ABOUT CAMERATA IRELAND
Camerata Ireland is proud to have celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024. The orchestra was founded in 1999 by internationally renowned pianist Barry Douglas in response to the historic Good Friday Agreement, with the first concerts taking place on consecutive days in April 1999 in Stormont Parliament Buildings and St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle. The aim of Camerata Ireland is to bring together the finest musicians from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to perform at home and internationally. In recognition of the exceptional nature and quality of its work, Camerata Ireland was awarded the Joint Patronage of Mary McAleese, President of Ireland and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2004. Today, this joint patronage is held by His Majesty King Charles III and President Michael D. Higgins.
Camerata has achieved an extraordinary amount in the last 25 years. Since its formation, the orchestra has travelled the world to wide critical acclaim. Early tours were festival concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC as guests of Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, followed by a 4-week tour in North America. After glowing reviews from the North American press including the Washington Post, Camerata Ireland began a rich and busy schedule of international touring. In 2016, Camerata Ireland was invited to a special Festival at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in Ireland.
The orchestra began touring in South America in 2000, followed by tours in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and China. Notable international appearances have included performances at the Irish Festival of Arts and Culture in China in 2004, the 2006 International Beethoven Festival in Warsaw, the Smithsonian Festival in the US Library of Congress, the Naantali International Festival in Finland in 2007, the Festival de la Chaise- Dieu in France in 2008 and 2009, and multiple European Festivals over the years. Camerata Ireland was in residence in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées over many years, with a programming focus on Mozart.
Camerata Ireland made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2011, its BBC Proms debut in Summer 2013, and performed Beethoven at the 40th Anniversary of the Kilkenny Arts Festival. In May 2011, the orchestra was honoured to be invited to perform for the (former) President of Ireland, Mary McAleese and Her Late Majesty the Queen, as part of the latter’s historic State visit to Ireland. Camerata Ireland recorded the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos and the Triple Concerto with Barry Douglas for Satirino Records in 2008.
In Northern Ireland, the orchestra hosts the Clandeboye Festival which takes place annually in August in the historic surroundings of the Clandeboye Estate, Co. Down. The Festival showcases Internationally renowned soloists to Northern Irish audiences, as well as providing a platform for young musicians from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. At the heart of the Festival is the Camerata Ireland Academy, Camerata Ireland’s young artist development programme. The Academy was established to support and nurture young musicians from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Each year, the Academy welcomes up to 12 young musicians to the festival to take part in masterclasses and rehearsals with the visiting soloists. Over 200 musicians have taken part in the Academy to date, with notable alumni including pianist Michael McHale, flautist Eimear McGeown and violinist Mairead Hickey. Camerata Ireland is committed to helping young musicians bridge the gap between their studies and professional careers and provides performance opportunities to young musicians as part of the Clandeboye Festival and with the orchestra.
In 2024, Camerata celebrated its 25th anniversary with a major US tour - returning once again to Carnegie Hall - and three-week tour of China, performing in prestigious venues in major Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai. The orchestra also performs regularly in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, where it is an Associate Artist. Plans for the coming years include a return tour to China as well as tours to Japan and South America. At home, the orchestra will host the 25th Clandeboye Festival in 2026 while continuing its strong support and nurturing of talented young musicians from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Camerata Ireland is grateful to its principal funders the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and to Culture Ireland for its regular support of its international touring programme.
MANAGEMENT
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Barry Douglas
Barry Douglas has established a major international career since winning the Gold Medal at the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Moscow. A highly sought-after recitalist and chamber musician, he has given performances across the globe, as well as regularly performing as a soloist with orchestras both at home and internationally. In 1999 he founded Camerata Ireland to celebrate and nurture the very best of young musicians from both Northern and the Republic of Ireland. As Artistic Director of Camerata Ireland and the Clandeboye Festival, he continues to celebrate his Irish heritage whilst also maintaining a busy international touring schedule. Barry Douglas was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to music and community relations in the 2021 New Year Honours List, having previously received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002.
