PIPEWORKS
International Organ & Choral Festival 2026
FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES
WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE
RTÉ CONCERT ORCHESTRA; STEPHEN FARR (organ); DAVID LEIGH (conductor)
Pipeworks Festival Chorus | Soloists: Felicity Hayward· Sarah Thursfield · Rory Lynch · Eoghan Desmond
Venue: St Patrick’s Cathedral, Saint Patrick's Close, Dublin D08 H6X3
Time: 8pm​​
The opening concert of Pipeworks Festival 2026 brings together the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, internationally acclaimed organist Stephen Farr, the Pipeworks Festival Chorus and soloists Felicity Hayward, Sarah Thursfield, Rory Lynch and Eoghan Desmond in the magnificent setting of St Patrick’s Cathedral. Conducted by Pipeworks Artistic Director David Leigh, the programme moves from Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro to Kenneth Leighton’s dramatic Organ Concerto, culminating in Mozart’s Requiem.
TICKETS: €25 / €20 concession / €15 student
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FRIDAY 12 JUNE
LUNCHTIME RECITAL: NATHAN WHITLEY
Venue: Sandford Church, Sandford Rd, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, D06 A9P8
In partnership with Sandford Parish Church
Time: 1:10pm
Fresh from his success at Feis Ceoil 2026, including wins in both the Sr. Catherine McCauley Perpetual Cup and Fitzgerald Trophy competitions, Nathan Whitley performs a lunchtime recital as part of Pipeworks Festival 2026.
PROGRAMME:
Jean Sibelius (1865–1957): Finlandia (transcribed by H. A. Fricker)
J. S. Bach (1685–1750): Wachet auf, BWV 645
Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott, BWV 680
François Couperin (1668–1733): Tierce en Taille (from Messe pour les couvents)
Louis Vierne (1870–1937): Berceuse (from 24 Pièces en style libre)
César Franck (1822–1890): Choral No. 3 in A minor
TICKETS: Donations welcome
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CELEBRITY RECITAL: STEPHEN FARR
Venue: St Patrick’s Cathedral, Saint Patrick's Close, Dublin D08 H6X3
Time: 8pm
After appearing as soloist in Pipeworks Festival 2026’s opening concert with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Stephen Farr returns to St Patrick’s Cathedral for the festival’s Celebrity Recital. Widely regarded as one of the finest organists of his generation, Farr brings a richly varied programme spanning Bach, Franck and Alain alongside striking twentieth- and twenty-first-century voices including James MacMillan and Judith Weir.
PROGRAMME:
Kenga e Krushqve (MacMillan, b. 1959)
Le jardin suspendu (Alain, 1911–1940)
Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537 (Bach, 1685–1750)
Passacaille (Martin, 1890–1974)
The Trees Unfold (Weir, b. 1954)
Choral No. 3 in A minor (Franck, 1822–1890)
TICKETS: €15 / €10 concession
SATURDAY 13 JUNE
​LUNCHTIME TALK - Martin Schmeding in conversation with Andrew Johnstone
Venue: Regents Hall*, Regent House, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2,
D02 PN40 *Go to the main Front Gate on College Green, enter Regent House, and head upstairs via the main staircase.
Time: 2pm
Join Martin Schmeding and Andrew Johnstone for a conversation exploring organ music, performance and interpretation. Bringing together two distinguished organists, performers and scholars, the discussion offers insight into the traditions, history and continuing life of the organ repertoire.
​​Admission free, booking required.
ORGAN RECITAL BY MARTIN SCHMEDING
Venue: Public Theatre (Examination Hall), Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, D02 PN40
Time: 7pm
Internationally acclaimed organist Martin Schmeding brings a wide-ranging programme to Trinity College Dublin’s Examination Hall, moving from Frescobaldi and Scheidemann through Bach to contemporary works by Benoît Mernier and Reiko Füting. Spanning four centuries of music, the recital explores the changing soundworlds and possibilities of the organ across different European traditions.
