top of page
SCÉALTA - STORIES
21st–23rd MARCH 2025
(Including Early Music Week events 18–20 March) leading up to the Festival weekend
Faith and Fantasy
Tuesday 18th March 1:15pm
Lunchtime Concert:
Saint Mary’s Cathedral
(presented as part of Early Music Week)
Leila Clarke-Carr, violin
Yonit Kosovske, harpsichord
Whether it is a balm for the troubled or an inspiration to the faithful, music’s power is unmistakable--and this concert combines both sentiments in good measure. With a captivating performance provided by violinist Leila Clarke-Carr and harpsichordist Yonit Kosovske, be prepared for a remarkably beautiful recital that intertwines reflective works embodying faith and piety, with flights of fantasy and Baroque flourish. Featuring music by Isabella Leonarda, Antonio Bertali, Heinrich Ignaz Biber, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, and Dario Castello.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Lunchtime Concert:
Saint Mary’s Cathedral
(presented as part of Early Music Week)
Leila Clarke-Carr, violin
Yonit Kosovske, harpsichord
Whether it is a balm for the troubled or an inspiration to the faithful, music’s power is unmistakable--and this concert combines both sentiments in good measure. With a captivating performance provided by violinist Leila Clarke-Carr and harpsichordist Yonit Kosovske, be prepared for a remarkably beautiful recital that intertwines reflective works embodying faith and piety, with flights of fantasy and Baroque flourish. Featuring music by Isabella Leonarda, Antonio Bertali, Heinrich Ignaz Biber, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, and Dario Castello.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Contested (Hi)Stories in Media and Creative Art
Symposium, including Music Performance and Film Screening of Oksana Karpovych’s 'Intercepted' (2024)
3:30 – 8:30 pm, Venue tbc
3:30 pm Performance
4:15-5:15 pm Panel Discussion
5:15 pm Reception
6-7:30 pm Film Screening & Roundtable
Academics, arts practitioners and performers come together in this interdisciplinary symposium to discuss the role of media and creative arts in the telling of (Hi)Stories that challenge dominant narratives about global conflict and forced migration. Kicking off with a live performance by two Ukrainian musicians who recently arrived in Ireland, the event concludes with a public screening of the award-winning Canadian-French-Ukrainian documentary 'Intercepted', by Oksana Karpovych. In this feature-length documentary sound and image merge as the film contrasts quiet compositions of everyday life of Ukrainians since the full-scale invasion with intercepted phone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families. The film conveys a harrowing narrative of the realities of war, of border crossings and parallel worlds, without depicting the cruelties of warfare on screen, or simply juxtaposing victims and perpetrators. Interlinking sound and image, it raises key questions on fact and fiction, lived reality and story-telling. These will be discussed by a panel of specialists on art forms including music, literature and visual media, focussing on creative work of those in exile or those who have experienced other forms of forced migration. The 30-minute live performance at the beginning of the afternoon already sets the tone: ‘Migrating Musical Selves’ brings together sounds and stories from Ukrainian musicians and intertwines them with melodies on unique historical instruments to illuminate the lives and musical trajectories of forced migrants as they navigate new contexts. This intimate performance features multi-instrumentalists Vsevelod Sadovyj and Snezhana Rybalska. The symposium, organised by Dr Sabine Egger and Dr Ailbhe Kenny, is hosted by the Irish Centre for Transnational Studies (Mary Immaculate College). Find the full programme at the link below. Participants and listeners are welcome to drop in throughout the afternoon and evening.
