ARTIST PROFILE:
National Symphony Orchestra Irealnd

National Symphony Orchestra Ireland has been at the centre of Ireland’ cultural life for over 75 years. Formerly the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, it was founded in 1948 as the Raidió Éireann Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, the Orchestra transferred from RTÉ to the remit of the National Concert Hall.

Resident orchestra of the National Concert Hall since its opening in 1981, it is a leading force in Irish musical life through year-long programmes of live music – ranging from symphonic, choral and operatic to music from stage and screen, popular and traditional music, and new commissions – alongside recordings, broadcasts on RTÉ and internationally through the European Broadcasting Union. Schools concerts, family events, initiatives for emerging artists and composers, collaborations with partner promoters and organisations extend the orchestra’s reach.

As a central part of the National Concert Hall’s Autumn/Winter 2025 Season, the NSOI will collaborate with acclaimed artists, conductors, ensembles and composers. Repertoire ranges from masterpieces from the symphonic, choral and operatic repertoire, world premieres by Rhona Clarke, Bryce Dessner and Bill Whelan, and Irish premieres including Bád ón Alltar by Fedora Prize 2025 winner Michael Gallen, to events for film fans, families and students, as well as Composer Lab in partnership with the Contemporary Music Centre and in association with RTÉ lyric fm.

Milestone events include the NCH Lifetime Achievement Award for composer Jane O’Leary; the 40th anniversary of National Symphony Chorus Ireland; and a concert celebrating Bill Whelan’s 75th birthday.

Other highlights include Leonard Slatkin conducting Ein Heldenleben, and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with David Fray as soloist; Anja Bihlmaier conducting Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 15 with Boris Giltburg as soloist; David Brophy conducting a Culture Night celebration featuring the Irish/Persian ensemble, Nava, and Irish premiere of Michael Gallen’s timely and topical Bád ón Alltar; Jessica Cottis conducting Bizet’s opera Carmen in a concert performance; María Dueñas performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto; Anastasia Kobekina performing the world premiere of Trembling Earth for cello and orchestra by Bryce Dessner; Michelle Cann performing Florence Price’s virtuosic Piano Concerto as part of a programme which also includes Sofia Gubaidulina’s Fairytale Poem; the world premiere of Rhona Clarke’s uplifting, nature-inspired Points of Light on the occasion of National Symphony Chorus Ireland’s 40th anniversary; and an orchestral world premiere by Bill Whelan on the occasion of his 75th birthday.

Jessie Grimes continues as the National Concert Hall’s Artist-in-Residence, leading explorations of iconic works: Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, as part of the ISL-interpreted and ASD-friendly family series, Symphony Shorts.

Additional family events include a screening of the much-loved children’s classics The Highway Rat and Zog, based on the books by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, and Music in the Classroom returns with a guide to Leaving Certificate Music.

Events for film fans include Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Hollywood horror film, Psycho, in concert with the iconic score performed live to picture, and the screening of the holiday favourite, Home Alone, with John Williams’ score performed live.