Co-founder & Artist Director of the Ortús Chamber Music Festival, Sinéad O’Halloran is passionate about bringing together Irish and international musicians for concerts, education work and audience development in the wider community. As cellist of the award-winning Marmen Quartet, Sinéad has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, Boulez-Saal, BBC Proms, Lucerne Festival & Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale. Winner of the RNCM Gold Medal 2021 and a strong affiliation with IMS Prussia Cove, she is also a regular guest with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. She spent seven years touring with the European Union Youth Orchestra, leading the cello section at numerous high profile events around the world, including the BBC Proms and the Armistice Day Centenary Celebrations in front of 84 world leaders. In 2023 Sinéad performed the world premiere of Shaun Davey’s Cello Concerto “Refuge” with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. A Pirastro Artist signed with the BIS label, her debut album with the Marmen Quartet (released in January 2025) features works by Ligeti & Bartok. Future releases include works by Debussy, Ravel and Takemitsu and a CD of collaborative works with composer/violist Garth Knox. Sinéad teaches chamber music at the Royal College of Music London and plays on a cello made by David Tecchler (Rome, 1714) generously on loan to her from the Royal Society of Musicians. Sinéad gratefully acknowledges support from the Arts Council of Ireland, Music Network, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
With the courage, vitality and intensity of its performances, the Marmen Quartet is fast establishing itself as one of the most impressive and engaging talents in chamber music, demonstrated by recent first prizes at the prestigious Bordeaux and Banff International String Quartet Competitions.
The quartet brings its energy and intelligence to an impressive range of repertoire, ranging from Haydn to music of today. Last season they gave the world premiere of Garth Knox’s Secret Letters, written for them as a companion piece to Janáček’s Intimate Letters. Previous commissions have included Salina Fisher’s Heal, composed for them in the wake of the pandemic, and they made their Australian debut in 2023, playing a work written for them by Hannah Kendall as part of the Australian National Academy of Music’s Quartetthaus project. They are currently working on a new project with composer Samuel Adams and percussionist DOMNIQ.
Their recording schedule for BIS also demonstrates their wide-ranging musical appetite. Their debut recording in 2024 features works by Ligeti and Bartók, with future recordings including Debussy, Ravel and Takemitsu; Haydn quartets and Chausson’s Concert and Franck’s Piano Quintet with violinist Johan Dalene and pianist Can Çakmur.
The quartet has played in the UK’s most prestigious halls and festivals, including Wigmore Hall and BBC Proms, and its reputation is spreading quickly across Europe, with performances including at Berlin Philharmonie, Boulez Saal, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Stockholm Konserthuset, Palladium Malmö and Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, as well as festival appearances at Lockenhaus, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Rheingau, Heidelberg and Zeister Musiekdagen music festivals, as well as the Amsterdam, Barcelona and
Gulbenkian Foundation string quartet festivals.
Recent North American highlights have included performances in Calgary, Kelowna, Victoria and Capital Region Classical and the group recently completed its Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence at Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, in partnership with the Banff International String Quartet Competition The quartet formed at the Royal College of Music in 2013, and has returned there as Quartet in Association, giving regular coaching to chamber music groups, playing in side-by-side projects, and mentoring young quartets through the RCM String Quartet Platform.
They held a Guildhall School of Music String Quartet Fellowship (2018–20) and studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover with Oliver Wille, as well as in London with Simon Rowland-Jones and John Myerscough (Doric Quartet). They were mentored by the late Peter Cropper and have received support from the Musicians Company/Concordia Foundation, Hattori Foundation, Help Musicians and Royal Philharmonic Society (Albert and Eugenie Frost Prize). The Marmen Quartet is an official Pirastro Artist.
Learn more at www.marmenquartet.com.
Strung are a contemporary Irish music ensemble based in Cork, comprising Maria Ryan (violin/vocals), Lucia Mac Partlin (violin), Kaitlin Cullen-Verhuez (cello) and Luke Howard (piano). While undergoing classical training at Cork School of Music, they maintained a participating interest in Irish traditional music. Their dynamic ensemble and unique backgrounds allow them to subtly integrate complex harmonies and innovative motifs, while staying true to the deep-rooted authenticity of traditional Irish melodies. Strung’s sound radiates with originality, yet has an understated energy that instantly captivates.
In April 2017, Strung performed their album with the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra at Cork Opera House. This project, which took place as part of the ‘Right Here Right Now’ festival, involved the arrangement of the entire album. More recently, Strung performed in Gothenburg Sweden as part of the TIMSIG series of concerts.
