dlr & Music Network Present Heligo

Ruth O’Mahony-Brady and Mary Barnecutt in concert

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts Office, in association with Music Network, is delighted to present Heligo. Multi-instrumentalists Ruth O’Mahony-Brady and Mary Barnecutt have come together to create a musical synthesis of strings, piano, electronics, and vocal harmonies. Heligo takes place on Thursday, April 28th from 7:00pm to 8:00pm in The Studio, dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire. Tickets are €5.00 and are available on Eventbrite here.

Formed during their residency at dlr LexIcon in August-September 2021, Heligo is the culmination of gathered sounds, stories and visuals, all woven together to produce a series of new musical works.

The duo has composed music that is semi-scored with elements of live improvisation, drawing from an eclectic blend of chamber, folk, and electronic influences. Extensive field recordings have significantly informed their creative process; the captured sounds of pages in library books, train engines, door frames, and the chatter of birds are just some examples of the sonic materials that have been transformed into melodies and rhythms which underpin each original composition, directly taken from and inspired by the broad variety of environments found within the greater Dún-Laoghaire Rathdown landscape. Set against a backdrop of vignettes filmed during their sonic explorations, Heligo will perform a selection of new compositions alongside other original pieces.

Ruth O'Mahony-Brady is a pianist, vocalist and composer from Dublin. As a session musician and backing vocalist, Ruth has recorded and toured extensively with a variety of artists such as Glen Hansard, Sam Smith, Lisa O’Neill, Hikaru Utada, and Gemma Hayes. Touring highlights have included performances at the Sydney Opera House, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Carnegie Hall, and Walt Disney Concert Hall LA (with the LA Philharmonic). Mary Barnecutt is a Dublin-based musician, composer, and music organiser. She has written for short films, theatre, and dance productions. She was recently cellist and vocalist with Teać Damsa in their world-touring production of Loch Na hEala 2017 - 2020.  She is concert programmer of the weekly Sundays@Noon concert series in the Hugh Lane Gallery. She also produces, records, and releases music for her own label, Sharkwoman records.

The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Musicians in Residence Scheme is jointly funded by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the Arts Council and managed by Music Network. The Residencies provide opportunities for performers and composers to develop and showcase new work and cultivate new artistic collaborations.