Cross Currents: Composer Jane O'Leary

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Jane O’Leary has been resident in Ireland since 1972. A founding member of Aosdána, Ireland’s state-sponsored academy of creative artists, she is a graduate of Vassar College and holds a PhD in composition from Princeton University, where she studied with Milton Babbitt among others. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music Degree by the National University of Ireland in 2007.

As artistic director and pianist of Concorde ensemble, Jane O’Leary has been nurturing the development of new music in Ireland and promoting its performance worldwide since 1976. She was a founding member of Music for Galway and is currently a Director of The Galway Music Residency and a member of Udarás na hOllscoile Gaillimh.

O’Leary’s music has been selected on several occasions for performance at the ISCM World New Music Days and has been performed at prestigious international festivals and venues, including the Kennedy Center, Washington DC; the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, NY; the Chicago Cultural Center; Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris; Spitalfields Festival, London; West Cork Chamber Music Festival. The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra featured her music on their debut tour of the USA in 2003.

Following international competition, her music was recently selected for performance in NY with mise-en ensemble and at the Parma Music Festival 2015. Recent performances have also included Sydney, Chicago, Paris, Bucharest, Passau and Tallinn.

This podcast feature excerpts from performances of Jane O Leary’s pieces "In a flurry of whispering”, "Ah Ruem Ahn” and "Reflections II Parts 1-4” , performed by the Concorde Ensemble.

The photograph is by Jonathan Grimes who is the recordist and project originator on Cross Currents. The producer is Helen Shaw
Athena Media is the producer of Cross Currents in collaboration with the CMC Contemporary Music Centre and RTE lyric fm. Cross Currents is made with the funding support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the Irish TV licence fee. All rights in this project rest with the producers and the composers involved. No reproductions can be made without the written consent of the producers .