“Strung is a group whose star is on the ascent, and will no doubt take their rightful place as one of the great contemporary Irish bands in the years ahead”
– Éamonn de Barra
“A new approach to the tradition using the rarely heard instrumental combination of piano, two fiddles and cello. It is a must listen for lovers of the traditon as well as forward thinking innovators within music” – Pádraig Rynne
“As the first place winners of the Michigan Irish music initiative, Strung travelled to Michigan and entranced our very discerning audience and were the talk of the festival”– Tom Schaub
“This album aptly showcases the sheer ability and creative spark of the group, combining classical music with traditional music in new and exciting ways” – Seán Óg Graham, Beoga
“…symphonic grace and contemporary brilliance alongside a sound that can only come from a deep knowledge of the Irish tradition”– Martin Tourish, Altan.
Johannes Marmen enjoys a varied, international career as a chamber musician and orchestral leader. He is the first violinist of the award winning Marmen Quartet, member of the O/Modernt chamber orchestra and a regular guest leader of various orchestras and ensembles. He studied with Radu Blidar and Carolin Widmann at the Royal College of Music, and was mentored by Peter Cropper of the Lindsay Quartet.
Since winning the Banff and Bordeaux international string quartet competitions in 2019, the Marmen Quartet is one of the most sought-after young quartets around, appearing at Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Lucerne Festival, Amsterdam Quartet Biennale amongst others. As a composer and interpreter of contemporary music, Johannes is regularly commissioned and has recently had works and arrangements performed in the Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and Berlin Konzerthaus as well as being featured on releases by Signum Records and Orchid Classics.
Bryony Gibson-Cornish is a versatile violist known for her expressive sound and engaging stage presence. Born in New Zealand, she studied at The Juilliard School as a Fulbright Scholar and completed an Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music (RCM), where she was awarded the Tagore Gold Medal. Bryony is now a professor of viola and chamber music at the RCM, her musical home. She is the violist of the Marmen Quartet, which has won top honours at the Banff and Bordeaux International String Quartet Competitions. The quartet has performed at the BBC Proms, Berlin Philharmonie, and Wigmore Hall, with biennale appearances in Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Lisbon. They made their Australian debut in 2023 and are currently Ensemble in Association at RCM. Their debut recording of Ligeti and Bartók quartets was released in January on BIS Records. Alongside performing, Bryony composes and studied composition with Dr. Phillip Lasser at Juilliard. She is excited to debut her viola concerto, Waiporoporo Moana, at Ortús. Bryony is a Stradivari Trust Artist, and with their support, plays on a 1610 Brothers Amati viola, an instrument that was formerly played in the Allegri and Lindsay Quartets. She plays on modern bows made by Lauri Tanner, made possible by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins.
Swiss born violinist Laia Valentin Braun enjoys a vivid chamber music career, having appeared in halls and festivals all around Europe. As the second violinist of the award winning Marmen String Quartet he has appeared in Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Berlin, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian Lisbon, Konserthuset Stockholm and has appeared as a Soloist with Camerata Zurich and most recently performing Robert
Schumann’s Violin Concerto with the Kammerorchester Basel.
Laia regularly plays with the Italy based project Spira mirabilis and has co-founded the chamber music collective Ensemble Vindeleia, which meets bi-annually in northern Spain. Apart from solo and chamber music performance, Laia has enjoyed playing as a guest in orchestras such as the Zürcher Kammerorchester, Camerata Bern, CHAARTS, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Manchester
Camerata, among others. His studies have led him to London where Laia learnt at the Royal College of Music under Detlef Hahn, later to the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole under Lorenza Borrani and finally he concluded his studies at the Musik Akademie Basel under Rainer Schmidt. Furthermore, Laia has received coaching from musicians such as Leonidas Kavakos,
Maxim Vengerov, Thomas Zehetmair and Heinrich Schiff, among others.
Aljaž Beguš was born in 1985 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He began his musical studies at the age of seven in the Music School Ljubljana Moste-Polje with Joze Kregar and Franc Trzan. At thirteen he entered the High School for Music and Ballet of Ljubljana where he studied with Joze Kotar. He continued his studies in the Music Academy of Ljubljana with the same professor and was awarded his Diploma in May 2009 with the highest marks. In the year 2008, he was accepted in the class of Michel Arrignon at the prestigious Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, where he studied for two years.
