A new, guided listening programme for people who love classical music and would like to know more about it will take place at libraries in Galway City on the last Tuesday of each month, starting next Tuesday and running until April 29, at 11am each day

Music Unveiled is being presented by Galway Music Residency (GMR) in Ballybane, Westside and Galway City and Libraries, in partnership with the University of Galway’s Music Department and Galway City Council Arts Office. The initiative links in with the popular Lunchtime with ConTempo series run by GMR and will provides audiences with the opportunity to learn about the music that will be performed at these, ahead of time.

One week before each of its monthly concerts, Music Unveiled will deconstruct some of the featured Lunchtimes with ConTempo repertoire, giving people into the structure, inspiration and context of the pieces, as well as the performers’ interaction with each work and its composer. The sessions will be led by Head of Music at UG, Dr Aidan Thomson, with inputs by contemporary composers and live demonstrations by the ConTempo Quartet (GMR’s Ensemble in Residence).

The series will begin next Tuesday, January 28, at 11am in Ballybane Library when the Music Unveiled team will explore Haydn’s Frog Quartet and Judith Ring’s Of Wood and Water. These two works will feature in GMR’s World Wetlands Day programme which will be performed at Lunchtimes with ConTempo on Tuesday, February 4, 1.10pm in the city’s St Nicholas’ Cathedral.

Like the concert itself, this information session is free but booking is required through Ballybane Library (ballybane@galwaylibrary.ie or 091-509244).

The Music Unveiled sessions will be filmed and made available on GMR’s YouTube channel for those who can’t make them in person, as part of the organisation’s aim to ensure its events are free, inclusive and accessible. Booking for all the talks is required through the relevant libraries.