Hard Rain Soloistensemble

FEED THE BEAST ....

Don't miss the fabulous UYO's 25th Anniversary concert on 25th August!

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We are delighted to announce the award of our 3 commissions funded by the PRSf Talent Development Partnership. We had a high volume of submissions and the ensemble deliberated long and hard. The following composers were chosen to write works to be featured in our 2018/19 Season.
Eduard Zatriqi Christopher McAteer Christopher McCann

Calling all Von Trapp families in Belfast this Sunday!
Check out this sneak peak of our upoming co-production with Northern Ireland Opera
THE CHRONIC IDENTITY CRISIS OF PAMPLEMOUSSE
... A chamber opera for children and adults in one act Music & Libretto by Greg Caffrey
Sunday 3pm, Ulster Museum, Belfast Interactive Workshop 2pm (Learning Zone)
Tickets available here www.niopera.com/events/pamplemousse/
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While the Hard Rain players spent the day breaking the boundaries of immersive performance at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Hard Rain conductor Sinead Hayes rehearsed with the artists of the Northern Ireland Opera Studio ahead of our performance of Greg Caffrey's "The Chronic Identity Crisis of Pamplemousse" this Sunday at the Ulster Museum, Belfast
🐭🍊
Get your tickets here! www.niopera.com/events/pamplemousse/

The Hard Rain players are half way through the second day of workshops at the Sonic Arts Research Centre making music and experimenting with virtual reality with the help of our friends at Drake Music Project Northern Ireland and Queen's University Belfast.
Aisling in particular was thrilled to meet JJ, the 360 degree camera #thesearethedroidsyouarelookingfor

Do you know any mums/dads with tiny humans that would be interested in this event?
Northern Ireland Opera and Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble are collaborating to produce this fantastic introduction to music, storytelling, acting and singing via the medium of opera!
Join us on Sunday 27th May @ 2pm at the Ulster Museum, Belfast for a fun workshop suitable for the whole family, followed by a short performance of brand new children's opera "The Chronic Identity Crisis of Pamplemousse..." by Belfast-based composer Greg Caffrey.
This event is perfect for all mini Divas/Pavarottis (and fully grown ones!)
Tickets available via the link below- spread the word!
See More

Do you know any mums/dads with tiny humans that would be interested in this event?
NI Opera and Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble are collaborating to produce this fantastic introduction to music, storytelling, acting and singing via the medium of opera!
Join us on Sunday 27th May @ 2pm at the Ulster Museum, Belfast for a fun workshop suitable for the whole family, followed by a short performance of brand new children's opera "The Chronic Identity Crisis of Pamplemousse" by Belfast-b...ased composer Greg Caffrey.
This event is perfect for all mini Divas/Pavarottis (and fully grown ones!)
Tickets available via the link below- spread the word!
See More

*CALL FOR COMPOSER PROPOSALS*
We're excited to announce that we are seeking emerging/early career composers from Northern Ireland to submit proposals for commissions for our 2018/19 Season through our Talent Development Partnership with PRS for Music
Please see our website for further details!
... Deadline for submissions: 12:00 (noon) Tuesday 29th May
hardrainensemble.com
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We are live at the Crescent Arts Centre rehearsing ahead of our season finale concert, "Involute" tomorrow evening at 7:30pm!
Here is an extract of "Sonata for 6 Players" by Hans Werner Henze
Can you spot all of the unusual instrumental additions to the ensemble?
... Tickets available here tinyurl.com/HRSEInvo
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Don't miss our season finale this Saturday 12th May, 7:30pm at the Crescent Arts Centre!
We'll also be joined by the The Contemporary Music Centre at 6pm for the launch of their promotional album #NMNI3 celebrating some fantastic music produced by contemporary Irish composers- a perfect opportunity for a glass of wine and a chat with some of Ireland's most exciting new music makers!
Tickets available here: tinyurl.com/HRSEInvo

After some wholesome soup du jour, Beauty and the Beast (Sarah Watts and her new Contrabass Clarinet😍) made their way to Queen's University Belfast to give a workshop to composers on the qualities and performance possibilities of the rare instrument.
Top tip of the day: "Don't put an Ulster Fry in the bell."

We had a fantastic morning in the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast meeting the team behind Drake Music Project Northern Ireland discussing ideas for our upcoming workshops and events, which will see the ensemble working alongside musicians with disabilities to explore new methods of composition, performance, and devising interactive installations utilising cutting edge immersive virtual and augmented reality technologies!
Sound mind-blowing? We certainly think so and can't wait to get started!

We're delighted to announce that following an incredibly high standard of auditions this year, the ensemble have chosen our Hard Rain Young Artist for the 2018/19 season: Percussionist Cathryn Lynch!
We caught up with Cathryn last week to talk about the year ahead- check out the vid below to find out more about her!
Cathryn will be performing with the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble as part of our 2018/19 season- to make sure you keep up to date with our upcoming events and other e...xciting news, sign up to our mailing list via our website hardrainensemble.com
Next Concert 'Involute' Crescent Arts Centre 12th May: tinyurl.com/HRSEInvo
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Well done, good job!

I really appreciate you are envolved with so interesting new music.

Well done, good job!

I really appreciate you are envolved with so interesting new music.

Well done, good job!

I really appreciate you are envolved with so interesting new music.

Well done, good job!

I really appreciate you are envolved with so interesting new music.