ConTempo Countywide, Sunday 11 December2022

Following a series of sold-out performances in November, Galway Music Residency brings its final ConTempo Countywide of the year to the intimate surroundings of The Courthouse, Ballygar, Co Galway. This concert is curated by and features Guest Resident Artist Marco Ramelli as well as nineteenth century guitar specialist Enrica Savigni.

Marco Ramelli joins forces once again with Galway’s Ensemble-In-Residence, ConTempo Quartet. This concert entitled 'Into the Light' is in celebration of and dedicated to female composers, featuring music from the nineteenth century up to the present day. As the first female organist to graduate in Sweden, Elfrida Andrée was a musical and feminist pioneer. The music of Clara Schumann is paired with the music of Johannes Brahms, with a supposed musical ‘love letter’ he wrote to her. The concert culminates with the world premiere of Laura Snowden’s Into the Light in a new version for string quartet and guitar duo.

Entry is Free and booking is recommended.

ConTempo Quartet is the resident ensemble of Galway Music Residency and was RTE’s Resident Quartet from 2014 until 2019. Praised as a “fabulous foursome” (Irish Independent) and noted for performances which are “exceptional” (The Strad) and “full of imaginative daring” (The Irish Times), ConTempo Quartet has forged a unique place in Irish musical life.

MARCO RAMELLI, Galway Music Residency Guest Resident Artist 2022

Born in Milan (Italy), Marco Ramelli is a guitarist, composer, artistic director and lecturer at TU Dublin Conservatoire of Music. He has performed internationally to great acclaim at major concert halls and international music festivals, including Festival Paganini (Parma); Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Big Guitar Weekend, Glasgow; Aberdeen International Festival; Festival Castello Sforzesco, Milan; National Concert Hall, Dublin, and more. During his career, he has been awarded various first Prizes in important international competitions in Italy, Spain, UK, France and Serbia. As a composer, Marco won the prestigious "World Guitar Composition Competition" and his music is performed by internationally acclaimed soloists.

ENRICA SAVIGNI

Enrica is a guitarist originally from Modena (Italy). She studied guitar at the Arrigo Boito Conservatory (Parma), the Accademia Civica (Milan) and the Koninklijk Conservatorium (Brussels) where she obtained a Master’s degree in nineteenth-century guitar. She has worked with Teatro Regio of Parma on opera performances including The Barber of Seville, Falstaff, and Rigoletto, and regularly performs throughout Europe as a member of ‘Duo Savigni’ with Laura Savigni on piano. She is a regular presenter at seminars, conferences and masterclasses on nineteenth century guitar repertoire and practice.