Westland Wind Quintet Workshop Friday 26th May

Miriam Kaczor (flute), Conor Cavanagh (oboe), Seamus Wylie (clarinet), Greg Crowley (bassoon), Hannah Miller (french horn)
 
Ballina School is delighted to welcome the Westland Wind Quintet to hold a workshop on the morning of Friday the 26th of May. They are playing in the Killaloe Chamber Music Festival as part of the festivals annual Emerging Artists Platform. 

​The Westland Wind Quintet was formed in 2012 as a student ensemble of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where they were coached by Brian O’Rourke and William Dowdall on a weekly basis for almost 3 years. In 2014 they were prizewinners in the ESB Feis Ceoil Chamber Music Cup as well as participating in the young ensemble residency at the KBC Great Music in Irish Houses Festival, where they received masterclasses from Michael Collins and Cormac O’hAodain. In addition to working in a wind quintet setting they often play in wind sections of orchestras together, perform in a wide range of styles – from early baroque to experimental contemporary music – with different ensembles across Ireland and abroad, and, above all, they really enjoy spending time together!

Hannah studied with Fergus O’Carroll at the RIAM and Erja Joukamo-Ampuja in the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. At only 21 years of age she was appointed Assistant Principal Horn of the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra in Finland. She has performed with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Sinfonietta, Kirkos Ensemble and NOYI. She successfully competed in a number of national competitions and recently she was a soloist with the Dublin Consort, along Richard Watkins and the Wexford Sinfonia, along three of her horn-playing Finnish colleagues.
Miriam studied at the RIAM with William Dowdall. She was the Irish Freemasons’ Young Musician of the Year 2015 and appeared as a concerto soloist with the RTÉ National Symphony, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Dublin Orchestral Players and Esker Festival Orchestra. She is a member of the Kirkos Ensemble and has previously performed with, the Vanbrugh Quartet, Crash Ensemble, Britten-Pears Orchestra and Britten-Pears Baroque Ensemble. Miriam is supported by Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme, funded by The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Seamus is currently in his final year of the BA in Music Performance at the RIAM where he studies with John Finucane. As an orchestral player he has worked with, among others, the RTÉ National Symphony, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, NYOI and a number of other Dublin-based ensembles. A multiple prizewinner in clarinet and chamber music categories, he recently performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
Conor began studying the oboe at the age of 10 with Ruby Ashley as a scholarship student at the RIAM. He has been a member of the NYOI and has played a highly active role in the orchestral and chamber music life within the RIAM. Aside from regular freelance orchestral playing, he has performed concertos by Haydn, Marcello, Bellini and Mozart. His recent engagements include solo and chamber recitals in collaboration with the RTÉ Con Tempo Quartet and an internationally compiled wind octet as part of Music for Galway.
Greg is a bassoonist from Dublin, currently studying on a scholarship at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He frequently returns to Dublin to freelance with notable ensembles such as the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. He has also recently competed in an International Wind and Brass competition held in Poland, impressively making it to the final to be awarded with distinction among many wind and brass competitors from around the world.
 
Their eagerly anticipated concert will be at 11:00am in Wood & Sons Café, Killaloe on Saturday 27th May they will perform works by Malcom Arnold, Alain Ridout & the very popular Sergej Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with Sarah O’Donnell as narrator.