The National Concert Hall, Dublin, has announced a new residency programme to be based at its Earlsfort Terrace premises. The residencies have been offered to two music organisations — the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the National Chamber Choir — and a seperate artist writing space has been offered to five songwriters, including Cathy Davey, Neil Hannon, Glenn Keating, James Vincent McMorrow and Paul Noonan.

Simon Taylor, Chief Executive of the NCH, said that the programme is ‘an integral part of the National Concert Hall’s development plans for its Earlsfort Terrace site, making productive use of space, initiating artistic and strategic partnerships, facilitating musical creativity, delivering additional value for public money and building the Hall’s status as the home of music in Ireland’. The NCH, which formerly shared the building with University College, Dublin, took over the remainder of the building a number of years ago and started using the new spaces for events in 2009. The spaces have since been used for regular concerts in the Kevin Barry Room venue, as well as festivals such as New Music Dublin and the art festival Dublin Contemporary.

The artist writing spaces programme is a pilot programme running from May 2013 to May 2014, where the artists are provided with one writing space each for twelve months. ‘I’m particularly delighted that the programme can provide for contemporary song culture as well as classical music, all – literally – under one roof,’ said Taylor. ‘We look forward to fascinating creative connections and collaborations emerging and to our residents becoming an integral part of the Hall’s programme.’

nch.ie