Cork's Ortús Chamber Music Festival set to hit the high notes 

The Ortús Chamber Music Festival has announced its latest programme of events in honour of the organisation’s 10th anniversary.

The celebratory festival, which includes a range of concerts and events, will take place from February 27 to March 2 in venues across Cork city and county. 

These will include Blackrock Castle, Dripsey Castle Estate, Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, the Aula Maxima in UCC, the MTU Cork School of Music, and St Peter’s Cork.

Set up in 2016 by childhood friends Sinéad O’Halloran and Mairéad Hickey who shared a strong desire to bring the world’s finest musicians to Cork, the 2025 festival will feature many of the world’s finest classical and trad musicians to truly celebrate their decade milestone.

In this year’s line-up, co-founder Ms O’Halloran, cellist in the renowned Marmen Quartet, will perform with fellow quartet members Johannes Marmén and Laia Valentin Braun, who will both play violin and Bryony Gibson-Cornish on the viola. 

They will also be joined by Slovenian clarinettist Aliaž Beguš.

Beloved works

The programme will travel across the centuries with beloved works by Mozart, Brahms, Bartók, and Dvořák, as well as featuring contemporary works, including those by Irish composers Sam Perkin and Ben Dwyer.

The debut album from the Marmen, who have been signed to BIS, is set to be released this month, with music from this album featured at this year’s festival.

Also performing throughout the four-day festival will be Irish traditional group Strung, who specialise in a fusion of traditional Irish and classical music, comprising members Lucia MacPartlin and Maria Ryan, playing violin; Kaitlin Cullen-Verhuez, playing the cello, and Luke Howard, playing the piano.

Their act will further feature Ms MacPartlin and Ms Ryan’s fiddle duo.

Tickets for each event vary in price, starting from €15, and can be purchased online via the Ortús Chamber Music Festival website, or in-person at Pro Musica, 20 Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork.

For more information visit: http://ortusfestival.ie/.