Tandeln and Scherzen with Ivan Ilić at NCH

Scriabine : Prélude op 16 n° 1 par Ivan Ilic by francemusique

Vieneese Rivals and Friends 

Rondo in C: Beethoven 

 6 Fugues: Reicha

Tandeln und Scherzen: Beethoven 

Nocturnes opus 9/62:Chopin

Paris based pianist  Ivan Ilić as been a regular visitor to Ireland performing frequently at venues around the country. He opened the Crawford lunchtime series last month and returns to Cork tonight to play in Kilworth at the North Cork Classical Music Festival. I finally heard him live for the first time yesterday at a  lunchtime recital  the John Field Room.

This was extremely satisfying lunchtime fare of rare treats.  The programme was nicely balanced, a set of lighthearted variations and a rondo  set against the cool rigour of half a dozen of Reicha's fugues  'softened'with a pair of Chopin nocturnes.  Tandeln translates as 'dilly dallying', an unlikely verb to juxtapose with  Beethoven. The playing was clean and  graceful -free of any histrionics or unnecessary barvura effects. Ilić drew the threads of the programme together in clearly enunciated, insightful spoken  introductions painting a picture of a cheerful youthful Beethoven in  pleasant contrast to the more familiar  dour image.   Reicha and Beethoven we learned  were friends who met as teenagers in an ensemble conducted by Reicha's father.  Later, both were students of maths and philosophy and rivals in composition

Many artists choose to let the music speak for itself. It adds a depth  when the artist personally sets the context and Ilic had an  engaging and relaxed podium presence.  Furthermore in bidding adieu, he invited the audience to linger and chat to him, a gracious postlude to the procedings. Catch him if you can.

Ivan Ilić  plays Kilworth Arts Cente Sat 6th June 

Castletownshend July 31st http://homepage.eircom.net/~barrahane/

Voices to Thrill: RTE NSO with Soprano Trio

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Can you imagine if you ordered a 'trio of rare seafood' dish in a quay-side  restaurant but before it came you were served a large course of pork and dumplings? You might justifiably think this was an odd balance in menu planning. Less meat and potatoes and more of the subtle fish you were expecting, you might very well demand. Now, imagine. that without a by your leave, your maitre d' plonked an observer with a camera at your table to film your grub for a promotional video to market his restaurant, I suggest that you might be less than happy.

Which brings me to an evening titled  Voices to Thrill  at the NCH on Friday. There was an embarrassment of vocal riches as the RTE NSO engaged not just one but three leading international sopranos. Tara Erraught darling of the Bavarian State Opera was joined by Ailish Tynan, doyenne of London scene and Dublin's  favourite soprano, Celine Byrne. All three  girls looked radiant and you couldn't imagine them looking or sounding any better. Tynan sang Mozart's Exultate Jubilate as though her hear would burst with the sheer joy of it all. In the trio from  final scene of Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss, the formidable vocal team knocked us out with sheer beauty of tone and seemingly effortless expression in  this highlight of  late Romantic opera. The orchestra under Buribayev  after a slightly overblown opening found a comfortable dynamic that supported the singers without overpowering them. A fabulous evening at a sold out house and one to remember for years to come. 

There was a sour note  though among the opera gala crowd in my area in the stalls as we headed for our interval saunter without a titter of vocal action in a programme title that suggested  otherwise. Why engage three of the most sought after sopranos and leave them twiddling their thumbs in the dressing room until  the second half of the evening. Which bring me back to the pork and dumplings While the gals cooled their heels, the RTE NSO  dished up a large dollop of Teutonic symphonic fare in  Brahms 4th Symphony.  Good solid stuff but just not what I was  in the mood for.  There were lots of singers and opera buffs in the house and judging by the interval chatter,  my view was not an isolated one. Moreover , throughout the playing of the symphony, a video camera man and photographer were placed slap bang in the centre of choir gallery to record the  proceedings without a by your leave. This might be alright if the performance were a cut price matinee but not for a full price gala occasion. The following evening,  a performer asked for the audience's indulgence to film a 5 minute sequence during his live show. At the end of the evening, Vladimir Jablokov thanked his audience at the Theatre Royal Waterford and repeated the number for the audience to enjoy it without the distraction of cameras, a small but significant courtesy.