PROGRAMME:
Toccata nona from Il secondo libro di Toccate (Frescobaldi, 1583–1643)
Dic nobis Maria — Diminution of a motet by Giovanni Bassano (Scheidemann, 1595/96–1663)
Invention V (2001) (Mernier, b. 1964)
Toccata nona from Apparatus musico-organisticus (Muffat, 1653–1704)
toccare (2025) (Füting, b. 1970)
Offerte du 5me Ton “Le Vive le Roy des Parisiens” (Raison, c. 1640–1719)
Tierce en taille (du Mage, 1674–1751)
Estampie from Ricercari (1984) (Radulescu, 1943–2023)
Voluntary in D minor, Op. 5 No. 8 (Stanley, 1712–1786)
Broken Wings (1975) (Medek, 1940–2006)
Chorale Prelude Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot, BWV 678, from Dritter Theil der Clavierübung (Bach, 1685–1750)
Fantasie and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 (Bach, 1685–1750)
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TICKETS: €15 / €10 concession
TUESDAY 16 JUNE
BLOOMSDAY LUNCHTIME RECITAL: Rónán Murray
Venue: Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve’s), 4 Merchant's Quay, Dublin, D08 XY19
In partnership with the Church of the Immaculate Conception
Time: 1:10pm
Dublin organist Rónán Murray, known for his flair for improvisation, presents a Bloomsday lunchtime recital at Adam and Eve’s Church on Merchant’s Quay, a church referenced in the writings of James Joyce, including Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. The programme combines works by Bach, Boëllmann and John Ireland with improvisations on well-known melodies including Funiculi, Funicula, The Last Rose of Summer and Love’s Old Sweet Song.
PROGRAMME:
Improvisation on Funiculi, Funicula by Luigi Denza (Rónán Murray)
Erbarme dich mein, o Herre Gott, BWV 721 (Bach, 1685–1750)
Improvisation on The Last Rose of Summer, poem by Thomas Moore set to a traditional Irish air (Rónán Murray)
Suite Gothique, Op. 25 (Boëllmann, 1862–1897)
The Holy Boy (Ireland, 1879–1962)
Improvisation on Love’s Old Sweet Song by Molloy/Bingham (Rónán Murray)
TICKETS: Donations welcome
DAVID BREMNER with CHRISTOPHER FOX
Venue: Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve’s), 4 Merchant's Quay, Dublin, D08 XY19
In partnership with the Church of the Immaculate Conception
Time: 8pm
Organist and composer David Bremner presents an immersive programme, timed with sunset in the beautiful Adam and Eve's church. First is the world premiere of renowned UK composer Christopher Fox's The River. Christopher writes: "I am fascinated by streams and rivers – they seem to have such strong identities yet are always changing, always on the move". The three-movement work is inspired by three rivers, and the movements are inscribed with texts by Dorothy Wordsworth, Heinrich Heine, and Mark Twain. A further riverine aspect of this occasion is that it takes place on Bloomsday in the church by the Liffey to which James Joyce refers in the first words of Finnegans Wake: “riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s”.
This will be followed by the Irish premiere of Morton Feldman's Principal Sound. Feldman's only work for solo organ, it was composed for the 1981 Contemporary Organ Music Festival in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, and explores timbral sensitivity by exchanging same or similar musical material between a number of eight-foot stops, creating a spindly and elusive soundworld.
TICKETS: €15 / €10 concession
THURSDAY 18 JUNE
YOUNG ORGANISTS' PLATFORM
Venue: Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve’s), 4 Merchant's Quay, Dublin, D08 XY19
In partnership with the Church of the Immaculate Conception
Time: 1:10pm
Some of Ireland’s finest young organists will present an assorted programme in the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve’s), Merchants’ Quay. An opportunity to support and enjoy the next generation of organists!
Edward Harte
Anna O'Cathain
Lenny Doris
Sorcha McDermott
Cecilia Henderson
Mickey Tomas
Christina Troup
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TICKETS: Donations welcome
DAVID ADAMS | SCHOLA HYBERNIAE (GIOVANNA FEELEY)
Venue: Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve’s), 4 Merchant's Quay, Dublin, D08 XY19
In partnership with the Church of the Immaculate Conception
Time: 8pm
Organist David Adams joins Schola Hyberniae, directed by Giovanna Feeley, for a performance of François Couperin’s Messe pour les Couvents. Adams performs regularly with many ensembles, particularly in the fields of early and contemporary music, while Schola Hyberniae specialises in Gregorian chant and medieval sacred music.
