The Port Theatre's third season of Classical Coffee Concerts concludes with pianists Isabelle O'Connell and Sarah Hagen in a programme of piano duets.
About Isabelle:
Described by the New Yorker as “the young Irish piano phenom”, pianist Isabelle O’Connell has performed across the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Ireland. Recent solo engagements have included a performance at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and performing Kevin Volans’ piano concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Her debut solo album RESERVOIR was released in 2010 to critical acclaim and features solo piano music by nine contemporary Irish composers.
Isabelle is co-founder of GrandBand, New York’s new music piano sextet, described by the NY Times as: "six of the finest, busiest pianists active in New York's contemporary-classical scene”. As a chamber musician, Isabelle often performs with the CRASH ensemble, appearing at the Canberra International Chamber Music Festival, Sydney Conservatoire, Kennedy Center, Le Poisson Rouge in New York and the Reich Effect Festival, Ireland. She has also played with Alarm Will Sound at Duke University and in Denver, Colorado and with Ergodos ensemble at Issue Project Room in New York. She has also performed with John Adams at Carnegie's Zankel Hall, Meredith Monk at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival and with the New Zealand String Quartet at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Isabelle has a reputation for being a dynamic interpreter and energetic advocate of music by 20th and 21st century composers, regularly commissioning and premiering new works. In 2007, she was co-Artistic Director of “New Music, New Ireland, New York”, a concert that showcased contemporary Irish composers at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Isabelle also has a particular interest in music involving extended piano techniques and is often invited to give masterclasses and workshops on the topic.
Her performances have been broadcast on radio and television on both sides of the Atlantic, including WNYC, WQXR, WFMT Chicago, BBC3, RTE, TV3, and Lyric FM.
For more information check out: www.isabelleoconnell.com