The Unthanks at National Concert Hall

A quick google scan of The Unthanks threw up an image of two singing sisters under an English folk label. That should make for a pleasant mid-week evening’s entertainment, I thought. It was that and so much more as Rebecca and Rachel Unthank (yes- that is their real name) and their entourage  converted the grand auditorium and foyer of the NCH into a folk club with a set that combined the simplicity of  folksong with elegant skilled  arrangements. All that, pretty frocks and clog dancing too.  What more could you ask for!
The evening kicked off on a  manly note with The Miner’s song by Billy Bragg from the rousing voices of the YoungUn’s,  an acapella male  trio from Stockton on Tees.  In a change to the usual support act format, the young men in their Ireland debut opened each half with a short set.  (Festival promoters, snap them up. They were terrific and went down a treat with the full house at NCH.)
The ladies  arrived on stage accompanied by an impressive 8 piece band comprising a string quartet, bass, drums , trumpet and piano/auxilliary stuff . Dressed in pretty 50's style dresses, they had a air of quiet confidence rather than extrovert flamboyance. At the core were the songs, mostly on the melancholic nature ranging from imaginative versions of traditional songs  to re-workings of modern originals.  The vocal delivery was simple and unpretentious .  Each number sounded fresh and different from the other  due to the sophisticated arrangements drawing in  a range of techniques from contemporary classical and jazz idioms, largely the work of director and pianist Adrian McNally.  Long sustained  lines on trumpet,  biting dissonant harmonies  on strings, a shrutie box drone added to a sparse chordal piano scaffold,  were just some of the elements that added colour to the vocals at the heart, but never usurping them .  A familiar traditional song, Golden Slumbers sounded newly minted in McNally's  treatment
In a rare instrumental number,  reminiscent of Gerry Diver’s speech project,  fiddle player Niopha Keegan added her own slow air to a voice over of a recording of her father in a conversation with his musician  daughter  as a child. The second half moved to more modern material including re-workings of songs by King Crimson and Anthony and the Johnsons.

Interval Chat 

The group worked hard both on stage and off as they assembled in the foyer in the interval and after the show to greet their fans. The audience were not, I suspect, a download generation and long lines formed to take home a signed recording. Their fairly hectic schedule takes them to a different city almost  each day over a two week tour , I marvelled  not only at the excellence of the musicianship but also  their energy and cheerfulness as they  greeted  many ardent fans. When the audience leapt to their feet with alacrity to show their appreciation to the Unthanks and their splendid team, it seemed like everything else during the evening; natural and unforced.

*****

Irish Chamber Orchestra at NCH : István Várdai

ICO in chamber music mode at the NCH


Shostakovich: 2Two pieces for octet
Schumann Cello Concerto  arr Vygen and Kahl
Nimbus for String Orchestra  Sam Perkin
Chamber Symphony for Strings op110a

The Irish Chamber Orchestra's current outing is titled World Premiere placing  Sam Perkin's commissioned piece, Nimbus for String Orchestra at the centre of their programme, bookended by works by Shostakovich.  The atmospheric, one movement work mixed a shifting palette  of string effects.  Drones set against shimmery,  tremolo violins , chuggy bass riffs, ghostly harmonics and stocky pizzicato ebbed and flowed in this freestyle piece inspired by an 'aura of radiance'. I originally thought it might have been inspired by cumulonimbus clouds and I could just imagine the music played to accompany shifting cloud patterns.

Hungarian cellist, Istvan Vardai joined them for a rendition of Schumann's Cello Concerto in a slimmed down arrangement for strings.  While some cellists can appear to wrestle with their oversized instrument, Vardai's cello seemed almost like a plaything held between his  wide arm span. The performance,  full of grace charm and effortless skill was well received by the NCH audience and we were treated to an encore, Schumann's Abendlied.   (Vardai returns to Ireland for three dates in March with pianist Finghin Collins). You can hear Vardai play the work in the video below)


The Irish Chamber Orchestra are arguably Ireland's most excellent string ensemble. The NCH is  the nation's  premier venue. So what was there not to like. The 18 standing musicians  had loads of room on the NCH platform. In the opening work, two pieces by Shostakovich for octet,  the orchestra was shorn of half it's troupe . Size matters. It felt rather like a glass of fine wine in a pint glass. The main auditorium just  lacked the intimacy that the chamber music programme, pared down to a single timbre needed to enfold the players and give the music it's full potency.

