Arts Week with Judy Murphy

The human voice is at the core of Music for Galway’s latest programme, Breathe, which was launched in the city on Monday.

“We embraced this theme, realising the last time we put a particular focus on the voice was a decade ago,” said the organisation’s Artistic Director, Finghin Collins, who described the voice as “the most human of instruments, in all its diversity”.

A highlight of the 2025-26 season, will be the Galway debut of the world-renowned vocal ensemble Stile Antico on Thursday, October 16.

This year’s Emily Anderson Concert will be on Tuesday November 11, and will feature Young Singers from Irish National Opera studio performing Mozart arias. Emily Anderson’s fascinating codebreaking work will be explored in short talks by computer scientists Dave Pope and Jennifer Conlon.

On Wednesday, February 11, before they head to London’s Wigmore Hall, Irish tenor Gavan Ring and pianist Fiachra Garvey will perform a programme built around Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel.

The annual Music for Good Friday Concert on April 3 will feature Galway choir Collegium, who will perform Heinrich Schütz’s Matthäus Passion, directed by Mark Duley.

Entrepreneur and founder of the Lifes2Good Foundation, James Murphy, was the keynote speaker at this season’s launch.

His company is supporting MfG on several projects and he praised the organisation’s “commitment to excellence and sustainability”.

James’s own love of singing meant he was “especially pleased to be supporting the Galway Messiah, a special production of Handel’s oratorio that MfG is presenting with Resurgam and local baroque ensemble Vespera. It includes an important participatory element in the form of the St Nicholas Singers”.

He added that Galway was lucky to have an organisation like MfG “that brings the best from Ireland and the world to perform here, but that also strives to create opportunities for Galway communities to participate”.

The Galway Messiah will be staged on Sunday December 14, at St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church.

People will have an opportunity to take part in another concert on November 19. That one, featuring viola/cello duo Dragonfly will take place in the city’s Ballinfoile-Castlegar Neighbourhood Centre and the duo will work with community singers who will join them on stage for their concert finale.

Pictured: Local baroque ensemble Vespera will feature in  the Galway Messiah, with Resurgam and the St Nicholas Singers.