Author Archives: ilse

Trad on Cello! New cello book available now!

I am pleased to announce the release of my new cello book, Trad on Cello. There are twenty Irish traditional tunes including polkas, slides, jigs, reels, hornpipes and slip jigs, with a guide on how to play them.

I have enjoyed choosing great tunes that fit together in sets so that when you turn up for a session, you are fully equipped to dive straight in and feel good about your playing! It was a challenge to find the perfect keys for the cello for tunes that sit in first position only so there is no running up and down the fingerboard. It makes them really fun to play whatever grade. The second cello parts are also great for playing as a duo, and the chords are included so the tunes can be played with anyone who can read chords. They sound amazing with a group of cellists too, as my friend said “like a big lumbering beast” (I hope that’s good!)

The introduction and chapter information is detailed and interesting for anyone who wants to have a little more guidance and get a brief background info on the tunes.

For teachers looking for something a little different to inspire students post exams, these are a perfect antidote to the earnestness of exam preparations.

I made a video of one of the reels to give an idea of what is in store for you and I hope to see other videos from cellists playing these tunes too!

Download Now on Play Cello Music Store

Traditional Irish Tunes in Cello Friendly Keys

Music Current Festival – Dublin – 09/04/16

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Who	Music Current Festival
When	Saturday, April 9, 2016 20:00 - All Ages
Where	Smock Alley Theatre (map) 6/7 Exchange Street Lower, Dublin 8 Dublin
Other Info	"CURRENTS" CONCERT of SELECTED PARTICIPANT WORKS (Smock Alley Theatre) I will be playing Gráinne Mulvey's Sygyzy for solo cello and tape, and Karlheinz Essl Sequitur IV for cello and live electronics. Concert of new works by festival participants, for strings (solo/duo/trio/quartets) and electronics, chosen from participants' workshop and CMC call for scores, curated by Gráinne Mulvey. Performers: Ilse De Ziah (cello), Marja Gaynor (violin), Lucy Railton (cello), Mira Benjamin (violin), Fergal Dowling (computer) CURRENTS is hosted as part of MusicTown: www.musictown.ie

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Music Current – Spoils – Dublin – 08/04/16

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Who	Music Current - Spoils
When	Friday, April 8, 2016 20:00 - All Ages
Where	Smock Alley Theatre (map) 6/7 Exchange Street Lower, Dublin 8 Dublin
Other Info	CONCERT – SPOILS (Smock Alley Theatre) New concert-length work by Fergal Dowling for chamber ensemble, recorded voice, interactive electronics, surround sound and video, (55 mins) 2016. Performers: Aoife Ni Dhornain (Baroque violin), Marja Gaynor (Baroque violin), Ilse De Ziah (Baroque cello), Michael Quinn (harpsichord), Olwen Fouéré (recorded voice), Fergal Dowling (computer), Mihai Cucu (video). SPOILS is hosted as part of MusicTown: www.musictown.ie

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Ahabeg Trio Launch – 15/11/15

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Who	Ahabeg Trio Launch
When	Sunday, November 15, 2015 15:00 - All Ages
Where	Ahabeg Vista Concerts (map) Ahabeg, Beara Peninsula Ireland Drive along the coastal road between Castletownbere and Adrigole and you will see a sign with a grand piano logo and a chalk board advertising the date of the “next recital”. David Syme, internationally-renowned American concert pianist, makes his living playing throughout the U.S. and Europe, but lives in Ireland 5 months out of the year.
Other Info	Launch of the Ahabeg Trio Keith Pascoe, violin Ilse De Ziah, cello David Syme, piano Beethoven and Mendelssohn 3:00pm Sunday Performance Ahabeg Waterfall Road, Rossmacowen (between Castletownbere and Adrigole) Admission: 20 Euros Reservations Required

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Quiet Music Ensemble – 19/11/15

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Who	Quiet Music Ensemble
When	Thursday, November 19, 2015 20:00 - All Ages
Where	(map)
Other Info	‘Quiet’ means both hushed and peaceful: Quiet Music Ensemble’s music is expansive, beautiful, immersive and transcendental; about being in the moment, about sound that is purely itself. Using a combination of prepared materials and improvisation, its performances are unique, each one conjuring a new world of surprising textures and sounds. Quiet Music Ensemble was formed in 2008 in Cork; it has performed in Ireland, the UK and Germany, has been broadcast in Europe and America, has appeared live on RTÉ Lyric FM twice, and recently released its first CD, ‘The Mysteries Beyond Matter’, on Farpoint Recordings. The ensemble is: Seán Mac Erlaine (clarinets); Roddy O’Keeffe (trombone); John Godfrey (electric guitar); Ilse De Ziah (cello, tin can); and Dan Bodwell (double bass, turkey baster). “In these deafening times, the very notion of ‘quiet music’ is a revolutionary act, a mesmeric power” – The Independent, UK Tickets: €16 / €12. Booking advised

