Family Concert: Peter and the Wolf

Irish Chamber Orchestra is Ireland’s most dynamic ensemble. Mixing traditional repertoire with new commissions and collaborating with everyone from DJs to dance companies, ICO pushes the boundaries of what a chamber orchestra can do. These days, you are as likely to find us at the Electric Picnic as Mozartfest, but wherever we perform, the ICO delivers world-class concerts feted for their energy and style.

Each year, Ireland’s busiest chamber ensemble presents concert seasons in Limerick and Dublin, embarks on two national tours, and makes a series of prestigious international appearances supported by Culture Ireland. Our Artistic Committee works closely with our Artistic Partners to devise exciting, diverse, and innovative programmes, mixing standard repertoire with new work – often specially commissioned – from the best young Irish composers. This versatile approach enables us to appeal to music fans of every stripe while upholding the highest artistic standards.

The driving force behind ICO’s last decade of success has been its Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner Jörg Widmann, a composer, conductor, and clarinettist whose irrepressible energy and pursuit of excellence has enabled the ICO to expand its horizons, attracting outstanding international performers such as Thomas Zehetmair, Henning Kraggerud, Florian Donderer, Brett Dean, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Sean Shibe, Tabea Zimmermann, Igor Levit, and Elisabeth Leonskaja. Throughout the past decade, ICO has performed at leading concert halls and festivals across Europe, the U.S.A., and South America. ICO released a series of acclaimed recordings on the prestigious Orfeo and Alpha Classics labels. ICO was the first Irish Orchestra to complete a three-year residency at Heidelberger Frühling and is currently orchestra-in-residence at Kilkenny Arts Festival.

Celebrated Austrian Violinist Thomas Zehetmair was appointed Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner in May 2022 for a three-year term. Zehetmair’s enthusiasm and commitment is matched by the orchestra itself, led by the ebullient Katherine Hunka, and comprises of 22 outstanding musicians. ICO’s special rapport, forged by over 20 years of playing – and sometimes singing! – together, creates the unique sound that has captivated audiences all over the world.