Harmonically Speaking

• Frank Corcoran

  My guest today is composer and former Professor of Composition and Theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Frank Corcoran.Hailing from Borrisokane in County Tipperary, he was always drawn to music, and as a young child wanting to record traditional Irish music created his own method of notation, before going on to study in Maynooth, Rome, and finally in Berlin with Boris Blacher. In the subsequent years, he found his voice, developed his technique of macro counterpoint, premiered his first symphony in Vienna, and took up a number of teaching posts, in Berlin, Stuttgart, and ultimately in Hamburg in 1983. Despite being based in Germany and Italy for the last 5 decades, his deep connection to Ireland and its language, history, and heritage, has remained and influences and informs many of his works. Keen to know more about his story and creative process, the challenges of being a composer in the Ireland of 50 years ago and how things have changed I sat down with Frank, where I began by asking about his first experience of music… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Neasa Ní Bhriain

  My guest today is Professor of Viola at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden, Neasa Ní Bhriain. Hailing from Dublin, she started out playing violin and in 2008 moved to Rostock in Germany to study it. However she had always been drawn to the viola, the critical middle voice of the string quartet, and during her studies there switched to it, before completing further studies in Leipzig and Weimar and then winning the position of solo viola in the Staatskapelle Weimar in 2018.A passionate exponent of contemporary music and its creative soundscapes, she combines her work as a performer and teacher with a zeal for composition and improvisation, and has written and performed numerous works for viola and pedals.Curious to know more about her journey, the challenges of switching instruments, and her approach to guiding the next generation of musician, I sat down with Neasa where I began by asking how she starting playing music…. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Daniel Sebastian Scholz

  My guest this week is Professor of Musicians Health with a special focus on mental health in Lübeck, Prof. Dr. Daniel Sebastian Scholz.Hailing from Tübingen in southern Germany, he is a trained psychologist and jazz musician, and initially studied psychology in Marburg before studying jazz composition in Osnabrück whilst completing his doctorate in Hannover. In 2022 he took up his current position in Lübeck, in the process becoming the first professor of this kind in Germany. Alongside his day to day work with musicians, he frequently gives seminars on stage fright, and self esteem, and has authored and co-authored numerous studies including one exploring low self esteem and performance anxiety and how it can predict depression in musiciansCurious to know more about his journey, the issues facing musicians today, and how he helps them, I sat down with Daniel, where I began by asking when he first started playing music …. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Deborah Kelleher

  My guest today is director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and current President of the European Association of Conservatoires, Deborah KelleherA native of Dublin, she studied music in Trinity College Dublin, later becoming a teaching fellow in UCD, whilst also teaching in the then DIT College of Music, and working in FM3, the precursor to RTE Lyric FM.However, her sights were always set on leadership, which compelled her to study an MBA and in 2010, in the midst of the Great Recession she became director of the RIAM. Under her stewardship, the Academy has became an associate college of Trinity College Dublin, curricula has been reformed, and most noticeably, the city centre campus has been redeveloped, doubling its teaching and practice studios, and adding new rehearsal and performances spaces, including the Whyte Recital Hall.Curious to know more about her journey, the unseen reality of leading an artistic institution, and the challenges facing conservatoires and artists in the future,, I sat down with Deborah where I began by asking how she started playing music… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Giacomo Smith

  My guest today is superstar jazz clarinettist, Giacomo Smith.Born in Italy, Giacomo grew up in upstate New York and initially wanted to learn saxophone, but was persuaded to start with clarinet, and went on to study clarinet classically in Boston University and McGill in Montreal. However, the lure of jazz was always there, inspired by both his mothers affinity for Dave Brubeck, and a roommate who loaned him a cd of Hubert Rostaing playing with Django Reinhardt.This sparked an interest in the early days of jazz, and its unique soundworld, and later let to him founding a band called Kansas Smittys, playing music inspired by that era.Famed for his elegant playing and effortless vituosity, he frequently performs worldwide and is in high demand as a soloist, collaborator, and record producer, and in early 2025, when Giacomo was in Ireland, performing with Guy Barker and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, we sat down to talk, where I began by asking him when he started playing clarinet… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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