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Groundbreaking Jane the subject of Lyric Feature

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From this week's Galway City Tribune

From this week's Galway City Tribune

Groundbreaking Jane the subject of Lyric Feature Groundbreaking Jane the subject of Lyric Feature

A profile of contemporary composer Jane O’Leary, a founding member of Music for Galway, will be broadcast on Lyric FM this Sunday, October 20, at 6pm.

The Musician That Is Me is the title of the Lyric Feature about US-born Jane who has lived in Ireland since 1972 and made her home in Galway since 1978.

Jane, who has made an enormous contribution to contemporary classical music in Ireland, looks back on her career in this programme

She recalls, that since early childhood, she had longed to play the piano, which she did, going on study at Vassar College, where she was introduced to composition. In Princeton, she developed her skills as a composer and met her husband, Pat, a UCG student on a Fullbright scholarship.

When Jane moved to Ireland, no one was playing contemporary music on a regular basis here and women composers were almost unheard of.

She set about changing that. Her  achievements include founding Ireland’s first contemporary music group, the Concorde Ensemble, and she was a driving force behind Music for Galway. From that, the ConTempo Quartet was appointed as Galway Music Residency Ensemble in Residence.

Musicians from both groups contribute to the documentary, speaking about working with Jane and performing her music.

It also captures Jane at work, on a Zoom call with pianists Maria Sumareva and Andrew Rosenblum, who commissioned her to write a piece for them. She also liaises with Paul Roe, who commissioned her to compose for a group of his students, the Dublin Clarinet Ensemble.

Judith Ring, one of the younger generation of Irish composers inspired by Jane, contributes too. She speaks of Jane’s influence and her ongoing work to promote other composers.

The Musician That Is Me is produced by Claire Cunningham for Lyric.

Pictured: Composer Jane O’Leary.

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