Corkonians Abroad: My life in Paris is wonderful

THIS week, I caught up with Mairead Hickey, from the Lough in Cork city, who now lives in Paris.

She is an acclaimed violinist and has performed as a soloist with a multitude of orchestras, ranging from the RTÉ Irish National Symphony Orchestra to the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. She has played in Carnegie Hall, New York, along with some other incredible musical venues.

Mairead is a passionate Chamber musician and has performed alongside an impressive array of musical talents from her field.

She is also a talented fiddle player and has won eight world Irish fiddle titles.

In 2016, Mairead co-founded the Ortús Chamber Music Festival in Cork, of which she is currently the Artistic Director.

She is one of the most talented young people to come out of Cork in the musical world and her list of accomplishments simply goes on and on - but I’ll let Mairead share some insight into her life in Paris in her own words.

How did you end up living in the wonderful city of Paris?

I moved to Paris as I have always loved the city. As a musician, I have to travel a lot and Paris is so well connected, especially by train.

What is life like in your new home?

Life in Paris is wonderful. It’s inspiring just to walk around and be surrounded by beautiful architecture and fantastic food. 

There is so much easily accessible culture everywhere, from museums and art galleries to concerts, ballet and opera.

What has been the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge for me was dealing with a neighbour in my previous apartment who hated the sound of the violin. Before we moved into my current apartment, we knocked on all of the doors of the whole building to see if anyone would mind having a pianist and a violinist as their new neighbours. Luckily, our current neighbours are wonderful and some of them are even musicians themselves.

How might you spend your weekends?

For musicians, there isn’t much of a difference between the weekends and weekdays as we have to practise every day.

My typical day in Paris usually goes something like this; I normally start my morning with a walk to the bakery for a fresh croissant or baguette and then a couple of hours of practice until lunch.

In the afternoon, I might take a walk and do some more practice, then in the evening, meet up with some friends for dinner or see a concert.

I live quite near the Opera de Bastille so I often take advantage of the cheap last-minute youth tickets for operas and ballets.

Tell us a bit about the culture of where you live?

Despite their reputation, Parisians make the most out of life. Good food is important, good wine and culture. As well as the many orchestras, the opera, ballet and theatres, music is everywhere in Paris. Bars and restaurants are filled with jazz and all types of music. In the summer months, people dance in the street all over the city and along the river. You can find anything from swing and salsa to Viennese waltzing and traditional Breton dances and anyone passing by is welcome to join.

What is different about life in France compared to Ireland?

I would say the main difference is the importance of food and of eating together in France. In France, if you invite someone over for a drink, it is usual to prepare food with it. Meal times are respected and people often have a two-hour lunch break every day. 

Even on a Monday, restaurants and terraces are filled with people enjoying a three-course meal with a bottle of wine before returning to the office.

Tell us about your career so far?

I’m a professional violinist so I travel around playing concerts. Sometimes I play as a soloist, other times as guest concertmaster with orchestras.

What I love most of all is playing chamber music, anything from a duo recital to an octet. Every project is different as I play different music with different people so I am constantly learning and finding new inspiration.

The great thing about being a musician is that you never stop learning, no matter how old you are or how long you’ve been playing. You can play a great piece of music a hundred times and still discover something new.

Tell us about the Ortus music festival that you co-founded and are the Artistic Director of?

This will be the ninth edition of the Ortús Chamber Music festival, which I started with my friend Sinead O’Halloran when I was just 18. It’s a chance for us to bring friends from all over the world together in Cork to perform chamber music works that we all love for a local audience.

We have a fantastic group of musicians joining us this year, including Cork’s own Alex and Kelley Petcu (percussion and voice). Joining us from Amsterdam we have cellist Ella van Poucke and Irish pianist Sean Morgan-Rooney, from Paris, pianist Jérémie Moreau, and from Berlin, Russian violist Karolina Errera. Also from Cork, Marja Gaynor (violin) and Aoife Nic Athlaioch (cello) will be performing with Siobhán Armstrong (harp).

We will perform in six different concerts in Cork city, Bantry, Midleton and Mitchelstown from February 25 to March 3.

You can find all of the information including where to buy tickets on ortusfestival.ie

If you were back in Cork for one day, what would be the ideal day for you?

An ideal day in Cork would just be spending time with my family and maybe going for a walk by the sea with our dog. If it really is ideal, then it would also be a sunny day.

What are you looking forward to in the coming months?

Apart from the festival, I’m looking forward to playing concerts in Spain, France, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Ireland during the next few months.

Is there anything that you especially miss about Cork?

I miss my family. My parents are still living in Cork and as my brother and I are both musicians living abroad, it’s difficult for us to find days we are all free at the same time to meet up together.

Any special mentions?

A special thank-you to my music teachers and everyone who nurtured my musical development in Cork, especially my violin teacher Adrian Petcu and piano teacher Gabriela Mayer.

I would like to also thank the hard-working organisers of festivals and concerts, in particular the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and the National String Quartet Foundation, and all the friends and supporters of the Ortús Chamber Music Festival.