Born in Cork, the international prize-winning Irish classical Composer and Writer Ailís Ní Ríain aims to produce work which challenges, provokes and engages. She is particularly interested in cross-discipline collaboration, public sound art, opera, music-theatre and presenting contemporary music in diverse spaces. She has been represented by the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland since 1999 where you can obtain scores and recordings of her music. As a playwright she is represented by Casarotto Ramsay (London). Her debut play TILT is published by Nick Hern Books. She received her Southbank (London) debut in 2007 and her Carnegie Hall debut in October 2008. She lives near Todmorden in the North of England, UK. Her music has been performed in the USA, Italy, Holland, UK, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Serbia, Greece, France and on Irish, German and Greek radio and released on CD. She has been selected to attend numerous composition, new media and writing residencies throughout Europe and is grateful to the Arts Council of Ireland and Arts Council England for their financial support. Her theatrical writing includes TILT (also known as Beaten), which was published and first produced in 2007, it is due to have it fourth professional production in Sweden in November 2009. Her second play, CELL, was premiered at the 24:7 Theatre Festival in Manchester in July 2009. Recent projects include Lighthouse Lullaby, a site-specific sound installation for Maryport Lighthouse on the west coast of Cumbria which led to a Channel 4 film and BBC Radio 4 Today programme coverage. Stones was a new work for Rossendale Male voice Choir, a commission for Valley of Stone, celebrating the quarrying history Rossendale in Lancashire. Ailis received her Carnegie Hall debut in October 2008. 2 Steep 4 Sheep was performed by Psappha contemporary music ensemble in 2008. Current projects include the Sawn-off Opera premieres of three new mini-operas at The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and the at the Royal Northern College of Music, the BBC and the Martin Harris Centre for Music. Her debut play Beaten (as known as TILT) will receive its Swedish premiere when it will run for a month from 6th November at the Göteborgs Stadsteater in Gothenburg, Sweden. In addition, she is working on three new music commissions for 10:10 Ensemble, Irish Bass-Clarinettist Deirdre O'Leary and Danish Trio TTAATTOO. See Reviews » Education University College Cork: BMUS(Hons), 1996. York University: MA in Composition, 1998.
Manchester University: MPhil in Composition, 2000. Royal Northern College of Music: PGDipRNCM, 2002. Royal Northern College of Music: PCRNCM, 2003.
RNCM Junior Fellow in Education, 2003.
Selected AwardsJoint First-Prize, ISCM World New Music Days Short Cuts Competition, Stuttgart July 2006 for StreetSong Second prize Vienna Masterworks Nancy Van der Vate Competition for New Opera 2006 for EXIT (see list of 'List of Works' page for instrumentation) First prize in the Brass in Association Competition (SPNM/Leeds University/Brass Association) in 2002 for flat-footed-former-flyer First prize RTÉ Millenium Composer of the Future Competition 2000 for The Man Made of Rain First-prize IMRO/Mostly Modern Composition Competition 1999 for Dogs in Waiting Second-Prize RTÉ Composer of the Future Competition 1998 for Orizzontale Residencies | | 2008 | Stewart Parker Trust Playwrights Residency with Director Philip Howard at Annamakerrig, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Northern Ireland. | 2006 | Cubed3 Emerging Writers Residency at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh | 2006 | Interact 2006, Roskilde, Denmark international artists collaboration with Sophie Hjerl and ensemble Voz Nueva | 2006 | Ty Newydd, Wales, Playwriting residency with David Britton and Jilly Adams | 2005 | Arvon Foundation Playwriting Residency at Lumb Bank, Yorkshire with Tim Fountain | 2004 | Selected to represent Ireland at Culture 2004 International Workshops for Composers with Salvatore Scarriano and Theodore Antoniou in Italy and Greece, 2004 | 2004 | LabCulture Residency with Simon Poulter & Duncan Speakman, Birmingham, July | 2004 | THREAD, Dublin Fringe Theatre Festival Annaghmakerrig, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Ireland | 2003 | Acanthes, France with Klaus Huber, Gilbert Amy, Toshio Hosokawa & Les Jeunes Solistes | 2003 | Aldeburgh Productions/Genesis Foundation, Aldeburgh, Opera Writing Course | 2002 | Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, Dartington, New Music/New Media & Joanna MacGregor | 2001 | Czech International Composition Course, Cesky Krumlov, with Michael Finnissy, Guy Reibel & Marek Kopelent | 2001 | Young Composers Meeting, Apeldorn, Holland with Louis Andreissen & Martin Padding | 2000 | Dartington International Summer School with Kurt Schwertsik |
Ailis is grateful to the Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council England and the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland for their support. |
Ailis' works have received performances by: Gareth Davis & Elsbeth Moser Psappha Frode Haltli Anna Klett arthurs.hoiby.ritchie Dermot Dunne Barry Guy Der Ereprijs Black Hair Tim Williams Harry Sparnaay Bones Apart Adam Swayne Les Jeunes Solistes Brett Baker RNCM New Music Ensemble with James MacMillan Capricorn Ensemble Roger Heaton & Steven Pruslin Concorde Ensemble Cornelius Cardew Ensemble Eleven Ensemble Mark O Keffee Amy Liptrott Kate Ellis |
