3pm Saturday 14 November 2009
Blue Room Smarmore Castle Ardee.
Redmond O’Toole, 8-string guitar
Programme
Bach: Sonata No1 in G minor for unaccompanied violin BWV1001
Bach: Prelude Fugue and Allegro BWV 998
Scarlatti: Sonata in E major K380
Scarlatti:Sonata in D minor K213
Scarlatti:Sonata in A major K322
Redmond O’Toole will give a recital at 3pm on Saturday 14. November 2009 in Smarmore Castle . Through his unorthodox playing style and committed musicianship, Redmond O’Toole has emerged as one of the most innovative and exciting young guitarists in Europe. He plays an 8-string “Brahms Guitar” in the cello position, connected to a special resonating box. He has performed a number of important Concerti with Orchestra, and played first guitar in the critically acclaimed Dublin Guitar Quartet from its foundation until 2005. Collaborations with the Chieftains, the Callino Quartet, and Cora Venus Lunny, to name just a few, has resulted in numerous television and radio appearances in the UK and Ireland. Redmond O’Toole will be performing in the Blue Room of Smarmore Castle, a new and intimate venue for Ardee Baroque. Smarmore Castle has the distinction of being one of the longest continuously-inhabited castles in Ireland, with part of the keep dating back to 1320. The Blue Room, the venue for Redmond O’Toole’s recital is part of an eighteenth century addition, and will provide a stunning and unusual backdrop for the music of Bach and Scarlatti.
Redmond O’Toole
Redmond O’Toole is the 2009 National Concert Hall’s “Rising Star” and has been described as on of the most innovative and exciting young guitarists in Europe. His programmes range from renaissance to contemporary works. He was the first to adapt to Paul Galbraith’s newly invented Brahms guitar, an 8-stringed guitar played in the position of a cello. Recent engagements have seen Redmond tour Spain as a special guest with the Chieftains, a BBC recording as soloist with the BBC Ulster Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Montgomery and a performance with the acclaimed Dutch soprano Charlotte Riedjik at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Bantry. He performs regularly with the Chieftains and in duo with violinist Elizabeth Cooney.
Redmond has released two CDs with German Company Bornheim Klassik and will release a new CD with the Californian label VGO Recordings next year. He is the only Irish guitarist to have gained access to the famed Segovia class at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy where he studied with Oscar Ghiglia (former Assistant to Andres Segovia) over four years under scholarship. In 2003 he was the winner of the inaugural RDS music bursary, Ireland’s largest music prize. His main teachers were John Feeley, Paul Galbraith, Nigel North, and Oscar Ghiglia.
Please note that Smarmore Castle is not suitable for those with impaired mobility.
Tickets €10
For Box Office, contact Nicola on 087 6115679, or call into Ardee Town Council Offices on the Fair Green, Ardee.