Aljaz Begus was awarded several prizes and honors. Among them are five first prizes on the Young Musician Competition of the Republic of Slovenia TEMSIG (1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006 ), with three additional special prizes for the performance of Slovenian compositions. He was also the winner of International Competitions such as Citta’ di Carlino and Marco Fiorindo in the Junior Category (Italy, 2002). In 2004 he was awarded the 3rd Prize in the Senior Category in Citta’ di Carlino. In 2007 he was also a semifinalist in the International Competition EBU New Talent in Bratislava. With the woodwind quintet Spirito he was semifinalist of ARD Munich competition 2014. In 2005 was awarded the Preseren Student Prize. Aljaž Beguš participated in masterclasses with Mate Bekavac, Charles Neidich, Eduard Brunner, Jacques Zoon ( Academie musicale de Villecroze ), Sergio Azzolini and Menahem Pressler.
As a chamber musician he appeared with the following musicians: Alexander Lonquich, Sergio Azzolini, Dag Jensen, Giorgio Mandolesi, Jacques Zoon, Nicholas Daniel, Enrico Bronzi, Bruno Canino, Maria Joao Pires, Lorenza Borrani, Dora Schwarzberg, Mate Bekavac, Ramon Ortega Quero, Ensemble Midwest.
He has been a member of orchestras such as English National Opera, Orchestra da Camera di Mantova, Spira Mirabilis, Orchestra Mozart, Haydn Philharmonie, European Union Youth Orchestra, and in Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester. He has been a regular collaborator with the SNG Maribor, RTV Slovenia, Academia Sancti Petri, Chamber Orchestra Festine, and with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. He appeared as a soloist with all of the above Slovenian orchestras and also with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Jeaner Philharmonie,Orquesta da camara de Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia, Brass Orchestra of the Ljubljana Music Academy and with the RTV Big Band Orchestra. He has also appeared in the following music festivals, Bolzano Festival, Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, Mantova Chamber Music Festival, Podium Festival. Currently, he is a bass clarinetist with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Violin virtuoso duo Lucia Mac Partlin and Maria Ryan, also known as “Lucia and Maria” met while studying in Cork and quickly realized their shared passion for folk music. While they both have been studying Classical music on the violin from an early age, the pair have also been deeply immersed in the world of Traditional Irish music, among other genres, and now draw on all of these influences in their music to stunning effect. The duo completed their Masters’ at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden before returning home to record their debut album “Live at the Chapel” at Griffith College Chapel in Cork in 2018. Since then Lucia and Maria have toured worldwide, both as a duo and with their contemporary Irish Ensemble Strung. They aim to forever push the boundaries of fiddle music and enthrall audiences both nationally and internationally.
Kseniia Yershova is a violin and viola player from Ukraine. She graduated from the Stolyarsky
Lyceum in Odesa and is currently pursuing her BMus degree at the MTU Cork School of Music under the tutelage of Gregory Ellis and Simon Aspell. Kseniia is a laureate of various competitions and recently won the Advanced Recital Competition 2024 on the violin at MTU CSM. She has performed several times as a soloist at the Odesa Regional Philharmonic from 2019 to 2021. Kseniia has improved her skills through numerous masterclasses with renowned violin professors, including Ani Schnarch (UK), Andrii Murza (Ukraine/Germany), Patrick Rafter (Ireland), and Maurice Sklar (USA). In 2024, she participated in the Camerata Ireland Academy, where she had masterclasses with Andrey Baranov (Switzerland). As a passionate chamber musician, Kseniia performs on both violin and viola in various ensembles. In 2024, she attended the West Cork Chamber Music Festival as the violinist of the Allegria Quartet. Currently, she is a member of two quartets at MTU CSM: the Gealach Quartet (as a first violinist) and the Meliora Quartet (as a violist). Kseniia is also an active orchestral musician, frequently performing in different orchestras of Ireland, such as the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra, CSM Symphony Orchestra, Cork Concert Orchestra, Cork Fleischmann Symphony Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. In December 2024, she also joined the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for one of the concerts and a recording for the Lyric FM. Notably, she led the CSM Symphony Orchestra during the Cork Choral
Festival Gala Concert in May 2024 and, since September 2024, has been a co-principal violist of the orchestra. In addition to her solo and ensemble work, Kseniia is the artistic director of a family quintet, “Yershovy Sisters”, for which she often arranges music.
