My guest today is composer and former Professor of Composition and Theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Frank Corcoran.

Hailing from Borrisokane in County Tipperary, he was always drawn to music, and as a young child wanting to record traditional Irish music created his own method of notation, before going on to study in Maynooth, Rome, and finally in Berlin with Boris Blacher. 

In the subsequent years, he found his voice, developed his technique of macro counterpoint, premiered his first symphony in Vienna, and took up a number of teaching posts, in Berlin, Stuttgart, and ultimately in Hamburg in 1983. 

Despite being based in Germany and Italy for the last 5 decades, his deep connection to Ireland and its language, history, and heritage, has remained and influences and informs many of his works. 

Keen to know more about his story and creative process, the challenges of being a composer in the Ireland of 50 years ago and how things have changed I sat down with Frank, where I began by asking about his first experience of music…

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My guest today is Professor of Viola at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden, Neasa Ní Bhriain. 

Hailing from Dublin, she started out playing violin and in 2008 moved to Rostock in Germany to study it. However she had always been drawn to the viola, the critical middle voice of the string quartet, and during her studies there switched to it, before completing further studies in Leipzig and Weimar and then winning the position of solo viola in the Staatskapelle Weimar in 2018.

A passionate exponent of contemporary music and its creative soundscapes, she combines her work as a performer and teacher with a zeal for composition and improvisation, and has written and performed numerous works for viola and pedals.

Curious to know more about her journey, the challenges of switching instruments, and her approach to guiding the next generation of musician, I sat down with Neasa where I began by asking how she starting playing music….

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My guest this week is Professor of Musicians Health with a special focus on mental health in Lübeck, Prof. Dr. Daniel Sebastian Scholz.

Hailing from Tübingen in southern Germany, he is a trained psychologist and jazz musician, and initially studied psychology in Marburg before studying jazz composition in Osnabrück whilst completing his doctorate in Hannover. In 2022 he took up his current position in Lübeck, in the process becoming the first professor of this kind in Germany. 

Alongside his day to day work with musicians, he frequently gives seminars on stage fright, and self esteem, and has authored and co-authored numerous studies including one exploring low self esteem and performance anxiety and how it can predict depression in musicians

Curious to know more about his journey, the issues facing musicians today, and how he helps them, I sat down with Daniel, where I began by asking when he first started playing music ….

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My guest today is director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and current President of the European Association of Conservatoires, Deborah Kelleher

A native of Dublin, she studied music in Trinity College Dublin, later becoming a teaching fellow in UCD, whilst also teaching in the then DIT College of Music, and working in FM3, the precursor to RTE Lyric FM.

However, her sights were always set on leadership, which compelled her to study an MBA and in 2010, in the midst of the Great Recession she became director of the RIAM. Under her stewardship, the Academy has became an associate college of Trinity College Dublin, curricula has been reformed, and most noticeably, the city centre campus has been redeveloped, doubling its teaching and practice studios, and adding new rehearsal and performances spaces, including the Whyte Recital Hall.

Curious to know more about her journey, the unseen reality of leading an artistic institution, and the challenges facing conservatoires and artists in the future,, I sat down with Deborah where I began by asking how she started playing music…

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My guest today is superstar jazz clarinettist, Giacomo Smith.

Born in Italy, Giacomo grew up in upstate New York and initially wanted to learn saxophone, but was persuaded to start with clarinet, and went on to study clarinet classically in Boston University and McGill in Montreal. However, the lure of jazz was always there, inspired by both his mothers affinity for Dave Brubeck, and a roommate who loaned him a cd of Hubert Rostaing playing with Django Reinhardt.

This sparked an interest in the early days of jazz, and its unique soundworld, and later let to him founding a band called Kansas Smittys, playing music inspired by that era.

Famed for his elegant playing and effortless vituosity, he frequently performs worldwide and is in high demand as a soloist, collaborator, and record producer, and in early 2025, when Giacomo was in Ireland, performing with Guy Barker and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, we sat down to talk, where I began by asking him when he started playing clarinet…

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Bringing Season 1 of Harmonically Speaking to a close is Irish pianist, Fiachra Garvey.

Growing up in the countryside in Wicklow, his two passions are music and animals, and on leaving school he faced a dilemma regarding choice of career, studying both music and veterinary for a year before deciding on former at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin.

Upon completing his masters with first class honours and distinction, at the Royal Academy of Music in London,, he faced that all too familiar challenge of transitioning from student to professional.

Already a laureate of numerous international competitions, he mastered this, building on a successful career as a solo pianist and chamber musician, by founding two highly regarded festivals - the West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival and Classical Vauxhall.

Wishing to gain an insight into his career path, the challenges it entails, and how he thinks musicians need to evolve in an ever more competitive environment, I sat down to talk with Fiachra, where I began by asking how he came to pick piano….

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My guest today is the CEO of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Gerard Keenan

A native of Dublin, he learned trumpet through the VEC at the College of Music in Dublin, later joining the Army No. 1 band before transitioning into management.

During his time at the Irish Chamber Orchestra, they have built incredible partnerships, most notably with Jorg Widmann, and toured the globe, performing in many of the worlds greatest concert halls and festivals.

However, it hasn’t all been plain sailing, and his time at the helm has also involved navigating many challenges, including the severe fallout from the Great Recession which saw funding and staff numbers cut, and more recently the Global Pandemic which saw tours and engagements cancelled.

Curious to find out more about these partnerships and challenges, what running a highly successful ensemble entails, and his thoughts on the future of classical music, I sat down with Gerry where I began by asking about his position as CEO, and how he ended up there….

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My guest today is conductor Killian Farrell, Generalmusikdirektor, of one of Germany's most historic opera houses, the Stattstheater Meiningen.

A native of Dublin he made his professional conducting debut aged 15 by organising and directing a performance of St Johns Passion before studying music at Trinity College Dublin. 

Following this, he made the move to Germany, becoming First Kapellmeister in Theater Bremen, and later at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, before taking up his current position in 2023 and the age of just 29.

Curious to know more about the life of a conductor and all it entails, including the serious work of running an opera house, we sat down to talk where I began by asking what exactly a Generalmusikdirector is, and what they do...

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My guest today is the Chief Executive of two of the worlds most prestigious artist management companies, Askonas Holt and Opus 3, Donagh Collins

Whilst studying mechanical engineering in UCD, he began amassing administrative experience running a successful string quartet in Dublin, before moving to London in 1999 to work in Askonas Holt.

Before taking up his current position as CEO there in 2014, he was director of tours and projects there, representing many of classical musics most acclaimed artists and orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic.

Curious to find out about what a career in artist management is really like, and to get an experts perspective on how classical music is changing, and the challenges it faces going forward, I sat down to talk with Donagh, where I began by asking about his current position and what exactly it entails..

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My guest today is clarinettist Carol McGonnell.

A fellow Dubliner, she initially wanted to play the flute, before taking up the clarinet in the then DIT College of Music. After studies in Queen's University Belfast and the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt she moved to New York for her Masters, where she studied at the Manhattan School of Music with the legendary clarinettist and pedagogue, Charles Neidich.

As a soloist and chamber musician she performs worldwide and is a tireless champion of contemporary music, collaborating with and commissioning works from, many of its brightest talents.

In May 2024, in the run up to her performance at the Dublin International Chamber Music festival with the JACK Quartet, we sat down to talk, where I began by asking when she decided to pursue a career in music…

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