My Weekend: 'Nights out are few and far between with two smallies'

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

My name is Gary Beecher and I am a classical pianist. I was born in Cork and now live in Ballinlough with my wife and two children.

As a pianist, I perform concerts with singers and instrumentalists most regularly, but I occasionally enjoy performing as a soloist too. I have a particular love of vocal music as I really enjoy its theatrical directness.

Life as a performing musician is exhilarating, exciting and never boring. I have been lucky enough to perform in venues such as the Barbican Centre London, Wigmore Hall London, The National Concert Hall Dublin, The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Cork Opera House, among many others across Ireland and Europe.

Alongside my performing career, I teach at the MTU Cork School of Music, which I find exciting and rewarding. I work with third level students on the Bachelor of Music course as well as some second-level students too, as part of our conservatoire programme. For me, it’s a perfect balance and combination as I find both my performing work and teaching work feed into each other.

I studied at the MTU Cork School of Music and went on Erasmus exchange to the Universität Der Künste in Berlin, which was a wonderful experience, particularly so because I met my wife there. Annie is an engineer from Palma, Mallorca, and, fortunately for me, she was living in the same Erasmus exchange apartment building in Berlin.

After finishing my studies in Cork, we moved to London, where I continued my studies in the Guildhall School of Music in London. I later worked in Guildhall and travelled home regularly to Ireland to perform concerts as well as to other countries around Europe. London is such a wonderful hive of activity for anyone working in the arts and is so well connected in terms of flights, something I do miss.

When covid struck, my career as a freelance musician suddenly looked a lot more precarious than I originally thought. When a teaching position at the MTU Cork School of Music came up, I jumped at the opportunity. My performing work gradually returned as did our return to normality, and ever since I have managed to keep a good balance between performing and teaching.

Annie and I got married in 2022 and we now have two beautiful children. Our daughter Sofía is two years old and our son Eric is six months old.

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night?

Nights out are few and far between these days with our two smallies, but when we do get the chance (usually thanks to my very supportive parents helping us with some babysitting), my wife and I love to go out to catch a concert or show, and/or have a meal out. We are particularly looking forward to heading down to Blackwater Valley Opera Festival to see their production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni on Friday, May 29. My wife might also stick around to hear me perform there with my long-term collaborator and friend Niamh O’Sullivan on June 1. We’ve got a brand new water-themed programme with songs inspired by rivers, lakes, rain and sea which has been specifically curated for BVOF’s beautiful venue Dromore Yard on the banks of the Blackwater River.

Lie ins or up with the lark.. which is it for you?

I would favour a lie-in if I got the chance, but it is a rare occurrence these days!

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

Yes, my concerts often fall on weekends and I often need to use any free time I have at the weekends to learn new repertoire or for rehearsals with any collaborators for my upcoming concerts. However, juggling family life, a full-time teaching position and a busy performing career has definitely helped me to become much more efficient in all of my work. Looking back at my days as a student, I wonder what on earth I was doing in the practise room for six hours a day!

If money was no object, where would you head to on a weekend city break? And who would you bring with you?

My wife and I met in Berlin so perhaps a nice trip down memory lane there would be lovely or else a trip back to London (where we lived for a few years) would also be nice to catch a show or a concert. My favourite venue in London to perform in or go to as a spectator is the iconic Wigmore Hall. We would definitely squeeze in a chamber music concert or song recital there. A musical would be a must too as we are both musical theatre fans. I’m currently working as Associate Musical Director on Cork Opera House’s upcoming production of Sound of Music in July and August so some Rodgers and Hammerstein research might well be in order!

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries?

We love walking down the Marina when the weather’s nice, grabbing a nice coffee or stopping off at the Marina Market for some tasty grub.

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

Absolutely, we often pop over to my parents’ for a get-together with the family. We also love a trip to Fota with family or even a walk with friends.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

I occasionally get to the gym or the pool for a swim. If I get the time to link up with a friend, I do enjoy a refreshing sea ‘swim’ (it’s really more of a dip) and sauna or else a game of Padel or tennis. I also enjoy watching the rugby or else the odd Man Utd match.

Entertain or be entertained? If it’s the latter, do you have a signature dish?

Either or! If entertaining, I do enjoy putting a nice cheese board together with some nice red wine (notions..) but I’m not sure if that counts as a signature dish? I guess my go to dish would be a green Thai chicken curry.

We have so many places to eat out in Cork - where are your go to spots for coffee/ lunch/ special meal?

My go to spots are Cafe Moly Douglas St or Soma on Anglesea St for coffee. I recently discovered Twenty on Anglesea St for lunch - they do a delicious sourdough baguette with spiced beef, gherkin and cheese - yum! For a special meal though - Goldie, Oliver Plunkett St.

Sunday night comes around too fast.. how do you normally spend it?

Usually just organising the week ahead or finishing off boring house jobs! Although I must admit I enjoyed tuning into some Sunday night telly on catch-up in the last few months – Dancing with the Stars followed by Room to Improve!

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

Our daughter Sofía wakes up around 7 or 7:30am. I haven’t needed an alarm clock for a while now!

Anything else you are up to right now...

The incredibly talented mezzo soprano Niamh O’Sullivan and I are busy preparing for our upcoming concert in Dromore Yard on Monday, June 1, as part of Blackwater Valley Opera Festival. We have curated a really beautiful programme specifically for this festival, entitled Watersongs, and will feature songs by composers Schubert, Brahms, Debussy, Cole Porter among many others. We would love to see you there!

See https://www.garybeecher.com

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival (BVOF) returns to Waterford and East Cork from May 26 to June 1, 2026, for a week of exceptional opera and classical music in some of the region’s most striking historic settings. Ireland’s summer opera festival will present over 24 events, with more than 100 performers across 13 historic homes and venues in Lismore, Youghal, Dungarvan, and Castlemartyr. Tickets for all performances and bespoke dining experiences are now on sale, with many expected to sell out, so early booking is advised. www.blackwatervalleyoperafestival.com.