Two more dates in tour

• 20:00, Thursday, February 5, 2015

  University Concert Hall, Limerick
  Find Ticket

• 20:00, Friday, February 6, 2015

  The Model, Sligo
  Find Ticket

Hungarian Cellist with Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Budapest

Goethe Sandwich with a Schiller Crust : Schubertreise Continues

One of my top pick's of last year was a recital marking the start of an audacious musical odyssey by bass baritone, Conor Biggs and pianist Michel Stas, a long distance voyage through all 600 or so of Schubert's songs over ten years - an epic Schubertreise. My report on the occasion is here .  Part seven of the series took place in the Kevin Barry Room at the National Concert Hall last Sunday afternoon and featured the set of the  composer's songs that exist in several versions . Songs based on Goethe's novel Wilhelmeister formed the mainstay of the programme and  most of which we learned were originally set for female voices.We heard no less than five  distinct versions of Goethe's Nur Wer die  Sehnsucht kennt  better known to me from Tchaikowsky's None But the Lonely Heart.  In his introduction, Biggs  likened them to being like different versions of Van Gogh's Sunflowers.You can read the singer's detailed programme notes and more about the project here  

If the venture seemed arduous before, the task of committing to memory several not all that  dissimilar  melody lines, to the same set of words struck me as being an extreme challenge. The mood was dark and  melancholy   with most of the songs  hovering around themes of  longing and maiden's lamentations .  Biggs tackled each one with whole hearted commitment.  His drole asides ( a tiresome burglar alarm became a 'cantus firmus')  lightened the mood and gave a  fascinating  glimpse into Schubert's compositional journey with some settings from the composer's earliest work in the lied genre.  It was good to be there for another  stage of  an incredible journey with this compelling duo. The next recital is in January Dublin , surely a highlight of the NCH, new year calendar.

A taste of the endeavour included in  the video below with extracts from Schubertreise Part 7

Next recital: Sunday 11th Jnauary 3pm

Venue Notes

Checking the nch.ie  for details, I was surprised not to see this feature on the main page of 'events of the month'. Details  were carried but  required further clicking to uncover them. I felt such a remarkable series should have featured more prominently alongside events in the John Field Room if not in the main auditorium  . 

Perhaps it was the mild weather but the Kevin Barry Room was over warm on Sunday afternoon. 

Summer Soup Songs: Lunchtime series at NCH & St Columba's

St Columba's Ennis

I heard two terrific young singers  in two lunchtime  recitals  a couple of weeks ago. The first was  in the grand auditorium of the prestigious National Concert Hall with the full forces of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, the second, in the hidden gem of the  neo Gothic St Columba's Church in Ennis County Clare.

My review of baritone Sean Boylan with pianist Tham Horng Kent was published earlier this week in the Irish Examiner, link here . It is good to see this series establishing itself on the scene hosted by Helen Houlihan. What impressed her about today's singer, I asked the soprano. 'The voice of course but most of all the ability to get right into the heart of the text' she said. Virginia Kerr was among the gathering to hear her student perform. Sopranos Ruth Kelly and Edel O Brien who also perform as part of the series were in a attendance to support  their fellow artists.

Rachel Kelly

Another rising star of the opera stage drew a full house to National Concert Hall on Tuesday for the final concert in the RTE National Symphony Orchestra's lunchtime series.  In a programme titled Love Actually, mezzo soprano Rachel Kelly  demonstrated the sparkling form and graceful stage presence that has propelled her onto the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artist programme at the Royal Opera House in a programme of arias by Mozart, Rossini, Bizet and Guonod. Kelly  sported a 'grand bit of glam' in sequinned gown and sparkly jewellery . The ladies of the RTE NSO wore a casual dress down Friday look in black pants and assorted tops and cardis. Perfect for cycling home in after the concert. Come on ladies! Break out those summer frocks. The occasion demands it. 

