Irish EU Presidency Closing Concert

In partnership with the Embassy of Ireland, Belgium and with the support of IFPI, the Brussels Chamber Ensemble gives the closing concert of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union — an evening of Irish music from its most beloved melodies to a brand-new voice.

The programme opens with Bill Whelan’s Cloudsong and Reel Around the Sun, the music that made Riverdance a worldwide phenomenon. Then a world premiere follows: A Walk Through the Fleadh by Patrick James Watson, winner of the “Sounds of Ireland” composition competition held by the ensemble, a celebration of the music, culture and spirit of the island as heard on a stroll through the streets of the Fleadh festival. Following this, the orchestra performs Seán Ó Riada’s Mise Éire: written in 1959 for the documentary of the same name, its sweeping orchestral treatment of the traditional air Róisín Dubh has become one of Ireland’s most cherished pieces. The first half closes with Stanford’s Irish Rhapsody No. 1, built around the haunting folk tune The Lament of the Children.

After the interval, Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony — his darkest and most powerful, written for London in 1885 and regarded by many as his finest.

The Brussels Chamber Ensemble is an orchestra that looks like Brussels and embodies Europe’s spirit: sixty musicians on stage, students and young professionals from the Belgian conservatoires alongside accomplished amateurs from the EU institutions and beyond, fifteen-plus nationalities united by their love of music-making. Since 2022 it has given the official concert of successive EU Council Presidencies, from Sweden to Ireland, every one sold out. Each programme pairs the great composers of the Presidency country with a world premiere by a living composer from that country, chosen through the BCE Composition Competition.

For more information, visit brusselschamberensemble.eu or @brusselschamberensemble on Instagram and Facebook.