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Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra brings together the finest of Irish and European orchestral musicians…
The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra brings together the finest of Irish and European orchestral musicians, with Irish and International soloists, conductors and composers … celebrating our shared musical heritage, pursuing performance excellence in the tradition of classical and contemporary symphonic music. Founded in the mid 1800’s, The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra gave regular concerts throughout the capital city until the late 1930s, at which point there was a cessation of activities with the advent of World War Two.
In 1997 The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra was reconstituted under the direction of Music Director Derek Gleeson, drawing its members from Irish and other European orchestral musicians. The reconstituted Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra gave its premier concert during the 1997 Kilkenny Arts Festival at the great 13th century Norman cathedral, “St, Canices” in the ancient city of Kilkenny.
In addition to performing the repertoire of standard classical masterworks, The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to giving a voice to Ireland’s contemporary composers. Under Maestro Gleeson, the orchestra has recorded classical and contemporary repertoire for commercial record companies, including Albany Records (USA), BMG/Windham Hill Records, and in 2006 is featured on the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland’s “Contemporary Music from Ireland, Volume Six” CD. Additionally, The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded film scores for Motion Pictures and Television.
In 2009, The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director Derek Gleeson will undertake its inaugural tour of the United States of America with a 49 concert tour under the auspices of Columbia Artists Management Inc.
Derek Gleeson
Music Director and Conductor
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Derek Gleeson studied piano, percussion, composition and conducting at the music conservatories of Dublin (College of Music Dublin, The Royal Irish Academy of Music), London (The Royal Academy of Music), and Vienna (Hochschule fur Musik), and film scoring at the University of California at Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.). As a teenager, he represented Ireland as an orchestral musician in the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) where he had the opportunity to perform under the great conductors Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Georg Solti, and Daniel Berenboim, amongst others. These early experiences moved him specifically toward a career in conducting. In 1984, he was a prize winner in the Shell/London Symphony Orchestra music scholarship program.
As a freelance musician, Gleeson performed with many of the leading British orchestras, including The London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Orchestras, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, as well as European Jazz and Pop ensembles, before directing his time exclusively to conducting in 1989.
Derek Gleeson has conducted the premier CD recording of Tchaikovsky’s oratorio, “Ode to Joy,” “The Original Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture,” and Prokofiev’s “Zdravitsa” with The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir (released on IMP Masters/Carlton Classics)
An ardent champion of contemporary music, Gleeson has provided many premier performances of works by living composers, his own works having been broadcast in Europe and the U.S., including his work titled “Buenos Aires” premiered in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2004. A percussion concerto for Evelyn Glennie will be premiered in 2009.
Amongst others, Gleeson has conducted The London Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTE Concert Orchestra and the RTE National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland), The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Da Camera Fiorentina (Italy), the Brohuslav Martinue Philharmonic, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Orchestra Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic), RTL Orchestra (Luxembourg), NOS Orchestra (Holland), Szombathely-Savaria Symphony Orchestra (Hungary), The Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Orchestra of the Sadlers Wells Ballet (England), The Ruckert Orchestra (Ireland), Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vratza Philharmonic (Bulgaria), Plovdiv State Opera and Bourgas Opera/Philharmonic (Bulgaria), and The Los Angeles Composers Guild Chamber Orchestra (USA). Gleeson’s opera repertoire includes performances of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” “La Traviata,” “Il Trovatore” and “Rigoletto“; Mozart’s “La Nozze di Figaro,” “Don Giovanni” and “Magic Flute“; Bizet’s “Carmen” and Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.”
Gleeson recorded the first Gaelic rendition of Prokofiev’s Peter & The Wolf. He conducts The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra (“DPO”) in Carolan Suite on Patrick Cassidy’s CD, Deirdre of the Sorrows (BMG/Windham Hill), coupled with The London Symphony Orchestra in other works by Cassidy. Amongst his other recordings, Gleeson conducted the DPO recording of American composer Don Ray’s orchestral suite, Family Portrait and the premier recording of Ray’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with Philharmonia Bulgarica (Albany Records, 2004), and Ray’s Homestead Dances with the DPO (Albany Records, 2007). In 2008, he will conduct the premier recording of composer Patrick Cassidy’s new Mass with The London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
Gleeson composed film scores for the feature films “The White Pony” (Director: Brian Kelly), “Irish Whiskey” (Director: Jon Stevens), “Moving Target” (Director: Paul Ziller), “The Doorway” (Director: Michael Druxman), “Kitchen” (Director: Kieron Walsh) and additional music on “The Suicide Club” (Director: Rachel Samuels). In addition to composing music for film, Gleeson is Director of Screen Training Ireland’s Film Scoring Program, Dublin. He is Composer Advisor to Moonstone International, and Music Jury Chairman of the IFTA Awards (Irish Film and Television Awards).
Mairéad Buicke
Soprano
Mairéad Buicke was born in Limerick, Ireland, studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and graduated from the National Opera Studio, London. She is a prize winner at several major singing competitions, a “Bank of Ireland Millennium Scholar,” and a Young Associate Artist with Opera Theatre Company, Dublin. Mairéad is one of the most promising young singers to emerge from Ireland.
Recent engagements include Beethoven Music from Egmont with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Ravel’s Sheherezade with the RTE Concert Orchestra at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Gala Concert with the RTE Concert Orchestra, operatic concert with the Ulster Chamber Orchestra, and in the role of Mimi in La Boheme with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra. Mairéad has given recitals in classic standard operatic repertoire at the Music for Galway Festival, Leighton House, Kensington London, Bantry Chamber Music Festival, Music for Wexford Opera Festival, and The Aix en Provence Academy Festival, as well as recitals for the National Opera Studio, London. She recently performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. She has appeared in concerts and recitals in Italy, Scotland, and the U.S.A.
2007 engagements include a recital at the Boyle Arts Festival, a recital at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Viennese Concerts with Opera North, and Mahler’s Symphony No 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin. Mairéad will feature as a soloist with The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra on their U.S. tour in 2009.