The combined forces of the Kelly and Hunt clan gathered in the foyer to support their girl. NCH chief Simon Taylor was in the John Field Room to greet concert goers.  The combination of great value price €10 and a daylight hours performance with a tidy running time  attracted a large proportion of senior citizens and day trippers. 'I come every week' said Mary from Dundrum. 'Tuesday is always music day. I wouldn't miss it'

You can hear Rachel singing in a master class with the soprano Joyce di Donato here  


Kelly has a busy Autumn schedule ahead. as a cast member of major new productions at the ROH  in the Autumn season. She appears in the ROH collaboration with The Globe, L'Ormindo and in Verdi's early work, Il Duo Foscari. The series continues with the RTE Concert Orchestra picking up the baton.  Their guest soloist on Aug 12^th  is soprano Ana Devin followed by  Eamonn  Mulhall on 26th. John Wilson, new principal conductor of the RTE CO conducts an instrumental programme on August 19th 

Bus 145 directly in front of Luas stop brings you all the way from Heuston Station to  Leeson Street , a stone's throw from the NCH

Related posts  Musical Postcards France at NCH

http://cathydesmond.blogspot.ie/2013/06/classical-thursday-recital-series.html

Review of recital with Rachel Kelly and Una Hunt at Wexford Opera Festival 

Preview: Pierce Turner at the NCH

 Pierce Turner will be performing the last date of his short Irish tour on Thursday night  in the salubrious surrounds of the  John Field Room at the National Concert Hall.  The Wexford native  is an extraordinary performer and was my pick for solo gig of the year in 2012.  Turner  was on RTE Arena with Sean Rock's tonight talking about his work and early musical experiences. The influence of sacred music, particularly plainchant on his work is very apparent in the pair of numbers heard on show.  You can listen back here http://www.rte.ie/radio/

 Despite a fervent fan base and rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, he remains unfamiliar to many outside the  Hot Press cognoscenti.   There was a suggestion on social media sites that the arts editor of the Irish Times  hadn't heard of him. Gasp!  \Storytelling is at the heart of his craft. The spoken word meshes seamlessly into songs in his inimitable performances. His memoir is expected later this year. You can read my review and others of  recent gigs  on Turners website here ,   It promises to be a great gig.



Related post  http://cathydesmond.blogspot.ie/2013/05/a-homecoming-hug-with-pierce-turner.html

The Accidental Opera Singer : Kelley Lonergan Ciao Italia!

I caught up  with rising opera star  Kelley Lonergan in between shows at Wexford Opera Festival last October where she was busy as a member  of the Festival Chorus. You can read my roundup for the Irish Examiner here. She filled me in on me how she had come to the  world of opera singing via a circuitous route.

Although her family were musical theatre stalwarts in her home town, Clonmel, it was to study piano with Jan Cap that she first came to Cork School of Music. She went on to do Masters in piano accompaniment there.  An opportunity to do an Erasmus year in the Italian opera centre, Verona gave her a chance to develop her singing . As a guest at  the home of the Arena repetiteur, she saw every aspect of the opera production process and she hasn’t looked back since.  ‘It was always a dream at the back of my head to go for the singing but I didn't think then that it was a realistic option but  here I am and I am loving it’.

Lonergan was a member  of the show stealing Milliner’s Chorus in Il Capello di Paglia di Firneze and also in  Christina, Queen of Sweden.  Her chance to  shine in a solo role came as part of the line up in Una Hunt’s Irish Connections concerts that have been a big hit at Wexford 'Audiences have been very moved by the nostalgic  parlour songs from the early part of the century. We have seen people moved to tears as the songs bring back memories of byegone days. It is such a privilege to be part of that. It is about the music but it is also about engaging your audience'. Does she have a preference for the either the stage work or song recital. 'No not really When I'm singing I'm happy . I love the chorus work but I love also  reaching out and touching a listener with just your voice alone'.  Lonergan has had a very successful year on the competition front collecting bursaries from the RDS and Feis Ceoil. The bursaries have allowed her to concentrate on studying and to improve her technique

Kelley Lonergan is currently a member of the Young Associate Artists of Opera Theatre Co.  She is currently studying with Sinead Campbell Wallace and Aoife O Sullivan. She  will be singing at the RTE NSO Summer Lunchtime series on Tuesday 1st July when she will perform arias by Puccini, Leoncavello and Cilea. Watch the video clip for  little foretaste of what is in store on Tuesday.

18th IAYO Festival at NCH

There was not just one but two  sold out houses for the annual festival devoted to young musicians held at the National Concert Hall on Saturday. The full list of participants can be found on this link to the iayo website iayo.ie/festivals  Here is the post festival update from the website.

