Dublin Chamber Music Group |
 Photo Gallery from recent weekends |
Dublin Chamber Music Group |
Photo Gallery from recent weekends |
Weekend courses at Termonfechin (including on-line Application Form)
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"Golden Jubilee Year 2008 - Celebrating 50 years!" - DCMG 1958-2008
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Sorry - my e-mail address is embedded in a graphic in order to hide it from automatic scanners. Site last updated 8 Feb 2009
If your hardware and software is suitably configured you should now be hearing a MIDI version of the opening bars from the String Octet by Felix Mendelssohn. If you would like to hear the whole movement click here. Thanks to Akihisa Kanda for placing this in the archives at The Classical Music Archives.
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The Dublin Chamber Music Group is a society for chamber musicians in the Dublin area. Members have access to an extensive library of music. The DCMG also presents a cup each year to the winner of the Senior Chamber Music competition in the Dublin Feis Ceoil . The Dublin Chamber Music Group is a non-profit making society run on a voluntary basis.
On-line Application Form
The weekends are open to groups with three or more players including Strings, Wind, Brass and Piano. Applications are welcome from groups already formed and also from individuals who would like to join a group for the weekend. Every effort will be made to place all individual applicants into groups. Applicants must be aged 18 or over at the time of the course. In addition to receiving tuition with your own group, the course will include opportunities to play informally with other groups and in the chamber orchestra.
The weekend courses at Termonfechin have been held since 1958.
Enquiries to:
| E-mail Dublin Chamber Music Group at |
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Termonfechin is situated on the coast approximately 50km North-East of Dublin Airport. 'An Grian�n', the fine period house which is the headquarters of the Irish Countrywomen's Association, has been tastefully extended to include modern sleeping accommodation, mostly in single rooms. The grounds are ideal for walks etc. Attractions in the area are the scenic Boyne valley and the giant megalithic passage tombs at Newgrange.
By Air:
Termonfechin is situated about 40km North of Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport is located on the N1/M1 route leading towards Drogheda and Termonfechin, so if you arrive at Dublin Airport on the day the course starts, there may be no need to travel into Dublin City. A taxi ride directly from the airport to Termonfechin will take around 45 minutes. Alternatively you could take an AirLink 747/748 coach or an AirCoach into Dublin City followed by a train to Drogheda. Trains for Drogheda depart from Connolly Station on Amiens St, Dublin 1.By Road:
From Dublin take the M1 Motorway towards Drogheda, bypassing Dublin Airport and Balbriggan. Exit the M1 Motorway, prior to the toll plaza, at the Julianstown exit and follow the N1 into Drogheda. In Drogheda turn right at the first set of traffic lights, crossing the first road bridge over the river Boyne. On the North side of the bridge turn right immediately, following the quays in the direction of Baltray. Bypass the port area by turning left and immediately right, continuing along the river estuary, past a large factory and new container port development. Approximately 4km outside of Drogheda you will meet a junction on your left at a point where the road bends sharply to the right. Follow the road as it bends to the right, continuing along the river estuary. Shortly afterwards the road veers inland, leaving the river. You will pass a right turn for Baltray, which you do not take. Keep straight on for a further 2km to reach the entrance to the course venue which is about 500m before the village of Termonfechin, on the right-hand side of the road. You should see a sign 'An Grian�n' - Adult Education College. At this point you will also see a road-sign indicating that you are entering Termonfechin village. However, if you reach the T junction in the village, with a bridge on your right, then you have gone too far. Be warned to expect rush-hour delays in traffic leaving Dublin on a Friday evening around the time you may be travelling to the course. If travelling from Northern Ireland, you may exit the M1 motorway at the Drogheda exit prior to the Boyne bridge and toll-plaza.By Rail:
Termonfechin is about 8km from the main Dublin-Belfast railway. The nearest station is Drogheda from where you can get a taxi to Termonfechin. Trains depart for Drogheda/Belfast from Dublin's Connolly station on Amiens St, Dublin 1. Irish Rail have timetable information on their web-site.
