SPIC MACAY Ireland CLG, in collaboration with Sree Shiva Academy, presents Raga Ceangail, an evening where classical music and Bharatanatyam meet on one stage through rhythm, movement, melody and storytelling.
The concert brings together three distinguished musicians with a deep connection to Ireland’s classical music life. Prof Ailbhe McDonagh is an internationally active cellist, composer, recording artist and Professor of Cello at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Her career has included performances at venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, the Yale Norfolk Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and her compositions have been published by Boosey & Hawkes. She is also the composer of The Irish Four Seasons, a violin concerto written for Lynda O’Connor and inspired by the meeting of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with Irish musical colour.
Violinist Lynda O’Connor has performed widely as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader, with performances across Ireland, Europe, Asia and the United States. Her international work hasincluded appearances at Carnegie Hall, Cadogan Hall as part of the BBC Proms, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and tours with leading ensembles including Camerata Ireland, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the International Mahler Orchestra. Her recent AVIE Records album The Irish Seasons features Vivaldi’s Four Seasons alongside Ailbhe McDonagh’s The Irish Four Seasons.
The programme also features Dublin-born flautist Sinéad Farrell, principal piccolo/sub-principal flute of the National Symphony Orchestra and a former degree student of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Sinéad has performed with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Ireland, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and English National Opera, and has appeared as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Dublin Orchestral Players, Hibernian Chamber Orchestra and RIAM Symphony Orchestra. A founding member of the Ficino Ensemble, she has performed across Ireland, Europe and North America as a chamber musician.
The musical programme includes Ailbhe McDonagh’s The Irish Four Seasons, Mozart’s Divertimento K. 439b, a Haydn London Trio, a short solo flute work performed by Sinéad Farrell, and Handel- Halvorsen’s Passacaglia for violin and cello.
The Bharatanatyam presentation will be led by Uma Shankar with senior students of Sree Shiva Academy. Trained from an early age within Sree Shiva Academy and later under Natyacharya Sri RLV Anand, Uma completed her Arangetram in 2014 and continues to be closely involved with the academy as a performer, teacher and mentor. She has also trained in Carnatic music under Dr Sriram Sundaresan, with performance experience including Guruvayoor Temple, Chennai sabhas and recognition at the Keli competitions in Switzerland.
Sree Shiva Academy, based in Dublin, is dedicated to the teaching and practice of Bharatanatyam through structured training, performance experience and community engagement. In Raga Ceangail, the academy’s dancers bring the classical vocabulary of Bharatanatyam – gesture, rhythm, expression and narrative – into dialogue with the chamber music programme, creating an evening shaped by listening, response and shared artistic presence.
Founded in 1977 by Dr Kiran Seth, SPIC MACAY is a voluntary, youth-driven movement dedicated to making classical arts and cultural 5heritage accessible to younger generations. This event continues that spirit in Ireland by bringing artists, students and audiences together around traditions that are distinct, disciplined and alive.