Sunday Concert Series catch-up : Seamus Hickey, viola, Seán Morgan-Rooney – piano

The Hugh Lane Sunday Concert series and Spotlight Chamber Music Series present:
From the Abbey Presbyterian Church, Parnell Square, Dublin.

Séamus Hickey – viola
Seán Morgan-Rooney – piano

Programme
Arnold Bax: Sonata for Viola and Piano
Two Sean-Nós Melodies (arranged by Seán Morgan-Rooney): Táimse im' Chodladh & Máire Mhór
Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Viola and Piano

This recital as part of the Spotlight Chamber Music Series will be given by Cork native Séamus Hickey, joined by his duo partner, pianist Seán Morgan-Rooney. Their recital features two staple sonatas of the viola and piano repertoire, presented alongside a pair of traditional Irish tunes arranged especially by Seán Morgan-Rooney for this formation. The programme will open with Arnold Bax’s romantic and lyrical viola sonata, a three-movement work with its central scherzo movement evoking an Irish dance. Written in the winter of 1921/22, it is dedicated to the English violist Lionel Tertis, and draws much of its inspiration from Celtic folk melodies. Two sean-nós melodies will follow, and the programme will conclude with Hindemith’s last sonata for viola and piano. This substantial, four-movement work comprises an ardent, emotionally rich first movement, followed by a powerful scherzo and a dramatic and rhapsodic “Phantasie”, concluding with a set of two variations culminating in a triumphant finish.

Séamus Hickey studies with Marjolein Dispa and Nobuko Imai at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and chamber music with the Nederlandse StrijkKwartet Academie. Until 2018, Séamus studied with Simon Aspell, Adrian Petcu, and Christopher Marwood at the MTU Cork School of Music.
In February 2022, Séamus recorded and performed as a soloist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. In 2019, Séamus was awarded second place in the Amsterdam National Viola Competition and the Vieuxtemps Prize. In the Aileen Gore Cup at Feis Ceoil, Dublin, he was placed first and was awarded the RTÉ Lyric FM award. He is the winner of the 2020 RDS Jago Award. Séamus is the current violist of the Sonoro Quartet, one of Europe’s most promising young string quartets. Sonoro were multiple prize winners at the 2021 Bartok World Competition for String Quartets in Budapest, Hungary and enjoy performances regularly across the international stage. In 2021/22, Séamus was invited to be guest principal violist with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Camerata Freden. Séamus has performed in prestigious halls around Europe including the Zeneakadémia, Budapest, National Concert Hall, Dublin, TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and Bozar, Brussels. He has recorded for radio stations such as Klara (Belgium), RTÉ (Ireland), SWR (Germany), Bartok Radio (Hungary) and NPO Radio 4 (Netherlands).

Pianist Seán Morgan-Rooney, originally from County Down, has a varied performing career as a soloist and chamber musician.
Seán’s early studies were with John O'Conor at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. He completed his Bachelor’s with Professor Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and his Master’s and Artist Certificate with David Kuyken at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He has also studied privately with Yossi Reshev in Berlin. He is a former participant of the IMS Prussia Cove, the Banff Centre's Piano Programme and the Aspen Music Festival and School. Seán is the winner of several prizes for his playing. In 2015 he won the Brennan Prize for the highest placed Irish competitor at the 10th Dublin International Piano Competition. Following this, he released a debut album and appeared as a concerto soloist with several of Ireland’s major orchestras, including the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra. He is a past winner of the Royal Academy of Music's Else Cross Prize for contemporary music and was a finalist of the Dutch Classical Talent Award in The Netherlands. Seán also composes his own music, with a focus on piano with electronics and song composition. In 2021, he received a major grant from The Arts Council to write a new collection of art songs based on sean-nós melodies, to be recorded this year. He will also release his second solo album, “A Few Reflect the Heart,” which combines the music of Ravel with the pianist’s own compositions for piano and electronics. Seán currently lives in Amsterdam.