Ailbhe McDonagh | |
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Born | Dublin, Ireland | 29 November 1982
Genres | Classical |
Instrument(s) | Cello |
Labels | Steinway, Bridge Records, Ergodos, Boosey & Hawkes |
Website | www |
Ailbhe McDonagh (born November 29, 1982 in Dublin) is an Irish concert cellist and composer. Her compositions have been published by Boosey & Hawkes, Hal Leonard, RIAM and ABRSM. She performs worldwide as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and teaches at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, Ireland.[1]
Irish cellist, Ailbhe McDonagh, performs throughout Ireland and internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, USA (Steven Doane) and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, Ireland (Aisling Drury-Byrne, William Butt). Ailbhe currently teaches cello performance at the RIAM.
Ailbhe gave her debut recital with celebrated Irish pianist John O'Conor at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland.[2] She performs throughout Europe, Asia and North America and has appeared as a concerto soloist numerous times in Ireland and abroad. Performances include concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Yale Norfolk Festival, Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, Great Irish Houses Festival, for the Irish President at Áras an Uachtaráin and on Irish national television and radio.[3][4][5]
As a chamber musician, Ailbhe performs in a duo, The McDonagh Sisters, with pianist Orla McDonagh. She is also a member of the Ficino Ensemble and the crossover traditional Irish music group Trio Elatha where she plays traditional Irish music on the cello.[6][7][8]
Ailbhe is an established composer with numerous compositions and commissions to her name. London based publishers Boosey & Hawkes have released two books of her piano music entitled It's a Piano Thing.[9][10] Current projects include It’s a Cello Thing, a collection of two books of pedagogical pieces for cello which will be published in 2021. Ailbhe collaborates with many composers and other artists worldwide and has recorded several works of contemporary music.[11]
Ailbhe joined the cello faculty of the RIAM in 2010 and is invited to give masterclasses worldwide.[12] Her debut solo album 'It’s a Cello Thing' was named CD of the Week on Ireland’s national classical music station RTÉ Lyric FM, and is played internationally.[13] 'Skellig' was released in 2020 with the McDonagh Sisters.[14] In 2021, Ailbhe will release the complete Beethoven cello and piano sonatas with John O'Conor on the Steinway label.[15] She performs on a Postacchini cello.
Year | Title | Notes |
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2012 | It's a Cello Thing | CD of the Week, RTÉ Lyric FM[16] |
2015 | Trasnán | With Trio Elatha[17] |
2017 | It's a Piano Thing, Books 1 & 2 | Sound recording, Boosey & Hawkes[18] |
2019 | Winter | With Ficino Ensemble, Ergodos label |
2020 | Skellig | With The McDonagh Sisters, Top Picks 2020 by Irish Examiner[19] |
2021 | Complete Beethoven Cello & Piano Sonatas | With John O'Conor, Steinway label[20][21] |
Year | Title | Notes |
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2017 | It's a Piano Thing Books 1 | Boosey & Hawkes[22] |
2017 | It's a Piano Thing Books 2 | Boosey & Hawkes[23] |
2020 | Grade by Grade, Double Bass Pieces in Grades 1-4 | Boosey & Hawkes[24] |
2020 | Exploring Grade 2 | Hal Leonard[25] |
2021 | Piano Syllabus 2021-2022 | ABRSM[26] |