Culture Night: "Beara" - Tara Viscardi & Robert Harvey

Harp / Flute

Date & Time: Friday 20th September 2024, 7.30pm
Venue: Russborough House, Blessington
Ticket Info: Free general admission
(booking required)
____

For any issues please contact: manager@westwicklowfestival.com
Artists: Tara Viscardi / Harp
Robert Harvey / Flute
Programme: Tara Viscardi
Beara Prelude

John Dwyer
Glenbeg Lake/Dursey Sound

Tara Viscardi
Midnight over Glanmore Lake

Traditional/Michael Dwyer
O'Sullivan's March/The Crane

Traditional
Madame Bonaparte

Traditional
The Humours of Ardgroom

Tara Viscardi
Beara's Voyage

Tara Viscardi
Samhradh

Tara Viscardi/Robert Harvey
The Woman in the Boat/The Fairy Child

Phil Murphy
The Trip to Cullenstown

Richard Dwyer
Moon Over Kilcatherine

Tara Viscardi
My Beara, Fair

Tara Viscardi
Tilleadh

Join us for Culture Night to celebrate Harpist Tara Viscardi and flautist Robert Harvey's most recent album.

Harpist Tara Viscardi and flautist Robert Harvey launched their album Beara in April 2024, a project which pairs contemporary, original compositions inspired by the Beara Peninsula in the South West of Ireland, with tunes collected and written on the peninsula since the 18th century. It also draws inspiration from the legend of Princess Beara, the Spanish Princess who it is said married Owen Mór, King of Ireland, around 120 AD and who gave the area its name.

The project has been showcased at the Irish Embassy UK, Dublin City Assembly House, London Irish Centre, Tuamgraney Harp Festival, Return to London Town Festival 2023, the 2023 Wales International Harp Festival, Kenmare Buttermarket, Cornstown House and the 2022 World Harp Congress, Cardiff, generously supported by Culture Ireland. The album was recorded on location in Dawros Church, Co. Kerry by producer Laoise O' Brien and engineer Ben Rawlins and is funded by Kerry County Council Arts, Small Investments Ltd., the Wales International Harp Festival and Beara Distillery.

A multiple prize winner, Tara has performed and recorded at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Abbey Road Studios, the National Concert Hall Dublin, Áras an Uachtaráin, St John's Smith Square, the Mansion House and the Irish Embassy in London. Seven times All-Ireland Champion, Robert released his critically acclaimed solo flute album Feochán in 2020. He has toured internationally with Dónal Lunny’s band Cíorras, the Traditional Arts Collective, The Katerina Garcia Band and The National Folk Orchestra of Ireland.

BOOK NOW

Hailing from the Beara Peninsula in the South-West of Ireland, Tara Viscardi performs on Irish traditional, classical and baroque harps. Praised for her music being ''exquisitely performed'' (The Times) and for her ''innate musicality'' (UK Harp Association Chair), Tara was first prize winner of the 2021 London Camac Harp Competition and is a 2024 UK Harp Association Emerging Artist. A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado Milan and TU Dublin Conservatoire, solo and chamber performances have taken her across Ireland and the UK, to venues including the Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Cadogan Hall, the Irish Embassy, Irish Cultural Centre, London Irish Centre, Canterbury Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe and the National Concert Hall Dublin. She has been featured playing her own arrangements and compositions on BBC Radio 3, RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ Lyric FM, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Radio Kerry and Bloomsbury Radio. Further highlights include performing at the 13th World Harp Congress Hong Kong, for Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Mrs Sabina Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin, for An Taoiseach and An Tánaiste upon their visits to London and for HM King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Hillsborough Castle

Tara is a past recipient of an Arts Council of Ireland Agility Award, which enabled her to commence studies in the Italian baroque triple harp, and was featured at the 14th World Harp Congress, Cardiff performing her original compositions for traditional harp and flute paired with chamber music by 19th and 20th century female composers, generously supported by Culture Ireland. She launched her debut album ‘Beara’ in April 2024, where she is joined by flautist Robert Harvey for her own compositions paired with music written and collected on the Beara Peninsula since the 18th century. She released a debut EP, ‘Uncovered Roots' in 2023 with saxophonist Robert Finegan, which explores folk music from Ireland and the UK in different contexts and is currently part of early music ensemble Nobody’s Jig and folk group MNÁ as well as collaborating with countertenor Hugh Cutting.

She is quickly gaining a reputation as an exciting and versatile musician and composer, combining performing with roles as Artistic Administrator for Irish Heritage, Harp Teacher at the Junior King's School, Canterbury and Harp Tutor at the Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith.

Seven times All-Ireland Champion, flute player Dr. Robert Harvey was selected by Donal Lunny as flute player for the TG4 series “Lorg Lunny”, which resulted in the formation of the band Ciorras, with whom he released the album ‘Silver Lining’ and toured extensively internationally. In 2020, Robert released his critically acclaimed solo flute album ‘Feochán’. Robert played the part of ‘Frank the Robin’ in Universal Studio’s ‘The Christmas Letter’ narrated by Kate Winslet. Robert has also toured internationally with the Katerina Garcia Band, the Traditional Arts Collective, among others and is a member of the National Folk Orchestra of Ireland, Robert is musical director of the DCU traditional music ensemble and Ceoltóirí Óga Laighean who recently launched their album 'The Gathering of Leinster' following a successful performance at Celtic Connections. . In 2024, Robert released a duet album with Tara Viscardi entitled ‘Beara’ following debut performances at the Wales International Harp festival, Return to London Town festival and the World Harp Congress. Robert also recently released a CD of music from County Laois with his brother James Harvey, Caoimhin O Fearghaill, Ryan Molloy and Niall Preston. Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann has just published Robert's first book ‘Feadail: The Whistling Tradition in Ireland’, launched at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2024 at the National Opera House. As a session musician and actor, Robert has recently contributed to a number of projects including Sean Doherty's chamber music album 'The Devil's Dream', Czech bluegrass fusion band The Malina Brothers album 'V Perejich', Linda Buckley's 'Solas na Gealaí Buí' with the RTE Concert Orchestra, the RTÉ produced animated children’s show ‘Peak Zoo’ and the recently released CD ‘Songs of Zelda: A Link to the Celts’, produced by Eimear Noone and Craig Garfinkle. Robert studied music in Trinity College Dublin and Conservatory of Music and Drama DIT, where he graduated with first class honours and was presented with the President’s Gold medal. Robert recently completed PhD research on Traditional Composition in the East Galway Style and lectures in Irish music in Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University, is flute tutor for the Comhaltas teacher training TTCT course, and is a well-established teacher of flute, tin whistle, whistling and lilting with numerous all-Ireland Champion students. He is in demand as a teacher, examiner, adjudicator and guest lecturer at festivals and workshops having taught at Scoil Eigse and Bernard’s Summer School in Prague among many others.