'This year’s festival proved to be a resounding success, with all of the orchestras performing fantastically in both the afternoon and evening concerts. There was a great atmosphere throughout the whole day and it was an accurate representation of the vibrancy and enthusiasm of youth orchestras in Ireland.

A special word of congratulations must be given to Donegal Youth Orchestra for their Youth Orchestra Achievement Award, Julianstown Youth Orchestra for their Orchestra Development Award and John O’Brien for receiving the Agnes O’Kane Award. Coole Music also deserve congratulations for their special commendation on the night and we wish them the very best of luck on their tour to Sweden this week.'
 You can hear my interview my interview with one of the recipients of the Achievement Awards below.

My highlights  were the musical fairytale Rapunzal from Budding Bows Chamber Orchestra from Waterford under director Deirdre Scanlon. Deirdre organised the first youth orchestra of which I was a member and I can still remember the excitement. although it is a very long time ago. Composer Brian Irvine was in the house to hear his work performed by the Julianstown Youth Orchestra with a striking vocal performance by Ferdia Walsh Peelo.  There were many Cork accents in the foyer as supporters of the County Cork School of Music Orchestra arrived in large numbers to see Michael Cummins direct the impressive orchestra. There was a folk influence in the selection from a merger between Young Dublin Symphonia and orchestras from Denmark and Norway but time also for.  a tango Jealousy .  Sean Rocks brought his acting talents to the podium in his updated narration of Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra ; perfect programming for the event with the accomplished symphony orchestra from The Royal Irish Academy.  Liz Nolan compered both concerts and had her work cut out with some of her young interviewees. Below are a few of the voices heard  in the foyer on the day . Well done to Artistic Director, Carol Daly , Allin Gray and team for a memorable and gala event  which no doubt will form happy memories for all fortunate to participate.

Co Cork School of Music Symphony Orchestra with the President

Venue Notes
The National Concert Hall is a great venue for a festive occasion and lends itself to people congregating post show to meet and greet. I was amazed at the efficiency  with which the hall was cleared following the evening event. . The show finished at 10.40 and not much later than 11pm staff were poised with keys and preparing to lock up..  In the balcony we rather enjoyed the mime show as  ushers collaborated to locate transgressors of  the No Camera Rule.  While I think this is proper order, an announcement clearly stating the policy at the start of each half. might help reduce infringements

PS Adding this photo of renowned Canadian pedagogue, Joanne Martin who I met at the evening concert

listen to ‘Amy Sarah’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Vincent Kennedy’ on Audioboo

Poetry and Emotion: Schubert Reise Begins in Dublin

Anticipation  was in the  air in Earlsfort Terrace on Sunday.There was clapping and cheering and a jazz quartet to serenade the English rugby team as they trooped out of the Conrad Hotel to board their team bus for the journey to Ballsbridge for their Six Nations  clash.  Across the road in the National Concert Hall, Conor Biggs was warming up for  the first Irish leg of an audacious musical odyssey in which he plans to perform all 600 or so of Schubert's songs, even the girls' ones  in a series of 35 recitals repeated in four locations over a ten year period, a feat never before attempted by any singer. 

Biggs, accompanied by  pianist Michael Stas began his Schubertreise with the song cycle Die Schone Mullerin in the Kevin Barry Room of the NCH just as the ball was being thrown in at the Aviva Stadium. And what an emotional roller coaster the first part of this journey was. The bass baritone seemed totally consumed by the spirits of the four protagonists of the songs and  his musical recounting of the tragic tale of the young miller starting out in cheerful optimism and ending in despair and tragedy  had an intensity that compelled your attention at every moment of the hour long recital.  There were no tickly coughs in this audience. The texts of Muller's poems were provided with translations in decent sized complimentary programmes  The concert closed with the a solo piano transcription by Liszt beautifully played by Stas acting as a  sort of  musical decompression before the audience repaired to the foyer to meet the performers. 

Biggs has lots of interesting observations about the whole business of lieder singing and Schubert's songs on his artsong blog . This from a post on 'Poetic Imagination' is revealing of his approach

 'On the recital platform, theatre and poetry are indivisible: the singer must act with his or her voice alone, just as he would if reading a straight poem. And the key to vocal acting is poetic imagination.' 



