Irish Chamber Orchestra announce ‘Music as a Living Experience’ for 2026/2027 season

Irish Chamber Orchestra announce ‘Music as a Living Experience’ for 2026/2027 season

Irish Chamber Orchestra announces 2026/27 season, celebrating ‘Music as a Living Experience’ from September 2026 to June 2027

Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) has announced its 2026/27 Season, where music becomes a living, shared experience shaped by world-class artists and bold, imaginative programming.

Across the season, sound becomes story, drawing audiences into landscapes of nature, memory, and emotion. From internationally celebrated soloists to long-standing artistic collaborators, each programme offers a distinct journey; intimate, immersive, and alive with connection.

The season opens in Limerick on September 17 at St Mary’s Cathedral, with The Nature of Sound, a programme rich in atmosphere and energy. From Jane O’Leary, Dave Fennessy, Sam Perkin and Elaine Agnew to Erkki-Sven Tüür and Jessie Montgomery, music unfolds through shifting textures and light before Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight brings a moment of stillness that lingers long after the final note.

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On October 4 at University Concert Hall, Niall Breslin (Bressie) presents The Place That Has Never Been Wounded, a unique collaboration with ICO musicians blending music, spoken word, and visuals. Thoughtful and reflective, the programme creates space for pause, connection, and shared experience.

Later that month, violinist Henning Kraggerud returns to lead Spark & Serenade. Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata offers intimacy and warmth, while Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings expands into something radiant and life-affirming at University Concert Hall on October 16.

On November 20 at University Concert Hall, pianist Yeol Eum Son directs Mozart Illuminated, performing two contrasting Mozart concertos. Moving between shadow and clarity, the programme reveals Mozart at his most searching, elegant, and luminous.

December brings a richly festive celebration with soprano Ava Dodd and the Irish Youth Choir. From Corelli’s Christmas Concerto to works by McGlynn, Holst, Mozart, Mahler and John Rutter, Christmas Magic blends reflection, joy, and seasonal warmth on December 16 at St Joseph’s Church.

February 5, 2027introduces Trumpet Tales, led by Aaron Azunda Akugbo. This vibrant programme celebrates pioneering African American composers including George Walker, Florence Price, and Jessie Montgomery, culminating in Bernstein’s electrifying West Side Story at University Concert Hall.

On March 5, 2027, Passion & Song brings together acclaimed mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught and violinist Henning Kraggerud for an intimate and deeply expressive evening of music by Handel, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Strauss and Grieg. This programme weaves together voice and violin in a programme of lyricism and expressive depth at St Mary’s Cathedral.

April 16, 2027 sees Artistic Partner Kristian Bezuidenhout return with Planet Mozart an all-Mozart programme at University Concert Hall. From the wit of The Impresario Overture to the dramatic intensity of the Piano Concerto in D minor, and the exhilarating Jupiter Symphony, the programme journeys through Mozart’s theatrical brilliance and emotional range.

On May 14 at University Concert Hall, Notes & Novels, directed by Henning Kraggerud, brings together the worlds of the Mendelssohns and the Brontës. Blending music, storytelling, and Kraggerud’s natural rapport with audiences, enter a richly atmospheric world where narrative and music beautifully intertwine.

The season concludes at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in Lismore, County Waterford from June 2 – 7, 2027, with a powerful double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, conducted by Franco Trinca (2, 4, 5 & 7 June, Lismore), alongside Balfe’s Falstaff (6 June, Lismore), with an ending that is dramatic, colourful, and unapologetically bold.

With the valued support of The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Irish Chamber Orchestra, continues to bring audiences in Ireland and internationally closer to music that is immediate, human, and deeply felt.

Find a full programme details for Limerick and beyond on the Irish Chamber Orchestra website.