Franciscan Friary to host a special Clonmel Junction celebration concert

The Franciscian Friary in Clonmel will host a special concert this Friday night that will celebrate what has been a centre for reflection in the town centre for generations.

Clonmel Junction has been given the go-ahead to hold a concert at the Franciscan Friary which is due to close in January.

“With the recent sad news that the Friary is to close in January, we reached out to the Friars and were delighted when they agreed to allow this very special concert take place there. As a building that incorporates the Tower of the 13th Century medieval site into the present church, we will celebrate a location that has provided a place of solace and reflection in the centre of Clonmel for generations,” said Cliona Maher.

The concert, entitled: A Little Night Music, will take place at 7pm on Friday evening October 21.

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik – or “a little night music” is the title of one of Mozart’s famous pieces for string quartet, and is one of the well-known classical music favourites that Eamon O’Malley and Libra String Quartet will perform for the upcoming Sofa Symphony concert in Clonmel.

Eamon started the Sofa Symphony idea as a listening party during lockdown with the intention of encouraging people to listen to music together when they couldn’t do so physically.

The online series was very popular and he was invited to present concerts at the Source Arts Centre.

Eamon presented two concerts – Baroque Masters and Classical Romance – as part of the 2022 Clonmel Junction Festival.

With this concert, Eamon will open a door to the music of Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and Handel, performed by the talented local musicians of Libra String Quartet.

The “secret concert” venue will take place at the Franciscan Friary, a stunning venue in Clonmel that brings an architectural beauty to a historical location.

GUIDED CONCERT

A Little Night Music will be a guided concert experience in a warm, comfortable environment, where the organisers will add a little theatrical magic to the venue to create a sensory experience of the arts.

Eamon O’Malley is a Tipperary-based musician, composer, musical director and educator. He is the Musical Director of Uproar Rock Chorus and Belle Voci Choir. His first solo EP - Liminal Spaces Vol 1 - was released in December 2020 and is available to stream from all major platforms.

He is also the creator and host of the Sofa Symphony Listening Party series - an online interactive listening party experience that focus on great works of concert music.

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Eamon  is a founder member of CLE, an electro-acoustic music and digital media ensemble based in Clonmel.

He recently composed Clonmel Song Cycle, a Culture Night event produced by Clonmel Junction Festival.

Libra String Quartet are a highly regarded ensemble of full-time professional musicians based in the south-east. Gerri Dunne (cello), Eimear Heeney (first violin), Barry Kennedy (second violin) and Victoria Birlea (viola) all come from rich musical backgrounds and are in demand throughout Ireland and internationally, delighting audiences with their repertoire.

A Little Night Music is produced by Clonmel Junction Festival as part of the Local Live Performance Programme Scheme (Round 4), funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in conjunction with Tipperary County Council.

Tickets can be booked at www.junctionfestival.com