There is plenty on the nitty gritty process of learning the repertoire and memorising that is very interesting.

It was the first time I have been at a recital in this room upstairs in the venue and I thought it worked very well for this  event and had a much better acoustic than the John Field Room. There were  many noted composers and musicians in the audience including  Raymond Deane, Padraig O Cuinnegain and Professor Gerard Gillen. The audience lingered a while in the foyer to meet the performers. The journey continues with another recital next Sunday.

The duo plan to finish their reise in ten years with the song cycle  Winterreise.  I hope to be there and I was glad to be  in the Hall for the start of this amazing journey. Wishing them both well in their brave endeavour.


Venue Notes NCH 
I arrived early and was surprised to find the foyer very quiet . The Terrace Restaurant was closed and the foyer coffee bar didn't open until 2.35 for coffee and what were delightfully described as 'mini pastries'  perhaps in an effort to manage expectations of larger confections. But  if you were of an impulsive nature and rolled up expecting to be able to snaffle a pastry or two, you were out of luck for such treats were only available for patrons with the foresight to pre book,  which created a ripple of bemused disgruntlement. Mind you should I be so fortunate to be so prescient, I  should want to enjoy them for longer than the twenty minutes or so allowed by the timetable. 

Review of the Year - Some of the best musical moments of 2010

Looking back over the blog I have selected some of the most memmorable moments of 2010. Reviews on all items can be found in last year's years blog and can be found using the search button.

Conductor  David Chase conductor gave a memorable performance with the La Jolla Chorus from San Diego at Glór, Ennis. They were wonderful and he had a charming  and commanding presence.  His erudite vocal introductions to a most interesting programme added much to the pleasure of the occasion.

Performance The Good Friday concert by Limerick Choral Union including a performance of Jenkins Stabat Mater was a highlight. Conductor Malcolm Greene created a hair raising experience combining many unusual elements. It was perhaps the performance I most enjoyed participating in I  can't give a fully  unbiased review as I was playing in the viola section!

Composer  I was impressed with Sean Tyrrell's setting in a trad idiom of  The Midnight Court at the Highway Inn  in Crusheen

Best  Pub Gig  We really enjoyed Vladimir Jablokov  Classical Twist  gig upstairs in Dolan's Limerick .  He is wonderful to watch and we look forward to seeing him in the Midwestern region again.  Another Slovak young musician also impressed me at this venue, young Andreas Varedy is also one to watch

Best Debut The debut performances of the Blazing Bows and Swinging Strings String Ensembles in their school halls for fellow students, family and friends were one of my favourite occasions of the year.

Best Venue  NCH It is hard to beat the festive and grand air of the National Concert Hall. It gave me great pleasure to see assist in bringing two youth ensembles from Colaiste Muire Ennis and St Peter's College Dunboyne to perform at this prestigious venue at the IAYO Festival of Youth Orchestras. I was  especially thrilled to see some of my beginners coming through from instrumental programmes I  initiated in both schools. I enjoyed playing there  in December myself as a member if the 1st violin section of the former Irish Youth Orchestra players under Gearoid Grant

Best Musical  Shannon Musical Society for their production of Beauty and the Beast.  The school hall was again as if by magic transported to a magical place for this scintillating production which was up to the usual high standards for this company  with a  wonderful band under direction of MD Carmel Griffin

Best Male  Singer
Clarecastle tenor Dean Power gave a wonderful farewell evening before he headed off to the Bavarian State Opera to join their Young Artist's Programme . It was an evening of arias and high emotions as his local community packed the local church to hear Dean and other fine singers perform. 

Best Female Singer

I didn't post on this evening in Glor but Eddi Reader  was a wonderfully relaxed and witty performer with a  varied mix of repertoire and I look forward to hearing her when she returns in February

Best Newcomer  Bilkees Saidi    for her role as Reno in Anything Goes at Colaiste Muire  Ennis .  Geat poise and voice  from this teenage performer .


In My Thoughts  Friends of Anne Grennan were shocked and sad to learn of Anne's  untimely death  earlier this year. A wonderful teacher and choral director , she is much missed.  Remembering also Josephine Healy  who passed away in 2009 , also a wonderful teacher from whom I learned much by looking at her in action in Dunboyne