3:30 – 8:30 pm, Venue tbc
3:30 pm Performance
4:15-5:15 pm Panel Discussion
5:15 pm Reception
6-7:30 pm Film Screening & Roundtable
Academics, arts practitioners and performers come together in this interdisciplinary symposium to discuss the role of media and creative arts in the telling of (Hi)Stories that challenge dominant narratives about global conflict and forced migration. Kicking off with a live performance by two Ukrainian musicians who recently arrived in Ireland, the event concludes with a public screening of the award-winning Canadian-French-Ukrainian documentary 'Intercepted', by Oksana Karpovych. In this feature-length documentary sound and image merge as the film contrasts quiet compositions of everyday life of Ukrainians since the full-scale invasion with intercepted phone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families. The film conveys a harrowing narrative of the realities of war, of border crossings and parallel worlds, without depicting the cruelties of warfare on screen, or simply juxtaposing victims and perpetrators. Interlinking sound and image, it raises key questions on fact and fiction, lived reality and story-telling. These will be discussed by a panel of specialists on art forms including music, literature and visual media, focussing on creative work of those in exile or those who have experienced other forms of forced migration. The 30-minute live performance at the beginning of the afternoon already sets the tone: ‘Migrating Musical Selves’ brings together sounds and stories from Ukrainian musicians and intertwines them with melodies on unique historical instruments to illuminate the lives and musical trajectories of forced migrants as they navigate new contexts. This intimate performance features multi-instrumentalists Vsevelod Sadovyj and Snezhana Rybalska. The symposium, organised by Dr Sabine Egger and Dr Ailbhe Kenny, is hosted by the Irish Centre for Transnational Studies (Mary Immaculate College). Find the full programme at the link below. Participants and listeners are welcome to drop in throughout the afternoon and evening.
New Music for Harpsichord
Wednesday 19th March
4pm
Tower Seminar & Performance: Theatre 2, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick
Yonit Kosovske (harpsichord)
Justin Grounds (baroque violin)
Vlad Smishkewych (hurdy gurdy)
Jack Grogan (hang drum)
Yonit Kosovske & Justin Grounds discuss their arts practice research and collaborative performance projects of New Music for harpsichord as a solo and ensemble instrument. They will reflect on the creative process of composing and performing contemporary harpsichord music that employs traditional sounds as well as experimental, extended techniques. An excerpt of their video "Triple Spiral" will be screened, as well as live premieres of two new works: "Seams in My Socks", a multi-media harpsichord piece exploring neurodiversity, sensory issues, and stimming, and "Litany", for harpsichord, hang drum, baroque violin, and hurdy gurdy, in homage to animals that went extinct in 2023.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
4pm
Tower Seminar & Performance: Theatre 2, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick
Yonit Kosovske (harpsichord)
Justin Grounds (baroque violin)
Vlad Smishkewych (hurdy gurdy)
Jack Grogan (hang drum)
Yonit Kosovske & Justin Grounds discuss their arts practice research and collaborative performance projects of New Music for harpsichord as a solo and ensemble instrument. They will reflect on the creative process of composing and performing contemporary harpsichord music that employs traditional sounds as well as experimental, extended techniques. An excerpt of their video "Triple Spiral" will be screened, as well as live premieres of two new works: "Seams in My Socks", a multi-media harpsichord piece exploring neurodiversity, sensory issues, and stimming, and "Litany", for harpsichord, hang drum, baroque violin, and hurdy gurdy, in homage to animals that went extinct in 2023.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Lunchtime Concert
Thursday 20th March
1:15pm
Theatre 2
Irish World Academy of Music and Dance
As part of Early Music Week in the leadup to the Limerick Early Music Festival 21–23 March, University of Limerick students on the MA Classical String Performance programme at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance present a free lunchtime concert of music from the 17th and 18th centuries in collaboration with André Swanepoel, MACSP Course Director and member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
1:15pm
Theatre 2
Irish World Academy of Music and Dance
As part of Early Music Week in the leadup to the Limerick Early Music Festival 21–23 March, University of Limerick students on the MA Classical String Performance programme at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance present a free lunchtime concert of music from the 17th and 18th centuries in collaboration with André Swanepoel, MACSP Course Director and member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Festival Opening Concert:
Consolation and Confidence
Friday, 21st March
8pm–9:30pm Saint Mary's Cathedral
Ancór, Sagittarius Hiberniensis, Saint Mary's Cathedral Choir, Limerick School of Music Senior Choir
Limerick Early Music Festival Chamber Orchestra
Directed by Peter Barley and Cecilia Madden
with
Soloists: (TBC)
&
Emerging Artist Award Winner, Kevin Meehan II
Featuring cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and choral works by Isabella Leonarda (1620–1704), and chamber music by Dieterich Buxtehude, this annual choral concert of sacred music brings together multiple local choirs under the direction of Peter Barley and Cecilia Madden, including Ancór, Saint Mary's Cathedral Choir, and Limerick School of Music Senior Choir, along with the LEMF Chamber Orchestra. This year marks the launch of the new McCullagh-Ó Bríain Emerging Artist Award, recognising an outstanding instrumentalist playing with historically informed style, and named in memory of Bertha McCullagh-Ó Bríain — educator and longtime supporter of arts, literature, and culture. The first winner of the award, Kevin Meehan, will be featured in a trio sonata during the evening’s concert.