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Bogdan Sofei, was born in Bucharest on 17th of July 1975 and is the leader of ConTempo String Quartet, currently the holder of a residency programme in Galway, since January 2003. He graduated The University of Music in Bucharest where he studied with Ladislau Csendes and Stefan Gheorghiu. He continued his studies at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, Royal Academy of Music in London, Accademia Chigiana in Siena, European Academy of Music in Aix-en Province,Britten -Pierce School for Advanced Music Studies in Aldeburgh and Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid with Rainer Schmidt, Siegmund Nissel, Norbert Brainin,Gunter Pichler ,Philip Setzer ,Stephanie Gonley ,Heime Muller, Christoph Poppen, Howard Davis and Hugh Maguire. Bogdan Sofei has taken his Master of Arts in Music with First Class Honours at Cork School of Music, in the academic year 2004-2005. As the leader of ConTempo Quartet, he had studied with the most celebrated string quartets of the world, such as Amadeus, Alban Berg ,Tokyo, Emerson and Hagen quartets ,and with musicians as Diemut Poppen, Petra Mullejans ,Piero Farulli ,David Takeno ,Laurence Lesser, Gilbert Kalish. Bogdan Sofei won several international and national competitions in Italy and Romania in addition to the international prizes he won as first violinist of ConTempo Quartet:1st Prize at GrosserForderpreise Competition in Munich-Germany,1st Prize at Valentino Bucchi competition in Rome-Italy,1st Prize at Tunnel Trust Competition in London-UK,1st Prize at Mozart competition in Cluj-Romania,2nd Prize at Johannes Brahms International Competition in Hamburg-Germany ,Audience Prize and 3rd Prize at London String Quartet Competition in UK,3rd Prize at Schubert und die Musik der Moderne Competition in Graz-Austria,3rd Prize at Max Reger Competition in Weimar-Germany, The Wigmore Award and The Romanian Musical Critics Union Prize in Bucharest. Bogdan Sofei has toured the world extensively ,performing at many major international festivals in Berlin, Munich, Eisenstadt, Belfast, Dublin, Cork, London, Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, Paris, Aix-en -Province, Brussels, Madrid, Rome, Venice ,San Marino ,Los Angeles, Toronto, Tel-Aviv, Tokyo, Kyoto and Bucharest. Bogdan Sofei sustains also a busy career as soloist, in UK, Italy, Romania. As the first violinist of ConTempo Quartet, he performed with Vellinger and Vanbrugh Quartets ,Kungsbacka Piano Trio(Sweden), Emma Johnson (UK)John O’Conor(Ireland),with Garth Knox-Arditti quartet(Paris) ,Yuko Inoue(UK),Chen Zimbalista (Israel),Garfield Jackson-Endellion quartet, Martin Outram(Maggini Quartet),Jerome Pernoo (Paris),James Lisney(UK),Gilbert Kalish (USA) and Douglas McNabney(Canada).He worked closely with composers such Alec Roth-UK and Jane O’Leary-Ireland. Bogdan Sofei has been teaching in Royal Academy of Music-London, gave chamber music master classes in Royal Irish Academy Of Music-Dublin, in UK(Reading and Devon)and in Ireland( Galway and Kilkeny). The ConTempo string quartet has its own festival in Galway, and is preparing its 6th edition of ConTempo Summer School next year. Recordings as a member of Contempo include labels and names such as Deutsche Schallplatten, BBC, RTE,ORF, TVR and TG4. As the first violinist of ConTempo, Bogdan Sofei performed for personalities such as the Pope John Paul II at Castel Gandolfo in Italy, in 2001, in 2002 for Prince Charles in UK (the second concert at Highrove), in 2003 they were invited to perform for Nelson Mandela, the ex-President of South Africa and EU Ministers, and in 2005 they performed in Los Angeles for Angelica Houston and Merv Griffin. As the first violinist of ConTempo Quartet, Bogdan Sofei also recorded the Adagio from Beethoven’s Opus 131 for the television drama “Band Of Brothers”, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, arranged the music for the silent movie “Aufgrunden”, and featured in the documentary film “ConTempo goes West” by Bob Quinn, having its launch in July 2006. The ConTempo quartet is waiting for the release of their cd with works of Enescu and Janacek, recorded with SOMM, UK. |
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Adrian Mantu, was born in Bucharest in 1975 and is a graduate of the University of Music in Bucharest. His studies continued at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Royal Academy of Music in London and European Academy of Music in Aix-en-Provence where he studied with Stefan Popov, Zara Nelsova, Radu Aldulescu, Laurence Lesser and Marin Cazacu. He took part in various string quartet master classes with members of the Amadeus, Alban Berg, Hagen and Emerson Quartets. In 1999 the ConTempo Quartet was offered a Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where each member coached chamber music groups. In 2003, after an international audition, Adrian and his colleagues from ConTempo became Galway's Quartet-in-Residence, a job sponsored by the National University of Ireland, Galway, the National Irish Language TV Channel TG4 & the Arts Council. Adrian has won many national competitions all over Romania and two prizes in International Cello Competitions in Bucharest and Sofia. As a member of the ConTempo String Quartet he has won a record of 13 international prizes in competitions such as London, Munich, Hamburg, Rome, Graz, Berlin & Prague. Adrian has a busy schedule of more than 60 concerts a year and he has performed, on his own or with the ConTempo Quartet, all over the world including Concerts as Soloist with Orchestras in Germany, Italy, Romania, Austria, France, Canada, Bulgaria & UK and Chamber Music Recitals in Wigmore Hall and St.Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Berliner Philarmonik, Waterfront in Belfast, Max Joseph Saal in Munich, Theatre Chatelet and Festival Clasique-au-Vert in Paris, Auditorium in Brussels, Gedai University in Tokio, Opera House in Tel-Aviv, Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt, King's Lynn Festival (where ConTempo played with London's Royal Philarmonic Orchestra Elgar's Introduction and Allegro) Dublin, Toronto, Madrid, Rome and Bucharest. Adrian and his colleagues from ConTempo had the honour to perform for personalities such us the Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Prince Charles and the EU Ministers. As a member of the ConTempo Quartet Adrian recorded for BBC, RTE, Lyric FM, Radio France Musique, ORF, TVR and for the German CD Company DeutscheSchalplatten. ConTempo recorded also the music for Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks's TV Drama Band of Brothers. Adrian composed, arranged and recorded the music for the "Trop tard" movie (who was selected for the Cannes Festival in France) and for the "Dama cu camelii" play for the National Theatre in Bucharest. "Wonderful cellist" - The Times Sep.2000 "Adrian is just great" - Norbert Brainin from the Amadeus Quartet Aug.98 "..the Romanian cellist Adrian Mantu is sensational..." - Aachenen Nachnichten "the cellist Adrian Mantu commands, with an excellent self-control, a vivid sensitiveness, a musical imagination which is functionally exhibited" - Curentul "..the baritonal voice of the soloist cello came to light as a compact, round, expressive and shaded sound, Adrian Mantu proving a fluent and intelligent phrasing." - Actualitatea Muzicala. |
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Andreaa Banciu, was born in Bucharest in 1975 and is a graduate of the University of Music in Bucharest. Her studies continued at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Royal Academy of Music in London and European Academy of Music in Aix-en-Provence where she studied with Diemut Poppen, David Takeno, Thomas Kakuska, and Douglas MacNabney. She took part in various string quartet master classes with members of the Amadeus, Alban Berg, Hagen and Emerson Quartets. In 1999 the ConTempo Quartet was offered a Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where each member coached chamber music groups. In 2003, after an international audition, Andreea and her colleagues from ConTempo became Galway's Quartet-in-Residence, a job sponsored by the National University of Ireland, Galway, the National Irish Language TV Channel TG4 & the Arts Council. Andreea won several national competitions in Romania and as a member of the ConTempo String Quartet she has won a record of 13 international prizes in competitions such as London, Munich, Hamburg, Rome, Graz, Berlin & Prague. Andreea has a busy schedule of more than 60 concerts a year and she has performed, on her own or with the ConTempo Quartet, all over the world including Davos Festival, Wigmore Hall and St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Berliner Philarmonik, Waterfront in Belfast, Max Joseph Saal in Munich, Theatre Chatelet and Festival Clasique-au-Vert in Paris, Auditorium in Brussels, Gedai University in Tokio, Opera House in Tel-Aviv, Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt, King's Lynn Festival (where ConTempo played with London's Royal Philarmonic Orchestra Elgar's Introduction and Allegro) Dublin, Toronto, Madrid, Rome and Bucharest. Andreea and her colleagues from ConTempo had the honour to perform for personalities such us the Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Prince Charles and the EU Ministers. As a member of the ConTempo Quartet Andreea recorded for BBC, RTE, Lyric FM, Radio France Musique, ORF, TVR and for the German CD Company DeutscheSchalplatten. ConTempo recorded also the music for Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks's TV Drama Band of Brothers. Her connections with the film world include appearances in two movies as a supporting actress (the last one, "Trop tard", was selected for the Cannes Festival in France). |
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William Dowdall, flute. Dublin born William Dowdall trained at the Cleveland Institute of Music and returned to Ireland at the age of 21. Principal flute in the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland from 1979 to 2004 and appointed Professor of flute at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, he now combines a busy career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. In addition to a wide ranging repertoire, he has a keen interest in contemporary music and many composers have written works for him. As a solo artist he has made critically-acclaimed recordings for Goasco, Naxos, Marco Polo, Black Box, and Celestial Harmonies labels. He plays on gold and platinum flutes by Brannen, a wooden flute by Abell, and an alto flute by Eva Kingma. |
The fees cover the cost of accommodation, meals, and tuition.
