
Family Concert - Farmyard Carnival
Irish Chamber Orchestra / Fiachra Garvey & Soo-Jung Ann (Piano Soloists)


- Date & Time
- Sunday 18th May 2025, 11am and 1pm
- Venue
- The Tramway Theatre, Blessington
- Ticket Info
- Adult: €15, Child: €10 + booking fee
For group bookings or for those having any issues booking, please contact manager@westwicklowfestival.com - Artists
- Irish Chamber Orchestra
Fiachra Garvey & Soo-Jung Ann / Piano - Programme
Farmyard Carnival (NEW COMMISSION)
Composer / Paul Rissmann
Poet / Lucinda Jacob
Bring the whole family along for the world premiere of Farmyard Carnival, a vibrant and enchanting new family-friendly work commissioned by the festival, to delight listeners of all ages! This exciting collaboration between award-winning Irish poet Lucinda Jacob and British composer Paul Rissmann promises a joyous celebration of farmyard life!
The festival’s commitment to commissioning and education sees the delivery of a new, colourful and enthralling family friendly work this festival, Farmyard Carnival. Collaborating in the creation of this new commission are award-winning Irish children’s poet Lucinda Jacob (recipient of the 2023 Irish Children’s Book of the Year Award) and British composer Paul Rissmann (prize-winner at the British Composer Awards). Through descriptive poetry narration and enchanting music, audience’s favourite farm and domestic animals, from the cat to the cow, will be brought to life by the Irish Chamber Orchestra and piano soloists Soo-Jung Ann and Fiachra Garvey, delighting listeners of all ages. Artistic Director Fiachra Garvey explains:
"Growing up as a pianist and farmer in West Wicklow, for quite some time now I have wanted to commission a new work inspired by the wonderful flora and fauna the Irish countryside has to offer. Having performed Saint Saens' much-loved Carnival of the Animals for many years, which celebrates exotic animals like lions, elephants, kangaroos etc. I felt it would be of enormous value to commission a work celebrating animals children in Ireland have more direct experience with: sheep, cows, horses, pigs, dogs, cats etc.
In commissioning "Farmyard Carnival", I have asked Paul Rissmann to compose music for the same instrumentation as Saint Saëns' Carnival (for Chamber Orchestra with the ability for the work to upscale to include a full symphony orchestra). Carnival of the Animals is often a child’s first introduction to programmatic music, offering a playful yet profound way to explore key musical elements such as pitch, timbre, and rhythm, while sparking their imagination through its vivid characterisations of animals. Saint Saëns' work has 14 movements and our Farmyard Carnival will have 10-12 exciting movements, each accompanied by stunning new poetry from Lucinda Jacob.
Farmyard Carnival will be a vital new addition to the currently very limited family friendly concert repertoire. I can’t describe in words how excited I am about this new commission, and I can’t wait for our audiences to experience the world premiere in Wicklow!"
“played with a keenly developed sense of balance and clarity”Journal of Music (on Irish Chamber Orchestra)
“an inspiration beyond excellence, beyond time and space.”Die Rheinpfalz (on Soo-Jung Ann)
“…a deep and infectious enthusiasm, combined with insight and technical comfort.”Sunday Times (on Fiachra Garvey)