The Sligo New Music Festival returns to The Model from 16th – 18th April 2010 with the early, ground-breaking music of Gavin Bryars, including his classic works The Sinking of the Titanic and Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet. Gavin Bryars will be in Sligo for the festival, and will participate in a public discussion about his work over the weekend. Bryars’ long-term collaborators The Smith Quartet will be the guest ensemble for the festival, coming to Sligo from London for the event.
Leading Irish improvising duo Morla — saxophonist Seán Óg and guitarist Simon Jermyn — will provide another counterpoint to the programme. Performing alongside The Smith Quartet for Bryars’ Jesus Blood, Morla and The Smiths will also perform a major new work for sextet composed by the duo.
The festival is also proud to present the world premiere of a new work for electric guitar and string quartet by leading Northern Irish composer Frank Lyons.
Championed for offering such a rich and diverse programme of contemporary music each year, the Sligo New Music Festival, produced by The Model and curated by Ian Wilson, has been one of the highlights of the Irish contemporary music calendar since its inception in 2002. An offsite, one-day format for the festival was experimented with during the closure in 2008, and 2010 sees the festival making a welcome return to The Model, and to its popular full weekend format.