Cross Currents: Composer Garrett Sholdice

Garrett Sholdice features in #CrossCurrents, our three-part series exploring contemporary Irish composers and their music - go to http://www.crosscurrents.ie/ for more information for more background information and full podcasts.

Garrett Sholdice is an Irish composer. He has studied with Donnacha Dennehy, Nicola LeFanu and William Brooks. In 2012 he completed a PhD in composition at the University of York under the supervision of William Brooks. More recently, he has received some private lessons from Kevin Volans. His music has been described as possessing an 'exquisite delicacy' (The Irish Times). His music is featured on the Ergodos Musicians album, I Call to You, described by RTÉ Ten as ‘perhaps the most important record of new Irish music released this year.’

His work has been performed by, amongst others, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, violinist Ioana Petcu-Colan, Maya Homburger/Barry Guy duo, and pianist Aki Takahashi. His music has been performed in Europe, North America and Japan, in venues/spaces including the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Issue Project Room in New York and Tsukuba Nova Hall in Japan.

During spring 2011 he was composer-in-residence at the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris. In April 2011, and again in April 2012, he received Bursary Awards from the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon. He is a co-director of Ergodos, a Dublin-based production company, record label and music distributor that he founded with Benedict Schlepper-Connolly in 2006. Sholdice and Schlepper-Connolly co-curate and co-produce all Ergodos projects.

Notable recent performances include the first performances of a piano concerto for pianist Michael McHale and the Irish Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Gábor Tákacs-Nagy), commissioned by ICO with funds from the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, and the first performances of a new madrigal for UK vocal ensemble EXAUDI.

2015 saw the premiere of his third string quartet, Das Blaue Licht, as part of David Lang’s Festival of Music at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. 2016 will see the premiere of a new work for Crash Ensemble, commissioned for their Free State 9 showcase, which he will also co-curate. (Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland)

Pieces used: 1. Song for Magister Léonin 2. Am Koppenplatz 3. The dreams flow down, too 4. Sonate 5. Weihnachtliche Musik 6. ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ

http://garrettsholdice.ie/ for more on Garrett

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