FIACHRA GARVEY

1st prizewinner at the 2012 Jaques Samuel Competition, London, Fiachra made his Fazioli Auditorium (Italy) and Wigmore Hall debuts in 2013. He has also been a prizewinner at AXA Dublin International Piano Competition (Brennan Prize and McCullough Bursary), EU Piano Competition Prague (concerto finalist), 3rd Soirees-Concours Internationales de Piano a Collioure, France (Audience award) and Feis Ceoil Dublin (Morris Grant Bursary and Mabel Swainson award). The National Concert Hall Dublin awarded Fiachra the “Rising Star” prize in 2011 which led to a number of solo and concerto debuts. 

Fiachra graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, London in 2013 with 1st class honours and distinction in the M.A. in Music Performance. This follows a 1st class honours B.A. in Music Performance from the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2011 and a 1st class honours DipMus (performance and teaching) from the RIAM in 2008. 

Concerto appearances include the Janáček Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, RTE Concert Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra, RIAM Symphony Orchestra, Hibernian Orchestra and UCD Symphony Orchestra working with eminent conductors including John Wilson, Duncan Ward, Theodore Kuchar, Stephen Bell and Mihhail Gerts. 

Recent highlights include Google Dublin (first classical artist to be invited), Spoleto Italy, Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, NCH Dublin, Snape Maltings Aldeburgh, Petworth Festival, New Ross Piano Festival, St Martin in the Fields, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Brighton Festival, Geneva Festival Switzerland, West Cork Music, St Magnus Festival Orkney, Wexford Opera House, Ortús Chamber Music Festival, Killaloe Chamber Music Festival, Drogheda Classical Music, Clifden Arts Festival, a series of solo and two piano recitals in Japan and a tour of China. 

Fiachra’s debut CD “For the Piano”, under the Lyric FM label, was released in 2012:“brings a deep and infectious enthusiasm, combined with insight and technical comfort.” (Sunday times). His second cd, a live performance from Wigmore Hall was released in 2014. 

Fiachra is the founder and artistic director of the West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival (Ireland) described as“One of the best classical music festival in Europe” (BBC Music Magazine) and Classical Vauxhall (London) described as“Everything the classical concert in the 21st Century should be” (iNews) . 

Fiachra was awarded an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London(ARAM) in 2018, served on the Board of Directors of the Dublin International Piano Competition from 2016-2022 and was made a Feeman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians in 2021 and a Freeman of the City of London in 2022. 

When not performing, Fiachra loves nothing more than returning home to help on the family farm with the yearly lambing, dipping, shearing, harvesting and all the other elegant and refined activities on the farm! Fiachra feels this makes him a more inspired and fulfilled musician. 

www.fiachragarvey.com 

FICINO ENSEMBLE

“The Ficino Ensemble has established itself as one of Ireland’s leading chamber groups. Its intelligently programmed, superbly played debut recording illustrates why.” – Michael Quinn. 
 
Formed in 2013, Ficino Ensemble is an acclaimed chamber music group known for programming a breadth of musical styles. Their concerts have been described as “distinctive, transparent and carefully poised”,  and have been broadcast on radio programmes worldwide. Each member of the ensemble is a major force on the Irish classical and contemporary music scene, and enjoy devoting time to curated chamber music programmes.
 
The group regularly collaborates with composers and are devoted to the presentation of new music as the feature of diligently programmed concerts. In 2018, the group performed a concert of Beethoven’s String Quartet op. 132 in darkness, which included a reading of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets read by Olwen Fouéré. Their live performances are regularly featured on RTE and BBC.
 
Ficino Ensemble released their debut recording Winter in 2018 and was long-listed for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize. It was described as “perfect in every way” (Bernard Clarke RTE Lyric Fm). Their newest album, a collaboration with Michelle O’Rourke where they recorded Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs, was released in 2022 was described as “Bewitching” (Guardian), and included in the Guardian’s Top 10 Folk Albums of 2022, and Best Contemporary Classical on Bandcamp.
 
Ficino Ensemble takes its name after the Renaissance polymath Marsilio Ficino who emphasised the importance of music for the enrichment of the soul.