TICKETS €25/€20
€5 Under 16s
8pm–9:30pm Saint Mary's Cathedral
Ancór, Sagittarius Hiberniensis, Saint Mary's Cathedral Choir, Limerick School of Music Senior Choir
Limerick Early Music Festival Chamber Orchestra
Directed by Peter Barley and Cecilia Madden
with
Soloists: (TBC)
&
Emerging Artist Award Winner, Kevin Meehan II
Featuring cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and choral works by Isabella Leonarda (1620–1704), and chamber music by Dieterich Buxtehude, this annual choral concert of sacred music brings together multiple local choirs under the direction of Peter Barley and Cecilia Madden, including Ancór, Saint Mary's Cathedral Choir, and Limerick School of Music Senior Choir, along with the LEMF Chamber Orchestra. This year marks the launch of the new McCullagh-Ó Bríain Emerging Artist Award, recognising an outstanding instrumentalist playing with historically informed style, and named in memory of Bertha McCullagh-Ó Bríain — educator and longtime supporter of arts, literature, and culture. The first winner of the award, Kevin Meehan, will be featured in a trio sonata during the evening’s concert.
TICKETS €25/€20
€5 Under 16s
Music in the Milk Market
Saturday 22nd March 10am–12pm
Milk Market Limerick
LEMF artists in historical costumes roam the Milk Market, accompanied by Rose Minnema’s dancing puppets and marionettes!
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Milk Market Limerick
LEMF artists in historical costumes roam the Milk Market, accompanied by Rose Minnema’s dancing puppets and marionettes!
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Puppetry Workshop
(ages 7–12)
Saturday 22nd March
12:30pm–2pm Belltable
LEMF welcomes puppeteer Rose Minnema who brings medieval puppets and marionettes to the festival this year. Fresh from the market, Rose and company will guide festival guests in a puppet-making workshop for this family-friendly event just ahead of a storytelling afternoon. Everyone will leave with their very own puppet or marionette!
€15 carer+child
12:30pm–2pm Belltable
LEMF welcomes puppeteer Rose Minnema who brings medieval puppets and marionettes to the festival this year. Fresh from the market, Rose and company will guide festival guests in a puppet-making workshop for this family-friendly event just ahead of a storytelling afternoon. Everyone will leave with their very own puppet or marionette!
€15 carer+child
Baroque N'Roll: Family Concert
(ages 4–8 and carers)
Saturday, 22nd March
Baroque N'Roll
2pm–3pm Belltable
Classicalkids.ie brings "Baroque N'Roll" to Limerick, offering a fun and interactive learning experience for families with pre-schoolers and children up to 7 or 8 years old. Hear and see Early Music from the 1700s performed live on stage by some of Ireland's leading string players of violin and double bass. Meet the instruments, play musical games, sing and dance, and learn about musical concepts such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics and tempo. All are welcome to come and have a closer look at the instruments at the end of the concert.
€15 carer+child
Baroque N'Roll
2pm–3pm Belltable
Classicalkids.ie brings "Baroque N'Roll" to Limerick, offering a fun and interactive learning experience for families with pre-schoolers and children up to 7 or 8 years old. Hear and see Early Music from the 1700s performed live on stage by some of Ireland's leading string players of violin and double bass. Meet the instruments, play musical games, sing and dance, and learn about musical concepts such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics and tempo. All are welcome to come and have a closer look at the instruments at the end of the concert.