GENERAL MANAGER
Ciara Burnell
Ciara joined Camerata Ireland as its General Manager in 2022, and manages the orchestra's touring and concert schedule as well as the annual Clandeboye Festival. An experienced arts manager, she also holds a PhD in Musicology (focusing on the late orchestra works of Frank Bridge), and initially lectured for 10 years in music history, analysis and performance at Queen’s University, Belfast and South Eastern Regional College, Bangor. She completed a Certificate in Management Practice in 2016, and joined early music ensemble Sestina Music later that year. As General Manager of Sestina, Ciara managed the ensemble's concerts, tours, recordings and education programme over a period of 6 years.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CHAIR
Paul Kavanagh
A UCD graduate in Modern history and French, Paul Kavanagh is a former diplomatic official of Ireland. Over a period of 20 years, he served successively as Ambassador to the United Nations both in New York and Geneva, to France, China, Japan and the UAE as well as to the Political and Security side of the EU in Brussels and to the World Trade Organisation. He has extensive experience in political, economic and cultural diplomacy including in diverse Chairmanship roles - as well as in UN Peacekeeping and Peacemaking.
VICE CHAIR
Kieran Tobin
Kieran graduated from UCD in 1974 as a Chemical Engineer. He joined Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard in the 1980s, and spent the balance of his working life in this company at Director level, while also chairing a number of industry-wide groups, including the Wine and Spirt Association and Drinks Industry Ireland. Music has always been a passion of Kieran's, and he was a director of the National Concert Hall from 2011-2016, including a number of years as Chair. He is also currently a Director of New Music Dublin.
TRUSTEE
Michael d'Arcy
Michael d’Arcy is a concert violinist and professor of violin performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He has been the concertmaster of Camerata Ireland since it was formed in 1999, and has also been the concertmaster of both the National Symphony Orchestra, and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Since his London début in 1990 with the Walton Concerto, Michael d’Arcy has performed as a soloist throughout Europe, North and South America and in the Far East. He was a member of the board of Opera Theatre Company in Dublin for many years. ​
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TRUSTEE
Rosemary O'Mahony
Rosemary O’Mahony was a partner with Accenture, where she spent 28 years between the Dublin, Chicago and Paris offices. She specialised in IT solutions and worked with clients in over 20 countries. Following her retirement, Rosemary has used her professional experience of 30 years in consulting to help charities and social enterprises in both the UK and France, including "1001 fontaines", CAMFED International and Youth Business International. In Ireland, Rosemary is on the Board of the Genio Trust and a member of the Finance, Audit and Risk committee of Genio CLG.
TRUSTEE
Roger Pollen
Roger Pollen initially worked as a professional cellist before becoming Orchestra Manager of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and then Managing Director of the Scottish Ensemble. ​After studying at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, he took up a brand new post as head of FSB where he has responsibility for policy, public affairs and government relations, leading the team that supports and advocates on behalf of its six thousand NI-based business-owning members. He serves as a member of Ulster University Business School’s Advisory Forum and is a board member of the Ulster Youth Orchestra.
TRUSTEE
Simon Taylor
Simon Taylor was Chief Executive of the National Concert Hall in Dublin from 2011 to 2021. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Senior Producer, Classical Music at BBC Northern Ireland. For most of the 1990s he was Head of Orchestras and Performing Groups at RTÉ, having started his career in music management as the first administrator of Newpark Music Centre in Dublin. Simon trained as a classical guitarist and has performed and recorded extensively in Ireland and internationally. He is currently a board member of West Wicklow Festival.
TRUSTEE
Noreen Wright
Noreen Wright, a barrister, was a member of Northern Ireland Electricity’s (NIE) in-house legal team from 1976-2001, holding a number of senior management posts in the company, including that of Company Secretary and Head of Legal Services.​ She holds a number of public appointments in Northern Ireland including Member of the Industrial and Fair Employment Tribunals, Lay Magistrate and Member of the Northern Ireland Valuation Tribunal. She is also a Director of Springvale Training Ltd and Co-operation Ireland Ltd and is a Trustee of Garfield Weston Trust, University of Ulster.​