Crash Ensemble
Crash Ensemble is an Irish new music ensemble, which performs a range of contemporary classical music, as well as touring and organising festivals.
History
The group, which is based in Dublin, was founded in 1997 by composer Donnacha Dennehy, conductor and pianist Andrew Synnott and clarinettist Michael Seaver; its first principal conductor was Alan Pierson. It played its first concert in Dublin in 1997.Membership
As of 2022, the group consists of 10 instrumentalists and current principal conductor Ryan McAdams, under the artistic direction of Donnacha Dennehy and Kate Ellis.Members
In 2022, Crash Ensemble consisted of the musicians:- Kate Ellis
- Ryan McAdams
- Diamanda Dramm
- Larissa O'Grady
- Eliza McCarthy
- Andrew Zolinsky
- Susan Doyle
- Barry O'Halpin
- Brian Bolger
- Lisa Dowdall
- Alex Petcu
- Roddy O'Keeffe
- Leonie Bluett
- Malachy Robinson
- Caimin Gilmore
- Donnacha Dennehy
- Ian Dowdall
- Valerie Francis
- Adrian Hart
- Aedín Cosgrove
- Matt Rafter
- Siân Cunningham
Approach and performances
The ensemble uses video, lighting and sound amplification as an integral part of its project.The ensemble has been particularly associated with totalist composers from the US and post-new Hague school composers from the Netherlands, as well as performing much music by Dennehy and other Irish composers and older pieces by the minimalist generation. It has given premieres or commissioned work by Nico Muhly, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Peter Adriaansz, Raymond Deane, Arnold Dreyblatt, Stephen Gardner, Michael Gordon, John Godfrey, Andrew Hamilton, Jurgen Simpson, Gerhard Stabler, Jennifer Walshe, Ian Wilson, Linda Buckley, Judith Ring and Julie Feeney.
Crash has performed with many well-known artists from diverse musical backgrounds, such as Iarla Ó Lionáird, Dawn Upshaw, Gavin Friday, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Gavin Bryars, Risa Jaroslaw & Dancers, Julie Feeney, Laura Moody, Niwel Tsumbu, Con Tempo Quartet and Sam Amidon.