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TICKETS: €15 / €10 concession
FRIDAY 19 JUNE
LUNCHTIME RECITAL: PETER BARLEY
Venue: Sandford Church, Sandford Rd, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, D06 A9P8
In partnership with Sandford Parish Church
Time: 1:10pm
Peter Barley, Organist and Choirmaster of St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, and former Organist and Master of the Choristers at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, presents a richly varied programme ranging from Mendelssohn and Parry to rarely heard works by Egerton Webbe and David Liddle. The recital concludes with Parry’s expansive Toccata and Fugue “The Wanderer”, one of the great large-scale works of the English organ tradition.
PROGRAMME:
​Prelude and Fugue in C minor (Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, 1809–1847)
Valse Locrienne (David Liddle, 1960–2026)
Prelude and Fugue (1837) (Egerton Webbe, 1810–1840)
Scherzetto (Jongen, 1873–1953)
Toccata and Fugue “The Wanderer” (Parry, 1848–1918)
TICKETS: Donations welcome
SUNDAY 21 JUNE
RECITAL BY SARAH KIM
Venue: St Michael's Church, Marine Rd, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin A96K6C9
In partnership with Dún Laoghaire Organ Concerts
Time: 8pm
Join us for the closing recital of Pipeworks Festival 2026 with acclaimed organist Sarah Kim. German-born Australian of Korean heritage, and now based in Paris, Sarah is an internationally celebrated performer.
Presented in partnership with Dún Laoghaire Organ Concerts, Sarah brings a vibrant and virtuosic programme spanning Renaissance dances, Handel, Mozart, Bartók and Saint-Saëns, showcasing the remarkable colour and expressive range of the organ.
PROGRAMME:
Fantasy and Fugue in F minor, K. 608 (Mozart, 1756–1791)
Danceries – Branle de Champagne · Branle de Bourgogne · Allemande (Gervais, c. 1525–1583)
My Lady Carey’s Dompe (Anonymous)
Uppon La, Mi, Ré (Preston, 1542–c. 1563)
Organ Concerto No. 4 in D minor, HWV 309, Op. 7 – Adagio · Allegro · Organo ad libitum · Allegro (Handel, 1685–1759; transcr. Jean Guillou)
Six Romanian Folk Dances (Bartók, 1881–1945; transcr. S. Kim)
Fantaisie No. 1 in E-flat major (Saint-Saëns, 1835–1921)
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TICKETS: €15 / €10 concession
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PIPEWORKS 2026 FESTIVAL MASTERCLASS & WORKSHOP SERIES
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THURSDAY 11 JUNE
MASTERCLASS WITH STEPHEN FARR
Venue: St Philip's Church, Milltown Temple Road Dartry, Dublin 14 D06 AX71
Time: 6pm
Open to repertoire of any style and era; British repertoire from the 20th and 21st centuries particularly encouraged
€20 per playing participant | free for observers. Participants need to book a place, but observers may just turn up on the day.
SATURDAY 13 JUNE
MASTERCLASS WITH MARTIN SCHMEDING
Venue: Whitefriar Street Church, 56 Aungier Street, Dublin 2, D02 YF57
Time: 4pm
‘Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical roots’
Participants should bring along works by any relevant composers: such as Frescobaldi, Froberger, Buxtehude, Bruhns, de Grigny and J. S. Bach
€20 per playing participant | free for observers. Participants need to book a place, but observers may just turn up on the day.
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MONDAY 15 JUNE
CHANT WORKSHOP WITH GIOVANNA FEELEY (Schola Hybernaie)
Venue: Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve's), 4 Merchants' Quay, Dublin 8, D08 XY19
Time: 6pm
Explore the sound world of plain chant and sing through a range of repertoire spanning the liturgical year, with insight into the history, notation, artistic, and vocal dimensions of this vast repertory, with material drawn from the Gregorian and insular Irish traditions.
€10 per playing participant | free for observers. Participants need to book a place, but observers may just turn up on the day.
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SATURDAY 20 JUNE
MASTERCLASS WITH SARAH KIM
Venue: Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve's) 4 Merchants' Quay, Dublin 8, D08 XY19
Time: 3pm
With a particular focus on French repertoire and transcriptions.
€20 per playing participant | free for observers. Participants need to book a place, but observers may just turn up on the day.
ORGANISTS/SINGERS WISHING TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY OF THE MASTERCLASSES / WORKSHOP SHOULD CONTACT DAVID O'SHEA: educationpipeworks@gmail.com​