The next Church Classics Concert in St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam on Thursday 19 August will feature the Callino Quartet and pianist Maria McGarry. The Callinos will play string quartets by Schubert and Debussy and will be joined for Schumann's piano quintet by Ballyhaunis pianist Maria.
Formed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in 1999, the quartet were this year selected as one of three quartets worldwide to participate in workshops with the world famous Kronos Quartet in Carnegie Hall, which culminated in a performance of works by Astor Piazzolla, Aleksandra Vrebalov and Terry Riley.
The quartet has regularly been broadcast on RTE Lyric FM, BBC Radio 3 and on RTÉ television. CD recordings include works by Irish composer Ian Wilson and, most recently, a CD recorded with Swedish jazz singer and composer Sophie Dunar.
Cork-born leader of the quartet Sarah Sexton says the group is looking forward to performing in St Mary's Cathedral in Tuam, as they are eagerly looking forward to playing again with Maria.
Maria has represented Ireland at many international events, performing at the Biennale for Contemporary Artists in Italy, the European Music Festival in Warsaw, the EU Cultural Week in New Delhi and at the Palais de Nations, Geneva.
She has recorded music for Polish National Radio, Lyric FM and has featured on RTE's ‘The Late Late Show' and, as a fluent Irish speaker, on TG4. She is also a member of the piano faculty of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, where she studied under John O'Conor.
Following the sell-out August Church Classics/Galway Arts Festival in St Mary's, booking is recommended at Quinn's and in the Tuam Arts Festival Box Office. The concert will begin at 8pm and tickets are €16/€14.