€15 carer+child
Sound, Spaces, Stories
Saturday 22nd March
4pm–5pm Belltable
Dr Eoin Callery
Join Dr Eoin Callery for a fascinating presentation exploring relationships and interplay between architecture and acoustics, past and present. Dr Callery is an Irish artist and researcher developing interactive virtual acoustic technologies. His creative and research practices focus on electro-acoustic systems relating to chamber music, performance space augmentation, and sound installation. Much of this work is focused on utilizing virtual acoustics as a method for exploring the possibilities of audio virtual/augmented reality. Previously, he lectured at CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics) at Stanford University and is currently directing the MA Composition and Creative Music Practice programme in the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC (Reserve your place at the link below)
4pm–5pm Belltable
Dr Eoin Callery
Join Dr Eoin Callery for a fascinating presentation exploring relationships and interplay between architecture and acoustics, past and present. Dr Callery is an Irish artist and researcher developing interactive virtual acoustic technologies. His creative and research practices focus on electro-acoustic systems relating to chamber music, performance space augmentation, and sound installation. Much of this work is focused on utilizing virtual acoustics as a method for exploring the possibilities of audio virtual/augmented reality. Previously, he lectured at CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics) at Stanford University and is currently directing the MA Composition and Creative Music Practice programme in the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC (Reserve your place at the link below)
Slovo:
The Tale of Igor
Saturday 22nd March
8pm–9pm Belltable
Wolodymyr Smishkewych (voice, lyre)
In the year 1185, as the Kievan-Rus’ empire was beginning to crumble, a little-known prince on its eastern borders led his outnumbered band into battle against the Kumans, a host of Mongolian invaders. This battle and its aftermath would become the Slavic literary epic known as The Song of Igor’s Campaign. Its conclusion was not what one would expect; the hero was not a fearless Beowulf, a mighty Roland, nor even a betrayed Siegfried. Igor Sviatoslavich's only claim to fame resulted from a bad military decision stemming from cockiness, pride, or stupidity. Yet, its outcome remained true to the great epics; the ending was not an overwhelmingly happy victory or love affair. Rather, it was a stark lesson to be learned against making war for war’s sake, subdued with a ray of hope that things would be better in the future. With a tapestry of sound on voice and the husli (lyre), this retelling of Prince Igor’s story brings to the stage images and sounds that might shock operagoers more familiar with Borodin’s version of the tale.
€25/€20/€5 U16s
8pm–9pm Belltable
Wolodymyr Smishkewych (voice, lyre)
In the year 1185, as the Kievan-Rus’ empire was beginning to crumble, a little-known prince on its eastern borders led his outnumbered band into battle against the Kumans, a host of Mongolian invaders. This battle and its aftermath would become the Slavic literary epic known as The Song of Igor’s Campaign. Its conclusion was not what one would expect; the hero was not a fearless Beowulf, a mighty Roland, nor even a betrayed Siegfried. Igor Sviatoslavich's only claim to fame resulted from a bad military decision stemming from cockiness, pride, or stupidity. Yet, its outcome remained true to the great epics; the ending was not an overwhelmingly happy victory or love affair. Rather, it was a stark lesson to be learned against making war for war’s sake, subdued with a ray of hope that things would be better in the future. With a tapestry of sound on voice and the husli (lyre), this retelling of Prince Igor’s story brings to the stage images and sounds that might shock operagoers more familiar with Borodin’s version of the tale.
€25/€20/€5 U16s
Concert & Panel: Still, She Rises!
Sunday, 23rd March
2pm–3pm
Belltable
Ada Witczyk (baroque violin)
Brooke Green (treble viol)
Sarah Groser (bass viol)
Xenia Pestova Bennett (toy piano, composer)
Vlad Smishkewych, hurdy gurdy & percussion
Róisín Ní Gallóglaigh (voice)
Yonit Kosovske (harpsichord, clavichord, artistic director)
This afternoon concert on period instruments celebrates chamber music by contemporary female composers from Ireland and around the world. Featured on this programme are several works by Australian composer and viol player Brooke Green, including the Limerick premiere of "Fuming: Johanna Fitzgibbon of Limerick" for Baroque trio. This concert also features the world premiere of "Baile" by Xenia Pestova Bennett, whose new work for toy piano, clavichord, viola da gamba, and recorded women's voices explores the universal themes of home, migration, and belonging. Other repertoire on the programme includes Jean Ahn's duo "Archimedes' Principle" and Tal Arbel's "Alchemy", as well as the multi-media piece "Seams In My Socks", co-created by Yonit Kosovske and Justin Grounds, exploring neurodiversity, sensory issues, and stimming.