The Gealach Quartet was formed in September 2023 under the guidance of Christopher Marwood at MTU Cork School of Music. The quartet have performed in places such as UCC’s Aula Maxima, Crawford Art Gallery, and St. Brendan’s Church in Bantry and continues to perform in numerous other venues. In May 2024, the Gealach Quartet won the first prize in CSM’s Vanbrugh Chamber Music Competition, performing Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 1. Kseniia Yershova is a graduate of the Stolyarsky Lyceum in Odea, Ukraine and is currently pursuing her BMus degree at the MTU School of Music under the tutelage of Gregory Ellis and Simon Aspell. She has performed several times as a soloist at the Odesa Regional Philharmonic from 2019 to 2021 and is also an active chamber and orchestral musician, leading the CSM Symphony Orchestra during the Cork Choral Festival 2024 and performing at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival with the Allegria Quartet. Ellen O’Connell is a second-year BMus student studying at the MTU Cork School of Music. She is studying violin under Katherine Hunka and was previously taught by Gregory Ellis. A keen chamber music player, she has played in numerous ensembles over the past five years. Ellen is currently the leader of the second violin section in the Cork School of Music Symphony Orchestra and a past member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. Ellen also plays the piano and is currently studying organ with James Taylor. Ilona Adams is a viola player from Dublin currently pursuing an MA in performance in CSM under Simon Aspell. Prior to this, she studied in RIAM part-time with Lisa Dowdall while completing a BSc and ME in engineering at UCD. As a chamber musician, she has been coached by members of the Vanbrugh, Contempo Quartet and Signum Quartet. Shortly after moving to Ireland, Alina Obreja took up the cello with Sonja Cadogan in Portlaoise. She is currently undergoing her studies at MTU Cork School of Music, specialising in performance under the tutelage of Christopher Marwood. Since starting the degree, Alina has developed a passion for chamber music, participating in various ensembles. Since 2023, she has been a principal cellist of the Cork School of Music Symphony Orchestra.
Celebrated Irish violinist Mairéad Hickey is acclaimed for her captivating expression, soaring tone and fearless virtuosity. Her natural ability to communicate sincerely, with beauty and integrity, entrances audiences worldwide.
As a soloist Mairéad has performed with the RTÉ Irish National Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Irish National Concert Orchestra, Hessicher Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester, Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Württembergisches Kammerorchester, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, Kremerata Baltica, Chamber Orchestra of Europe , Camerata Ireland and with conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach in some of the major halls around the world. Her Carnegie Hall debut was described as ‘…magical, penetrating to the heart and soul of the music.’ (New York Epoch Times)
Mairéad was the concertmaster of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire from 2021 to 2023. She is frequently invited to perform as guest concertmaster in orchestras including Orchestra National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestre de Paris and Orquesta Simfónica del Gran Teatre del Liceu.
A passionate chamber musician, Mairéad has performed with Sir András Schiff, Barry Douglas, Tabea Zimmermann, Renaud Capuçon, Mate Bekavac, Irena Grafenauer, Alexander Lonquich, Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, Alain Altinoglu, Kirill Gernstein, Paul Neubauer, Pieter Wispelway, Michel Lethiec, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and the Vanbrugh Quartet among many others.
Mairéad has been invited to perform at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Westport Festival of Chamber Music, the Clandeboye Music Festival, the Rheingau Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Festival International de Colmar, Mantova Chamber Music Festival, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Rolandseck Festival and Chamber Music Connects the World.
Her love of chamber music led her to co-found the Ortús Chamber Music Festival in 2016 in her native Cork, of which she is Artistic Director.
Mairéad was Irish NCH Young Musician of the Year 2010 – 2012. As well as winning prizes at renowned Irish competitions, she won third prize as well as a Special Prize for the best interpretation of a virtuoso work at the 2016 International Louis Spohr Competition and first prize in the Jeunesses Musicales Violin Competition, Romania 2012. In 2017 she was awarded a Special Prize in the Berliner International Music Competition and the Manhattan International Music Competition. She was awarded the André Hoffmann prize at the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad in January 2022 for her interpretation of the world premiere performance of Wolfgang Rhim’s ‘Episode’.
Born in 1996, Mairéad began playing the violin at the age of three with Jyrki Pietila. From 2003 to 2014 she studied with Adrian Petcu at the CIT Cork School of Music, Ireland and spent a year in France studying at the Conservatoire de Nantes with Constantin Serban. In 2020 she graduated with a Masters in Performance from Kronberg Academy where she studied with Mihaela Martin, sponsored by the Hilmar Kopper Stipendium.
Mairéad has taken masterclasses and worked intensely with artists such as András Schiff, Rita Wagner, Ferenc Rados, Gidon Kremer, Dora Schwarzberg, Elena Bashkirova, Hugh Maguire, Vadim Repin, Mariana Sirbu, Ana Chumachenco, Vadim Gluzman, Steven Isserlis, Yossi Zivoni, Mauricio Fuks, Gabor Takács-Nagy, Christoph Eschenbach, Marc Danel and Ivry Gitlis among others.
Mairéad also plays traditional Irish music and has won eight world Irish fiddle titles.
Mairéad currently plays a 1702 Giovanni Tononi violin.
Learn more at www.maireadhickey.com