Sundays at Noon Concert Catch-up: Patrick Rafter - violin, Ciara Moroney -piano

Filmed in the sculpture hall of the Hugh Land Gallery 25th February 2024
Patrick Rafter- violin
Ciara Moroney - piano
Programme
Guillaume Lekeu: Sonata in G
Eugene Ysaye: Poeme Élégiaque
Lili Boulanger: Nocturne
Regarded as one of Ireland’s most outstanding musicians, international award-winning violinist and conductor Patrick Rafter has toured Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Internationally, Patrick has been the grand prize winner of multiple competitions including the Valiant Violin Competition, Switzerland 2016, and the London Performing Arts Competition 2017. During his career, Patrick has studied with and performed alongside some of the greatest performers in the world today, including Maxim Vengerov, Schlomo Mintz, Barry Douglas, and John O'Conor. Patrick has conducted the RTE Concert Orchestra as 1st prize winner of the Dublin Feis Ceoil in 2022. He makes his conducting debut in recording and performances with the RTE Concert in spring 2023. Other conducting debuts planned this season include Israel Camerata Jerusalem, London Mozart Players, and the Menuhin Soloists. As a choral conductor, Patrick has studied under distinguished names including Roland Börger, Zoltan Pad, Volker Hempfling, and Amy Bebbington. In 2020, he became artistic director of Carlow Voices, and in 2021, and was awarded the conducting fellow at U.C.D. Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Choir. As a violinist, he has performed as a soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras and ensembles including Prague Philharmonia, Mannheim Soloists, RTE Symphony Orchestra, Kyiv Soloists, and Camerata Ireland. He has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls such as National Concert Hall Ireland, Royal Albert Hall London, Berlin Konzerthaus, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Seoul Arts Centre. In October 2015, Patrick was personally invited to study under Maxim Vengerov at the International Menuhin Music Academy. Upcoming performances include Ireland, the UK, Israel, Germany, and Switzerland. In Patrick’s hometown of Kilkenny, he was awarded ‘Kilkenny Person of the Year' and was awarded the Coat of Arms of Kilkenny by the Mayor of Kilkenny City. He was honored with a Civic Reception in his name in 2022. Patrick is supported by Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme, funded by The Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht. Music Network is funded by The Arts Council of Ireland. Patrick performs on a Jean Baptiste Vuillaume 1842 Violin and a Eugene Sartory violin bow. He is an ambassador of Musafia Cases Cremona, Italy.
Irish pianist, Ciara Moroney performs throughout Ireland and the UK,
specialising in duo playing, chamber music and accompaniment. She is a
lecturer in piano and coach-accompaniment at the CIT Cork School of
Music. Ciara has a Postgraduate Diploma in Accompaniment from the
Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Andrew West, Michael
Dussek and Colin Stone. During her studies there she won the Scott
Huxley Prize for Piano Accompaniment and the Douglas Cameron Prize
for duo playing. Ciara also participated in the prestigious Song Circle
concert series. She has worked as a trainee repetiteur at the Cardiff
International Academy of Voice. Ciara began her studies in her native Cork and completed her BMus and MA degrees at the Cork School of Music, where her principal piano teacher was Jan Čàp. During this time she won many competitions, most notably the Yamaha Piano Scholarship in 2002. Ciara has appeared as soloist with the Cork School of Music Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Cork Symphony Orchestra, Wexford Sinfonia and the Kilkenny Youth Orchestra. She has performed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and in concerts with the Irish Youth Choir and the Cork Children’s Chorus, with whom she undertook a tour of Japan in July
2006. Ciara has taken part in concerts at the Cork School of Music; Aula
Maxima, UCC; Crawford Art Gallery; Cork City Hall; National Concert Hall,
Dublin; St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Purcell Room; St. James’ Church,
Piccadilly and the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall among many other
venues. Ciara has performed with Irish Heritage on several occasions in
venues such as St. John’s Smith Square, the Actor’s Church, Covent
Garden and the Royal Overseas League. Keenly interested in duo playing and chamber music, Ciara has worked. with Emma Johnson (clarinet), Aisling Casey (oboe), Keith Pascoe (violin), Patrick Rafter (violin), Cara O’Sullivan (soprano), Mary Hegarty (soprano), Majella Cullagh (soprano), Brian O’Kane (cello), Mairéad Hickey (violin), Clare Southworth (flute) and Ian Clarke (flute) among many others, and has collaborated with the Vanbrugh and the Carducci string quartets.

[@PaolaEnergya]

A wonderful treat on a Sunday afternoon, thank you!