Cassiopeia Winds is a group of five of Ireland’s top wind players committed to sharing their passion for the superb wind quintet repertoire with audiences throughout Ireland. The players inspire and refresh their audiences by their infectious enthusiasm for the music they are playing. Member of the group introduce each piece in the programme, engaging with and developing a rapport with their audience, drawing them in so that they feel almost like a sixth member of the group. Cassiopeia Winds was formed in 2010 by five friends with a passion for wind music. In the past 12 years it has championed the performance of wind quintet music by Irish composers & when possible has commissioned new works. The ensemble aims with each performance to run the full and varied gamut of the wind repertoire from 19th-century to contemporary works. They have a dedication to bringing the lesser-known works of this repertoire into the Irish and international concert halls and festivals. Their concerts represent the startling originality and exoticism and the inimitable palette of tone colours of the wind ensemble.

Cassiopeia Winds are:
Catriona Ryan – Flute
Matthew Manning – Oboe
Deirdre O’Leary – Clarinet
John Hearne – Bassoon
Cormac Ó hAodáin – French Horn

Autumn Tour Programme

Cassiopeia’s programme is unashamedly melodic, and pays homage to the French origins of wind chamber music with the foundation of La Société de Musique de Chambre pour Instruments à Vent in 1879. While the choice of music may have France as a common theme, they are not shying away from the more modern day sound world: showcasing the work of composers who lived between the years of 1875 and 2013. This is represented in the broadly diverse styles of music performed:

Quintette en ut – Claude Arrieu (9’)
Pavane pour une infante défunte – Maurice Ravel (6’)
Quintette N°.1  – Jean Françaix (20’)

INTERVAL

Le Tombeau de Couperin – Maurice Ravel (15’)
Novelette – Francis Poulenc (3’)
Dix-sept Variations – Jean-Michel Damase (14’)