Emer O'Kelly, Irish Independent (Review of  Irish National Opera Rigoletto, 2024)

Conductor/composer Sinead Hayes brings a unique creative perspective to her work, forged from a decade of conducting the music of living composers in Ireland and further afield. A natural storyteller, she is passionate about sharing the magic of live orchestral and chamber music with audiences from every walk of life, inviting deep and meaningful engagement with the music, its stories and its performers  through her performances, her compositions and her blog The Creative Conductor.

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The 26/27 season marks a new direction for Sinéad. Alongside guest conducting reinvitations with Wexford Sinfonia & Irish Doctors Orchestra, and working with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra for the first time, and she will focus on developing  projects as a conductor/composer . This includes the completion of two cycles of string quartets based on the poetry of Patrick Kavanagh and the work of John Millington Synge. The first quartet in the series, "Stony Grey Soil" was recorded by ConTempo Quartet during the Irish Composition Summer School in July 2026, where Sinéad was mentored by Professor Nicola LeFanu and Dr Martin O'Leary.

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Sinéad is founder and artistic director of the Irish Conductors Network, creating and facilitating training and development opportunities for ensemble conductors from and working on the island of Ireland. 

 

In the 2025/26 season Sinéad refocussed on conducting orchestral and contemporary operatic repertoire, with returns to Ulster Orchestra (BBC Invitation Concert), Irish Doctor's Orchestra, Wexford Sinfonia & Dumbworld Opera. She also worked for the first time with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as part of a RPS Conducting Day (January 2026).

 

 2024/25 saw Sinéad return to Ulster Orchestra for multiple projects as well as to Irish National Opera (Guest Chorus Master on Rigoletto), Dumbworld Opera and the Fews Ensemble. She also worked as assistant conductor with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, assisting conductor Dinis Sousa on Tippett's A Child of our Time.  ​​​​

25/26 was Sinead's fifth and final season as conductor of the Royal Irish Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and she was a member of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Excel Women’s Conducting (WoCo) Programme 2024-25, working with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Newcastle in two WoCo projects in 2025.

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23/24 was Sinead's 10th and final season as conductor of Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble (HRSE), Northern Ireland's professional new music ensemble, with whom she premiered over 70 new works by Irish and international composers. 

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She has worked with all the major professional orchestras in Ireland including the RTE Concert Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra & National Symphony Orchestra.  Her debut CD with Ulster Orchestra featuring the music of Greg Caffrey, was released in May 2024 on the Divine Art Label. Sinead was also principal guest conductor of Galway's professional string orchestra the Luminosa String Orchestra for two seasons.

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In opera she has conducted productions for Northern Ireland Opera, Irish National Opera and Opera Collective Ireland. She has also been invited as guest conductor with the Orquestra do Algarve, as well as working in masterclass with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bochumer Symphoniker, Argovia Philharmonic, North Czech Philharmonic and others.

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Sinead completed her MMus in conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music, winning the Mortimer Furber prize and her BMus in violin and composition at City University, London, winning the Worshipful Company of Musicians prize. She has participated in masterclasses with Johannes Schlaefli, Sylvain Cambreling & Sir Roger Norrington among others.

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She was one of three finalists in the Interaktion Conducting Workshop, Berlin, chosen by the players of the Critical Orchestra Berlin, 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.

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As a violinist, Sinead is active as a chamber musician, playing with Wild Atlantic Strings and Vespera (Baroque Ensemble). She has also played schools and CandleLight concerts with ConTempo Quartet and Newry Chamber Music. Since 2024 she studies (online) with violinist Kristina Yoder, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.​​

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Sinead also holds a Masters (MSc) in structural engineering from Imperial College, London.

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Sinead was very grateful to be supported by the Marten Toonder Music Bursary from the Irish Arts Council for 2025/26.​