SINEAD HAYES
Irish Conductor
SINEAD HAYES
Britten Pears Young Artist 23/24
Principal Conductor: Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble
Principal Guest Conductor: The Luminosa String Orchestra
Conductor: Royal Irish Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra
Irish orchestral conductor Sinead Hayes is emerging as one of Ireland's leading interpreters of contemporary music and opera, with a particular interest in the work of emerging and established Irish composers. She is a Britten Pears Young Artist 23/24, participating in The Conductor as Dramaturg course run by the Royal Opera House and Britten Pears Arts, with conductors Sian Edwards & Kanako Abe.
The 2022/23 season was her ninth as conductor of the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble (HRSE) in Belfast, and her second season as conductor of the Royal Irish Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. In February 2022 she was appointed principal guest conductor of Galway's professional orchestra The Luminosa String Orchestra.
She has worked with all the major professional orchestras in Ireland including the Ulster Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra & National Symphony Orchestra. In opera she has conducted productions for Northern Ireland Opera, Irish National Opera and Opera Collective Ireland.
She completed her MMus in conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music and her BMus in violin and composition at City University, London. Sinead also participated in masterclasses with Johannes Schlaefli, Sylvain Cambreling & Sir Roger Norrington among others. In 2014 she was one of three finalists in the Interaktion Conducting Workshop, chosen by the players of the Critical Orchestra Berlin (leader: Lothar Strauss), whose players are drawn from the Berlin Staatskapelle and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. She has worked as assistant conductor to James Lowe (Halle Harmony Orchestra), Alex Ingram (British Youth Opera), André de Ridder (Irish National Opera) and others.
Alongside her work as an active conductor, she collaborates frequently with music schools and other organisations to devise and deliver innovative education projects. Her award winning education work has been funded by the Irish Arts Council (Agility Award & Artist Bursary) and the Galway County Arts Office.
Sinead divides her time between Galway and Belfast, but goes wherever the work takes her!
Sinead is very grateful for the mentorship of conductor Alice Farnham, with whom she is currently working.
To read Sinead's full biography and discover her forthcoming projects, visit the links below.
TangleTrad: New Experiments with Irish Traditional Music
Inspired by all the amazing experiences and ideas at Darmstadt 2023, prepare yourselves for TangleTrad!!! The world's very first TangleTrad session takes place at Darmstadt 2023, on Thursday 17th August at 5pm in Open Space 4. Bring instruments, voices and ideas. Let's TangleTrad! Also, huge thanks to soprano Lisa Newill-Smith for being a test Tangler in this experiment!!
2022/23 CONDUCTING PERFORMANCES
KEY INTERESTS AS A CONDUCTOR
TEACHING
From September 2023
Alongside her performance and creative activity, Sinead is active as a teacher of creative musicianship and conducting, working with professional musicians, composers and talented music students who want to develop their conducting and performance skills with a creative approach to sound, structure and drama. The following are available from September 2023. Click on the links to book a session.
COMPOSERS: LEARN TO THINK LIKE A CONDUCTOR (ONLINE)
CREATIVE MUSICIANSHIP COACHING FOR INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED PIANISTS, VIOLINISTS & SINGERS
(ONLINE /IN PERSON)
CONDUCTING - FOR INSTRUMENTALISTS, MUSIC TEACHERS AND SINGERS (ONLINE)
As a composer...
It can be difficult to separate yourself from your work, to take a step back and think about it objectively.
In this 2 session series (90 mins per session) we look at preparing a piece by Schoenberg and Stravinsky as a conductor (Session 1). You then take these skills, apply them to your own work, and we discuss possible changes as a result - musical, gestural, notational etc. (Session 2)
As a singer or instrumentalist....
It is easy to get lost in the technical issues of just getting the notes right! Your regular teacher is probably doing an excellent job with this aspect, but sometimes there isn't time to take a step back and think about the music you are performing from multiple angles! This is where I can help!! Together we will explore possibilities of phrasing, line, dramatic arc, rhythmic vitality to give you new perspectives on your performance.
Anyone can learn...
The basics of conducting! It is a skill like any other, which can be acquired and developed through study and practice. Whether you are a music teacher suddenly asked to conduct a local ensemble, or a professional musician who thinks "I can definitely do that better than him", I can help you get started. For music students looking to understand the music they are studying, conducting is the best way to get inside the music.
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