Michael lands top role at Aosdana

Michael Holohan has been elected Chair of the Toscaireacht of Aosdána, the national artistic group.

At present, Aosdána has 247 elected members and the artistic disciplines represented are the Visual Arts, Literature, Music, Architecture and Choreography. Aosdána has many notable members including Sean Scully, Alice Maher, Neil Jordan, Paul Muldoon, Paula Meehan, Seoirse Bodley and Bill Whelan.

‘‘I am extremely honoured to have the chair conferred on me by my fellow Irish artists. It is a great privilege and I hope that I can live up to the high standards of the past chairs Anthony Cronin, Brian Maguire and Mary FitzGerald,’ Michael stated.

Michael’s music has been performed recently in Japan, Portugal, Wales, Derry and Dublin.

His most recent concert in the National Gallery, Dublin was ‘A Broken Tree’ and it featured his new Ledwidge song cycle ‘The Hills are Crying’. It was beautifully performed by the Drogheda soprano Hannah O’ Brien and accompanied by Rebecca Draisey- Collishaw oboe along with the composer.

Michael’s future projects in 2018, include commissions to write new pieces for the 50th Anniversary of Sunday Miscellany RTE and for the 175th annivearsary of the great Irish mathematician Alexander Rowan Hamilton , who was raised in Trim, Co. Meath.

He will also be recording The Road to Lough Swilly, a CD with the uilleann piper Mick O’ Brien, the RTE Con Tempo String Quartet and local Drogheda string players.