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Dust Busters Light Orchestra – Cork – 06/11/15

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Who	Dust Busters Light Orchestra
When	Friday, November 6, 2015 20:00 - €20.00 - All Ages
Where	Fota House (map) Fota Island, Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork Cork, Ireland
Other Info	I will be conducting this concert on Friday, do come along and enjoy the fun! On Friday, 6 November, Fota House is delighted to welcome The Dust Busters Light Orchestra for its inaugural visit. The DBLO takes its name and its origin from the Cork Bealtaine Festival initiative “Blow the Dust Off your Trumpet” in 2010. It is an amateur orchestra that plays to professional standards under its Musical Director well-known cellist IIse de Ziah. At full strength, the orchestra has 22 members playing violin, viola, cello, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, accordion, guitar, bass guitar, drums and percussion. The musical repertoire spans two centuries of light music and the Orchestra play with a passion which communicates the versatility of their repertoire, including Viennese waltzes, Latin American tunes, evergreen standards, classic pop, rock and roll, film themes and jazz. The Orchestra has had a busy year playing: • Outdoors at Doneraile Park, Cobh, Mahon and Midleton (Farmers’ Markets), and Patrick street and Glounthaune (St. Patrick’s Day): • Indoors at Vienna Woods Hotel, Royal Cork Yacht Club, St. Patrick’s Special School Montenotte, Fernhill House Hotel Clonakilty, Bus Áras (Culture Night), and most recently the Rochestown Park Hotel (Rotary International Ball).

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Cello Workshop in Germany

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Great news, I will be running a cello workshop in Bonn, Germany in a few weeks and there are a few places still available, so let me know soon if you are interested in attending! We will learn beautiful Irish airs and get groovy with chopping and improvising. All levels of players; it doesn’t matter if you only played for 6 months or many years, there is something for everyone! It will be a lot of fun, a great opportunity to develop your playing in an enjoyable way and you get a chance to perform with me in the Monday night concert. If you are around in the area but not a cellist or not able to make the workshop, do come to the concert!

Here is the info, and a link to Sue Shlotte’s site, where you can book a place and find more information. Booking

Cello Unlimited! cellist-clipart-cello

19. – 21. September 2015 in Bonn

Workshop outline:

A focus on Irish music, blues and other scales, rock and roll rhythms, and cello chord voicings for accompaniment.

Objective:

To give students a simple way of unlocking the mechanisms for playing the cello in popular musical styles.

Goals:

By the end of the workshop, you will have a basic understanding on how to approach “nonclassical” styles of music and be inspired to play within a wider range of musical possibilities, through use of scales, chord “shapes”, rhythms, extended techniques, and improvisation.

Workshop Outline:

Learn a slow Irish air and Irish traditional tunes by ear.
Ornamentation and variations on Irish tunes.
The blues scale and other scales
Improvising with modal scales over drones
Improvising with extended techniques
The art of accompanying
Using drones and rhythmic techniques for accompaniment
Introduction to chopping
Chord voicings
Using the cycle of 5ths

All participants will go home with information notes and sheet music from the workshop.

June News

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The past week has been a whirlwind of epic events. First big news, I had my results today… I completed my Masters in cello performance with a first class Honours. It was a great experience to do the course and wonderful that it is now complete! For my final MA concert I played the fabulous Khachaturian Cello Concerto with the City of Cork Symphony Orchestra in a sold out concert. I’m hoping to play it again somewhere, it should be played more often! I wrote my own Cadenza which I will share on YouTube soon and make the sheet music available.

And on the topic of the CCSO, of which I am also principal cellist, we played with Katherine Jenkins and Jose Carreras on the 20th June in Independence Park, Cork. Solo cello was featured in a few numbers, but particularly a big cello solo part for The Godfather theme, or Parla Più Piano when sung in Italian. It was powerful playing that emotive melody across a stadium, with the Stars accompanying me!

We have an all women cello section!

Also this week I was appointed Musical Director of the DustBusters Light Orchestra. It was baptism of fire, conducting the first concert in the Cobh bandstand on Sunday, without having met them all yet! But it was wonderful and they sounded great on the balmy summers day by the harbour. Kids were waving their arms about copying me conduct, and people were waltzing.

Last night was yet another highlight of the week, my contemporary music band the Quiet Music Ensemble played in Dublin in The Freemasons’ Hall. Incredible building, with many ‘chapels’ and meeting rooms, each decorated in a fancy manner!

Here we are set up ready for the concert in the main room with black and white checked carpet!

