LUNCHTIME CONCERTS
St Brendan's Church of Ireland, Oxmantown Mall, Birr
Birr Festival of Music is thrilled to be part of Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival 2025 with two special lunchtime concerts at St. Brendan's Church of Ireland this August.​
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Dermot Dunne and Ariel Hernandez stop off in Birr on their national reunion tour while acclaimed organist Thomas Charles Marshall will now perform with Francesco Giusti (counter tenor) and Nora O'Leary (baroque cello)​ who replace the previously billed Bogdan Sofei.
These concerts are kindly supported by
The JVM Trench Will Trust.
Tickets €10 (Children Free)
No booking required. Tickets can be purchased at the door each day. Please note: cash only.
Thursday 7 August, 1.05pm
Dermot Dunne accordion
Ariel Hernandez classical guitar & voice
Friday 8 August, 1.05pm
Thomas Charles Marshall organ
Francesco Giusti counter tenor
Nora O'Leary cello
Dermot Dunne accordion
Ariel Hernandez classic guitar & voice
Many concert-goers will remember the duo of Argentinian guitarist and singer Ariel Hernandez with Irish accordionist Dermot Dunne who, between 2003-2010 brought the excitement and passion of Latin music to Irish audiences from the National Concert Hall to Belfast Opera House, Vicar Street, Farmleigh House, the Bray Jazz Festival, Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures and beyond.
Their duo intricately combined the soulful voice and playing of Ariel with the instrumental flair of Dermot in a range of styles from the familiar Tango to the lesser known Chacarera, Zamba and Chamamé.
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After returning to Argentina in 2010, Ariel relocated from his hometown of Buenos Aires to a remote town in the interior Carpinteria, a region is steeped in local tradition and art, where Latin influences blend with native styles, immersing himself in performing the music of the region with the finest local musicians, recording numerous albums and appearing at festivals throughout the region.
Thursday 7 August
1.05pm
Ariel and Dermot's first album 'P'al que se va' takes its title from a song in which the singer tells a young man heading off to see the world that the road which takes him away is also the road that will bring him back. Now after many years, Ariel takes to the road once again to visit the place he called home 15 years ago for a reunion tour with his duo partner which will delight Irish audiences and in addition to the dances and songs of Ariel's native land will also include well known classics from the baroque era to beloved cinema scores.
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Tickets €10 (Children Free)
Tickets can be purchased at the door
Please note: cash only
Thomas Charles Marshall organ
Francesco Giusti counter tenor
Nora O'Leary cello
Please note: change to performers
Francesco Giusti and Nora O'Leary will now be replacing Bogdan Sofei for this performance
Thomas Charles Marshall is a graduate of Cambridge University, he studied organ with Shane Brennan in Mullingar, with Peter Hurford at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and with David Adams at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He is the Director of Music and Organist at St Ann’s Church, Dawson St. Dublin as well as director of the Dublin Male Voice Choir and Kildare Cathedral Singers.
Francesco Giusti
Born in Bologna, Italy, after studies of pianoforte, organ, composition and musicology Francesco started singing as a countertenor and has performed in many concerts in Europe, Japan and the USA. After a London Guildhall School singing BMus he studied at HMT Leipzig and Amsterdam Conservatorium, where he obtained a MMus. He moved to Ireland in 2017. He was a member of NIO studio in Belfast for the 2018/19 season and of the Irish National Opera ABL Studio for the 2021/22 season, during which he covered Tamerlano’s role in Vivaldi’s Bajazet, with IBO conducted by Peter Whelan, which saw his London ROH debut. Oratorio and opera roles include Ottone in Handel's Agrippina and The Cheshire Cat in Will Todd's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as well as title roles in Scarlatti/Martini’s “La Dirindina”, Greg Caffrey’s “Pamplemousse”, Handel’s Messiah and “Fernando, Re di Castiglia”, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio and B minor Mass.
Friday 8 August
1.05pm
Norah O'Leary is an Irish cellist and viola player specialising in period instrument performance. She holds a first-class Master’s degree in Performance of Early Music from the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki.
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Norah has since performed and recorded with several distinguished ensembles, including London Early Opera and Signum Records, featuring in their 2019 release Handel’s Queens. She has also regularly performed with the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Camerata Kilkenny, Sestina Music, Cork Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Scania Barock, and Ensemble OrQuestra.
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As a founding member of Ensemble Dagda, Norah has performed at prestigious festivals, including the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, East Cork Early Music Festival, Sligo Festival of Baroque Music, and the Encanto Festival in Helsinki.
​​Tickets €10 (Children Free)
Tickets can be purchased at the door
Please note: cash only
Kindly supported by
