Join us to hear a captivating new duo featuring the celebrated Irish violinist Mairéad Hickey and the acclaimed French harpist Anaïs Gaudemard. They’ll perform in Triskel Christchurch on Friday 8 October at 8pm as part of their Music Network tour.

To get your tickets, click here.

Mairéad Hickey

Celebrated Irish violinist Mairéad Hickey is acclaimed for her captivating expression, soaring tone and fearless virtuosity.  Her natural ability to communicate sincerely, with beauty and integrity, entrances audiences worldwide.

As a soloist Mairéad has performed with the RTÉ Irish National Symphony Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Württembergisches Kammerorchester, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, Kremerata Baltica and Camerata Ireland and many others in some of the major halls around the world.  Her Carnegie Hall debut was described as ‘…magical, penetrating to the heart and soul of the music.’ (New York Epoch Times)

A passionate chamber musician, Mairéad has performed with Sir András Schiff, Barry Douglas, Tabea Zimmermann, Fazil Say, Marc Coppey, Mate Bekavac, Irena Grafenauer, Alexander Lonquich, Andreas Reiner, Paul Neubauer, Andrés Díaz, Pieter Wispelway, Michel Lethiec, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Boris Berezovsky and the Vanbrugh Quartet among many others.

Mairéad has been invited to perform at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Westport Festival of Chamber Music, the Clandeboye Music Festival, Mantova Chamber Music Festival, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Rolandseck Festival and Chamber Music Connects the World Kronberg 2016 where she performed with Steven Isserlis and Christian Tetzlaff.

Her love of chamber music led her to co-found the Ortús Chamber Music Festival in 2016 in her native Cork, of which she is Artistic Director.

Mairéad was Irish NCH Young Musician of the Year 2010 – 2012.  As well as winning prizes at renowned Irish competitions, she won third prize as well as a Special Prize for the best interpretation of a virtuoso work at the 2016 International Louis Spohr Competition and first prize in the Jeunesses Musicales Violin Competition, Romania 2012. In 2017 she was awarded a Special Prize in the Berliner International Music Competition and the Manhattan International Music Competition.

Born in 1996, Mairéad began playing the violin at the age of three with Jyrki Pietila. From 2003 to 2014 she studied with Adrian Petcu at the CIT Cork School of Music, Ireland and spent a year in France studying at the Conservatoire de Nantes with Constantin Serban. She is now studying with Mihaela Martin at Kronberg Academy, sponsored by the Hilmar Kopper Stipendium.

Mairéad has taken masterclasses and worked intensely with artists such as András Schiff, Rita Wagner, Ferenc Rados, Gidon Kremer, Dora Schwarzberg, Elena Bashkirova, Hugh Maguire, Vadim Repin, Mariana Sirbu, Ana Chumachenco, Vadim Gluzman, Steven Isserlis, Yossi Zivoni, Mauricio Fuks, Gabor Takács-Nagy, Christoph Eschenbach, Marc Danel and Ivry Gitlis among others.

Highlights of her upcoming season include a performance in Wigmore Hall, London with Sir András Schiff and in Frankfurt with the HR-Sinfonie Orchester and Christoph Eschenbach.

Mairéad also plays traditional Irish music and has won eight world Irish fiddle titles. She has an instructional app ‘Irish Fiddler’ which is available on iTunes.

Mairéad currently plays a Giovanni Tononi violin, kindly loaned to her through the Beares International Violin Society.

Anaïs Gaudemard

Considered to be one of the finest harpists of her generation, Anaïs Gaudemard is recognised for her charisma on stage, the great sensitivity of her playing and the richness of her sound.

She has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes including the 1st Prize at the International Harp Contest in Israel 2012 and 2nd Prize and Münchener Kammerorchester Prize at the ARD Munich Competition 2016. In 2015, she received the Thierry Scherz Preis at the Sommets Musicaux Festival in Gstaad.

Anaïs Gaudemard was awarded the ECHO Rising Star award in 2018/19, which led to regular appearances at major venues, such as the Wiener Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Kölner Philharmonie, Barbican Centre London, Philharmonie de Paris, Philharmonie du Luxembourg, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon, BOZAR Brussels, Palau da Musica Catalana, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Casa da Musica Porto, Konserthuset Stockholm and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw among others.

The 2021/22 season will see Anaïs Gaudemard perform at Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg, Montreal’s Salle Bourgie, Pistoia’s Bolognini Theater, Philharmonie de Paris. Other highlights will also include the debut performances of Concertino for harp by Leo Smit with Bienne Symphony Orchestra, Harp Concerto Op.74 by Reinhold Glière with Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Harp Concerto Op.182 by Carl Reinecke with Thüringer Symphoniker, Nü Shu by Tan Dun with Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, as well as with Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, Cannes Symphony Orchestra Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra and a concert tour with Pygmalion Ensemble.

Anaïs’ recordings have been warmly received by the press. Her debut album Harp Concertos dedicated to Debussy, Boïeldieu and Ginastera on Clavès Records has been nominated at the ICMA (International Classical Music Awards). Her latest recording, Solo, was released on Harmonia Mundi to great acclaim.

Anaïs is a recipient of the Banque Populaire Foundation and the dedicatee of works by the composers Pierre-Adrien Charpy, Esteban Benzecry and Camille Pépin. She also devotes her time to teaching and researching new and unexplored repertoires.

Anaïs Gaudemard plays on a Style 23 Gold Concert Grand Harp, awarded to her by the harp maker Lyon & Healy at the 18th International Contest in Israel.