Alexandra Keane and Louise Byrne, and, later on Saturday afternoon, experienced animateur Sophie Lee will host a Children's Composition Workshop, allowing younger visitors create some music of their own.

Incidentally, the four concerts are adult-only events, due to the rare and delicate nature of the Chinese wallpaper adorning the walls of the Large Drawing Room that will host the performances.

So… a very special festival in very special surroundings will kick off this Friday night July 26-28 and should prove a winner with Waterford audiences where classical music concerts still pack them in. Don’t miss it.

Full details from https://www.waterfordchambermusic.com/