There is a special discount rate, as an incentive to those willing to share bedrooms. Note that this special rate is available on a first-come-first-served basis only. Please state sharing preferences on your application. The nicest rooms in the house are sharing rooms, and those who apply early and are willing to share may be rewarded with en-suite rooms in the stylish period house.
| Standard Rate | EUR 250 | |
| Sharing Discount Rate | EUR 240 | special discount rate if willing to share a bedroom - limited places available |
| Student/Guest Discount Rate | EUR 225 | Full-time students or non-playing guests - assumed willing to share bedroom (otherwise full-rate applies) |
| Guest for concert | EUR 20 |
Friday | |
| 5:30pm | Arrival followed by evening meal |
| 8:00 - 9:00pm | Coaching/Practice period |
Saturday | |
| 8:45am | Breakfast |
| 10:00 - 1:00pm | Coaching/Practice period |
| 1:00pm | Lunch |
| 2:00 - 6:00pm | Coaching/Practice period |
| 6:00pm | Evening meal |
| 7:00pm | Chamber orchestra |
| and/or informal chamber music | |
Sunday | |
| 8:45am | Breakfast |
| 10:00 - 1:00pm | Coaching/Practice period |
| 1:00pm | Lunch |
| 2:00 - 4:00pm | Coaching/Practice period |
| 4:30pm | Concert given by participants |
| 6:00pm | Evening meal |
| 7:00pm | Continuation of concert |
| 8:00pm | Departure |
Dublin Orchestral Players - Dublin's longest established amateur orchestra
Hibernian Orchestra
Dublin Symphony Orchestra
Greystones Orchestra
National Youth Orchestra of Ireland - also including Junior National Youth Orchestra
Dublin Youth Orchestras - This organisation includes 4 orchestras for a variety of age-groups
Irish Chamber Orchestra
NSO - National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland
RTE Concert Orchestra
UCD Sinfonia
Maynooth University Orchestra
Wexford Sinfonia
Cork Symphony Orchestra
Studio Symphony Orchestra, Belfast
RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet Home Page - A really excellent site complete with samples of their recordings!
ConTempo String Quartet - "Quartet in Residence" in Galway
Vogler String Quartet - "Quartet in Residence" in Sligo
Callino String Quartet
Pentetetra String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions
Crescendo String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions
Sorcana String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions
Praga String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions
Clare Cherry String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions
Nicholas Milne String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions
Dolmen String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions(Ireland, Mid-West)
Aria String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions(Ireland, Cork)
Bravura String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions(Ireland, Cork)
Scarlet String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions(Ireland, Cork)
The Oriel String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions(Ireland, Galway)
The Corrib String Quartet - Available for Weddings, Dinners and other Functions(Ireland, Galway)
Limerick Wind Ensemble
WhatConcert.ieIreland's comprehensive Concert Diary
The Helix, Dublin - Multi-venue performance centre - Concert Programme, On-line Booking, etc.
NSO - Concert diary
Dublin Concert diary advertised on Aertel
Today's programme schedule on Lyric FM
International concert diary - add your own events
Dublin Central Music Library - ILAC Centre - On-line searchable catalogue of music scores and recordings West Cork Chamber Music Festival
Music in Great Irish Houses - Chamber Music Festival
Feis Ceoil
Dublin Youth Orchestras Chamber Music courses at Aravon - Residential chamber music summer school for young musicians
Irish Association of Youth Orchestras - Organisation with over over 100 member orchestras across Ireland
David Wilkins Music Links - Includes many international sites such as record companies
Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland (CMC) - Excellent database of modern Irish works & composers, also good links
Music at UCC - Excellent directory of Web resources for study and research in music
Lyric FM - Ireland's national classical music radio
Listen to Lyric FM on Streamed RealAudio
LearnMusic - Music Network database of Irish music teachers and schools
Official Home Page of ACMP (Amateur Chamber Music Players)
The Cassatt String Quartet (Violinist Jennifer Leshnower is coaching in Termonfechin in 2007)
Orvieto Musica - Italian Summer School - resident quartet - Cassatt String Quartet
Listing of Music Workshops/Summer Schools - Maintained by the publishers of "Music for the love of it" newsletter Listing of Music Workshops/Summer Schools - Maintained by "The Strad" magazine Chamber Music Catalogue from Hartford Library in the US-This is the best on-line catalogue of Chamber Music I have come across
Chamber Music Holidays and Festivals - In beautiful locations from Prague to Sydney and Arklow!
Intermusica-International
grouping of organisers of music courses
WWW Virtual Library - Classical music department
Classical Net
CDsheetmusic-Chamber music parts and scores on CD - Extremely good value (e.g. complete Mozart quartets & quintets for $18.95!)
Project Gutenberg-Free downloadable music scores
MIDI versions of famous string quartets-Free downloadable MIDI files
International Music Score Library Project(IMSLP) - Thousands of Scores available for free download