Louth Contemporary Music Society returns for 10th annual festival

Composers, musicians, and contemporary music fans, are set to gather once again in Dundalk for the renowned Louth Contemporary Music Society’s annual festival.

Entitled, Lovely Music, this year's festival will showcase an array of performances written by some of the most influential figures in contemporary music, re-imagined by both local and international talent.

Keynote performances of the festival include works by Robert Ashley, a renowned American composer of experimental music, is known for his innovative and highly personalised conception of opera, including television opera. Rarely presented in Europe, two of these haunting entertainments will be performed in Dundalk by the specialist Varispeed Collective, known for their expertise in experimental music. 

Ashley’s mesmerizing final work Crash will open the festival at the An Táin Arts Centre at 8pm June 14th. Attendees will experience the groundbreaking work of this renowned composer and their innovative approach to opera that has captivated audiences around the world.

This performance will be followed by The Bar at the Spirit Store music venue the next day at 5 pm. There, the Varispeed Collective will be joined by their talented Irish colleagues: Sean Carpio, Caoimhe Hopkinson and Steve Welsh.

The title of the festival, “Lovely Music” originated combative and ironic title that Mimi Johnson, a New York agent, chose in 1978 for a record label she founded to feature composers she represented. One of them was her husband, Robert Ashley. Other performances include:

• A rendition of Linda Catlin Smith’s Dirt Road, a meditative, unadorned piece with violin and percussion elements in conversation. Local violinist Larissa O’Grady and percussionist Caitríona Frost will perform the piece.
• Blending Irish traditional music with southern Egypt, a performance by Irish musicians Zoë Conway and Inni-k with Syrian oud player Rihab Azar of Escalay (The Waterwheel) by Hamza El Din. El Din was an Egyptian player on the oud (Arabian lute) who moved to California in the early sixties and had a powerful effect on U.S. musicians from the Grateful Dead to Steve Reich. 
• New Vocal Soloists of Stuttgart will perform Karlheinz Stockhausen’s exuberant Stimmung for six voices. Known as the “father of electric music”, Stockhausen is one of the most lauded and controversial composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Having explored whole new worlds of noise-music and extreme harmony, Stockhausen in 1968 rediscovered pure consonance in this celebration of togetherness and bliss.

Now in its tenth year, the festival from the Louth Contemporary Music Society has become a much-anticipated annual event, showcasing the absolute best of contemporary music, and featuring performances by renowned composers, musicians, and ensembles.

Contributing to the cultural fabric of the local community in Dundalk, the festival has expanded more broadly as a unique and significant event on the international music calendar, garnering a reputation for its challenging and refreshing programming and authenticity.  

Some of the biggest names in contemporary music who have attended the concerts in Dundalk include Terry Riley, Caroline Shaw, Kaija Sarriaho, Salvatore Sciarrino, Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt and John Zorn.  A recording at the festival last year, Folks’ Music was released to international acclaim. 

Speaking of the upcoming event, organiser, and founder, Eamonn Quinn, said, “I think this year will have something for everyone. We wanted to push the boundaries of what people think of when they hear the term “lovely music”.

"The performances will feature operas with non-linear plots whose characters speak like they’re talking in their sleep. We’ll also have a performance that blend traditional Irish music with that of southern Egypt and reimagining of some of the most boundary pushing works of the last few years. Its of course, “lovely”, but it’s not Tchaikovsky. Its unexpected, vital and I hope, something wholly unique.” 

Interested patrons can book an all festival ticket here.