Panel
3:30pm–4:15 Belltable
Stay around after the afternoon performance for an informal conversation and chat with artists from Still, She Rises!. Ada Witczyk, who has inspired over 200 contemporary compositions for baroque violin, will discuss her work as founder/director of the Růžičková Composition Competition for new music on period instruments. Brooke Green will reflect on how human stories and social justice have inspired many of her compositions for period instruments. Xenia Pestova Bennett will discuss her work as a composer, concert pianist, and toy piano player, highlighting her new composition Baile, premiered at LEMF. This panel will be chaired by harpsichordist Yonit Kosovske, a champion of new music for harpsichord as a solo and collaborative instrument.
Concert: €15/€10/€5 U16s
Panel FREE with concert ticket
2pm–3pm
Belltable
Ada Witczyk (baroque violin)
Brooke Green (treble viol)
Sarah Groser (bass viol)
Xenia Pestova Bennett (toy piano, composer)
Vlad Smishkewych, hurdy gurdy & percussion
Róisín Ní Gallóglaigh (voice)
Yonit Kosovske (harpsichord, clavichord, artistic director)
This afternoon concert on period instruments celebrates chamber music by contemporary female composers from Ireland and around the world. Featured on this programme are several works by Australian composer and viol player Brooke Green, including the Limerick premiere of "Fuming: Johanna Fitzgibbon of Limerick" for Baroque trio. This concert also features the world premiere of "Baile" by Xenia Pestova Bennett, whose new work for toy piano, clavichord, viola da gamba, and recorded women's voices explores the universal themes of home, migration, and belonging. Other repertoire on the programme includes Jean Ahn's duo "Archimedes' Principle" and Tal Arbel's "Alchemy", as well as the multi-media piece "Seams In My Socks", co-created by Yonit Kosovske and Justin Grounds, exploring neurodiversity, sensory issues, and stimming.
Panel
3:30pm–4:15 Belltable
Stay around after the afternoon performance for an informal conversation and chat with artists from Still, She Rises!. Ada Witczyk, who has inspired over 200 contemporary compositions for baroque violin, will discuss her work as founder/director of the Růžičková Composition Competition for new music on period instruments. Brooke Green will reflect on how human stories and social justice have inspired many of her compositions for period instruments. Xenia Pestova Bennett will discuss her work as a composer, concert pianist, and toy piano player, highlighting her new composition Baile, premiered at LEMF. This panel will be chaired by harpsichordist Yonit Kosovske, a champion of new music for harpsichord as a solo and collaborative instrument.
Concert: €15/€10/€5 U16s
Panel FREE with concert ticket
Carlos Núñez Band: Celtic Stories of the Cantigas
Sunday, 23 March
8pm–9:30pm
Saint John's Cathedral
V94 H521
Carlos Núñez (bagpipes, recorders)
Pancho Álvarez (guitars, gitterns, vielles, lyre)
Xurxo Núñez (percussion)
plus other featured artists
Renowned the world over for his energetic concerts of traditional Galician music, global emissary of the bagpipe Carlos Núñez is also a keen researcher of Celtic history and equally passionate about early music. In his programme exploring the Cantigas de Santa Maria—the 12th century Iberian collection of over 400 songs—Núñez and his ensemble bring together medieval bagpipes, fiddles, gitterns, harps, and hurdy-gurdies to delve into this repertoire, which sounds convincingly related to the traditional music of the Celtic nations. Stories of Merlin, seafaring monks, and sea monsters are just a few of the themes in the tales told by the miracles of Saint Mary from the medieval song collection of King Alfonso X "The Learned" of Castile.
€25/€20/€5 U16s
8pm–9:30pm
Saint John's Cathedral
V94 H521
Carlos Núñez (bagpipes, recorders)
Pancho Álvarez (guitars, gitterns, vielles, lyre)
Xurxo Núñez (percussion)
plus other featured artists
Renowned the world over for his energetic concerts of traditional Galician music, global emissary of the bagpipe Carlos Núñez is also a keen researcher of Celtic history and equally passionate about early music. In his programme exploring the Cantigas de Santa Maria—the 12th century Iberian collection of over 400 songs—Núñez and his ensemble bring together medieval bagpipes, fiddles, gitterns, harps, and hurdy-gurdies to delve into this repertoire, which sounds convincingly related to the traditional music of the Celtic nations. Stories of Merlin, seafaring monks, and sea monsters are just a few of the themes in the tales told by the miracles of Saint Mary from the medieval song collection of King Alfonso X "The Learned" of Castile.
€25/€20/€5 U16s
bottom of page