Birr Festival of Music appoints first artistic director

The pianist and conductor Niall Kinsella has been announced as the first Artistic Director of Birr Festival of Music.

Niall has served as Artistic Curator of the Offaly-based classical music festival since 2023 and will undertake the role of Artistic Director in 2025 and onwards.

Speaking about his appointment, Niall said: “It is a great honour to take on the role of Artistic Director of the Birr Festival of Music”.

“I hope to build on the excellent work the Festival team and its visionary director Maureen DeForge have done to date. It is my ambition to ensure this dynamic young music festival cements its reputation for putting on outstanding musical events for the Midlands community and begins to attract audiences from further afield.”

Birr Festival of Music Director Maureen de Forge said: “We are thrilled to welcome Niall as Artistic Director to Birr Festival of Music. Niall’s professional expertise has been evident in the quality of music presented in the past two years, when he curated several concerts for the festival. His enthusiasm and support for the festival’s endeavours has been an inspiration and we look forward to working with him.

“Niall’s appointment as the first Artistic Director promises an exciting new step in the development of the festival, as it continues to expand its audience and participants, and to provide a wonderful range of classical music events in the Midlands.”

In a press release announcing his appointment, Niall is described as “one of Ireland’s most exciting, versatile and sought-after musicians”. He has performed extensively across Europe as a song-recitalist, in Austria, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Hungary, Czechia, Italy and the United Kingdom, in venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, and Mozarthaus Wien in Vienna, The Liszt Academy, Budapest, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and National Concert Hall, Dublin.

As a conductor, Niall has devised and conducted sold-out concerts at the National Concert Hall with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Irish Studio Orchestra. This season, Niall makes his debut as guest conductor with the Ulster Orchestra at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast.

He has also conducted several large-scale choral works, including Handel's Messiah, Mozart's C Minor Mass, Haydn's Stabat Mater, Duruflé's Requiem and Orff's Carmina Burana, and most recently conducted Sing Ireland’s ‘Come-and-Sing’ Fauré Requiem.

Niall has also been Artistic Director of Irish Songmakers, an organisation dedicated to presenting song recitals with a fresh perspective, since its foundation in 2012. He has also curated a series of lunchtime recitals at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.

Birr Festival of Music 2025 takes place from May 1 to 5, with a vibrant range of concerts, masterclasses, street performances and more featuring singers and musicians of national and international acclaim.

For more information, visit www.birrfestivalofmusic.com