The evening was our Dublin showcase, and we had our newly released ‘The Mysteries Beyond Matter’ CD on sale. Available HERE. It has had brilliant reviews so far.

I also began recording a new solo cello CD at Cork School of Music in amongst all this and on Monday will continue. We will be using the North Cathedral in Shandon, Cork for a couple of pieces. It has an incredibly resonant space which will really suit!

So a big week, I might take an hour or two off before the next onslaught!

Remember: Cello is a powerful thing. Listen wisely!

Quiet Music Ensemble in Berlin – 28/05/15

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Quiet Music Ensemble (QME)
Dan Bodwell: Kontrabass
Ilse De Ziah: Cello
John Godfrey: elektrische Gitarre
Seán MacErlaine: Klarinette
Roddy O’Keeffe: Posaune
Karen Power: Elektronik

The team in Berlin

Karen Power verbrachte im Kontext des künstlerischen Projektes „The Arctic Circle Residency“ intensive Wochen in der Arktis. Stark beeindruckt von der besonderen Akustik dieser nordischen Weltregion nahm sie ein Meer von Klängen auf, präparierte Eisblöcke mit Mikrophonen oder ließ Hydrophone ins Wasser sinken, um Geräusche unter dem Eis aufzunehmen. Diese Aufnahmen dienen in dem Konzert als aurale Partitur für die Live-Musiker, die den räumlich projizierten Field Recordings mit akustischen Instrumentalklängen begegnen. Die Hörer werden mit auf eine Reise durch reale und aus der Erinnerung nachgebildete arktische Klanglandschaften genommen. Das Stück reflektiert in seiner dialogischen und meandernden Form das Verhältnis zwischen Mensch und Eis.
Die Verflechtung von Instrumentalklängen und Alltagsgeräuschen sowie von akustischen Instrumenten und elektroakustischen Elementen bildet das künstlerische Zentrum von Karen Powers Schaffen. Sie untersucht dabei nicht nur die Gemeinsamkeiten und Eigenheiten instrumentaler und elektroakustischer Musik, sondern zielt vielmehr auf integrative Strategien, die die unterschiedlichen Potenziale anerkennen und in der kompositorischen Arbeit zusammenführen.Die Komponistin, Klangkünstlerin und Improvisatorin Karen Power (Irland) ist 2015 Gast des Berliner Künstlerprogramms des DAAD. Das Quiet Music Ensemble kommt wie Karen Power aus Cork in Irland.Eintritt frei

Who	Quiet Music Ensemble
When	Thursday, May 28, 2015 20:00 - All Ages
Where	DAAD Galerie (map) Zimmerstraße 90, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Other Info	Karen Power: Instruments of Ice (2015, UA). Artistic dialogue between live musicians and the arctic. Concert.

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Mid-May Arts Festival Launch

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Very excited to be playing with Ian Date at the launch of the Mid-May Arts Festival on Friday 15 May 2015 at 7.30

The evening, compered by Dr. Lorcan Byrne will celebrate arts in the Midleton and surrounds community, including poetry with Paul Casey and Julie Goo, a short film on Seamus Heany by Sean Monaghan, two award winning shorts Stolen by Yvonne Keane and The Handsome Shadows by Mark Cogan.

The final hour Ian Date and I will present The Intimate Hour, a powerful mix of blues, classical and jazz from various countries and influences. Ian Date on guitar, trumpet and vocals, is a virtuosic guitarist from Australia and has just finished recording an album with Tommy Emmanuel. This concert promises to be sparkling with virtuosity and beauty!

The whole evening will be a vibrant and entertaining celebration of local excellence.

For more info visit www.midletonmidmayfestival.ie

Ian Date, guitar, trumpet, vocals.

Who	Mid-May Arts Festival Launch
When	Friday, May 15, 2015 19:30 - email ilse@ilsedeziah.com to reserve tickets - €15.00
Where	Jameson Distillery (map) Midleton, Cork
Other Info	The Mid-May Arts Festival is proud to present "Taste of the Arts" to launch the festival on Friday 15 May 2015 at 7.30 The evening, compered by Dr. Lorcan Byrne will celebrate arts in the Midleton community, including poetry with Paul Casey and Julie Goo, a short film on Seamus Heany by Sean Monaghan, two award winning shorts Stolen by Yvonne Keane and The Handsome Shadows by Mark Cogan. The final hour will be "The Intimate Hour", with Ilse de Ziah cello, and Ian Date guitar, trumpet, vocals, performing a powerful mix of blues, classical and jazz from various countries and influences. Ian is a virtuosic guitarist from Australia and has just finished recording an album with Tommy Emmanuel. This concert promises a virtuosic and beautiful performance from these world class musicians. A vibrant and entertaining evening celebrating local excellence. For more info visit www.midletonmidmayfestival.ie

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