Mix of folk and classical music in shows from the Trio Elatha

Date Published: {J}

Folk, classical and contemporary music will be on the menu when fiddle player Zoë Conway, guitarist Brendan Walsh and cellist Ailbhe McDonagh join forces next week for two Galway concerts.

The three, collectively known as the Trio Elatha will perform in Galway Cathedral on Thursday next, January 19, and in the Raheen Woods Hotel, Athenry on Friday, December 20, with both concerts starting at 8pm. For the Athenry show, the three will be joined by Athenry Youth Orchestra and St Patrick’s Intermediate Brass Band.

Brendan Walsh, who is based in Switzerland, explains that the Trio came about because of his work in that country, where he is a folk and classical performer.

“An agent asked me could we form an all-Irish group to perform at gigs and festivals.”

So he got on to Zoë, “who is excellent at crossover” – no surprise, given her training in classical music, although she is probably better known as a trad performer. She has performed across the globe, both as a solo artist and also with international acts such as Riverdance, Damien Rice, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Nick Cave and Lou Reed. She performs regularly with orchestras including the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Irish Concert Orchestra and The Symphony Orchestra of Galicia in Spain.

Brendan’s next choice for the new trio was Dubliner Ailbhe McDonagh, who “is one of the best classical players in Ireland”.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, Ailbhe has performed all over the world, including in Carnegie Hall, appearing at home in the Great Irish Houses Festival. Ailbhe has a keen interest contemporary music and has collaborated with composers and other artists worldwide, most recently recording a CD of contemporary music for Bridge Records in New York.

“The out and out classical player would be Ailbhe. Zoë is the most traditional and I’m in between them,” Brendan says.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.