Donnchadh Mac Aodha has been announced as this year’s winner of the prestigious Seán Ó Riada composition competition!
Each year, the competition invites submissions of new works from composers born or based in Ireland, and is held in collaboration with the Cork International Choral Festival and Chamber Choir Ireland.
Donnchadh Mac Aodha’s winning composition, Babel, will have its world premiere at St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork on Friday, 2nd May, at 7.30pm.
A Dundalk native and UCC student, Donnchadh’s current compositional work draws inspiration from his roots in traditional music and the Irish language, seamlessly blended with his training in contemporary composition, led primarily by John Godfrey at UCC. Through his work, Donnchadh looks to push and remold apparent boundary lines between music genres to create a unique blend of old and new.
As professional choir-in-residence, Chamber Choir Ireland will give the inaugural performance of Babel as part of their annual concert at Cork International Choral Festival, led by Guest Director Gabriel Crouch.
The Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition, which has been running for over 50 years, provides a platform for Irish composers to have their work judged and rewarded solely on its own merits. Submissions are made under pseudonyms, ensuring anonymity until after the judges’ decision has been made. The competition aims to present Irish choirs with fresh, authentic material for their programs and has attracted renowned composers throughout its history.
Chamber Choir Ireland member and composer Eoghan Desmond, conductor Orla Flanagan, and Guest Conductor of Chamber Choir Ireland, Gabriel Crouch, who evaluated McDonnell’s winning piece, summarised their reaction, stating:
‘Babel’ makes a rich contribution to Irish choral literature. The contemporary relevance of Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh’s Irish-language poem is striking, with an unsettling sense of lofty ideals soured by arrogance and pride. The composer’s musical setting reflects this and is both sensitive and expressively impactful. The phrases inflect upwards, yearning for something, but falter in the (quite deliberate) absence of harmonic stability. The effect is sobering, and captivating. It has a distinct musical identity, and shows great fluency in its approach to choral writing.
With more than 250 compositions being submitted in the past 10 years of the new format, the Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition illustrates the number of composers now working and living in Ireland, and further demonstrates the Cork International Choral Festival’s continuing commitment to encourage the composition and performance of contemporary music. Past winners include Solfa Carlisle, Rhona Clarke, Patrick Connolly, Frank Corcoran, Séamas de Barra, Eoghan Desmond, Michael Holohan, Marian Ingoldsby, Donal MacErlaine, Simon MacHale, Kevin O’Connell, Amanda Feery, Criostóir Ó Loingsigh, Donal Sarsfield, James May, Peter Leavy, Norah Constance Walsh, Darragh Black Hynes, Laura Heneghan and last year’s winner Anselm McDonnell.
This year’s Cork International Choral Festival which is set to bring Cork to life with song takes place from 30th April – 4th May 2025.
Book tickets to hear Babel at Cork International Choral Festival