Grace Coughlan and Rachael Masterson

Thursday 14 December 2023 | 7.30pm

Curtis Auditorium, MTU Cork School of Music, Union Quay Cork City.

A recital by two exceptional rising stars and this years Cork Orchestral Society’s Emerging Artist Award recipients: cellist Grace Coughlan, a former student of Christoper Marwood currently studying in Gothenburg, and the wonderful, Newry-born violinist Rachael Masterson. Both musicians were members of the award-winning Doolin Quartet, first prize recipients in both the Feis Ceoil 2018 Chamber Music Cup and the CSM Vanbrugh Chamber Music Competition 2018. For this concert, Grace and Rachael will be accompanied by pianist Cahal Masterson.

Tickets:

€20 (General Admission) | €15 (Concessions & COS standard members)
€10 (COS concessionary members) | €5 (Students)

About musicians

Grace Coughlan is currently completing her final year of the Master of Fine Arts in Music with Specialisation in Symphonic Orchestra Performance studies at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, Sweden under Johan Stern. Prior to this she was a student of Christopher Marwood at MTU Cork School of Music where she holds a First Class Honours MA and B.Mus. She has studied with Claes Gunnarsson at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg through the Erasmus exchange programme. She has won numerous national prizes, including Feis Maitiú’s advanced recital and cello concerto competitions, Feis Ceoil’s senior cello and the CSM senior recital. Grace was awarded the MTU Arts Office Bursary Award 2021, the University of Limerick Rising Star 2022 and was a semi-finalist in the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year 2022. She was a finalist in the National Concert Hall “Young Musician’s Award” for strings 2015 and was selected to perform at Feis Ceoil’s Young Platform series at the National Concert Hall (2014, 2018 and 2019). Grace has participated in projects with the National Concert Hall, the Irish Chamber Orchestra including the Academos Project (2018) , Irish National Opera and the Vanbrugh. She has performed in masterclasses with Natalie Clein, Hannah RoBerts, Maria Kliegel and Daniel Muller-Schott.

Grace was a member of the Doolan String Quartet, winner of both the Feis Ceoil Chamber Music Cup and the CSM Vanbrugh Chamber Music Competition in 2018. The quartet performed at the National Concert Hall Feis Ceoil Gala Concert and at the RDS Rising Stars series. They also participated in the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Bantry in 2018 and 2019. Grace was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland the Swedish National Orchestral Academy. Grace currently serves as principal cellist of the University of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

Grace is supported by Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme, funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Music Network is funded by The Arts Council.

Newry born violinist Rachael Masterson is a graduate of the MTU Cork School of Music, where she completed the Undergraduate and Masters programme. During her time in CSM, she studied with violinists Ruxandra Petcu-Colan and Katherine Hunka. During her time in CSM, she was a member of the Doolan quartet, who performed regularly throughout Cork as part of National String Quartet Foundation Series in 2018, as well as making appearances at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival as part of the masterclass programme.

Orchestral experiences include professional engagements with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Irish National Opera, Camerata Ireland, Les Foyeur des Artistes and the Endellion Festival Orchestra in Cornwall. Rachael has a keen interest in Historically Informed Performance and was selected to be an Apprentice of the Irish Baroque Orchestra in 2020-21. The same year, Rachael was delighted to have been selected for the NCH NSO mentoring scheme.

Having recently received funding from Arts Council NI, Rachael looks forward to collaborating with musicians in the next year to present more exciting chamber music concerts to audiences on the island of Ireland.

Rachael plays on a violin commissioned in 2021 by renowned, Cork-based luthier, Jérémie Legrand. Modelled on the famous Stradivarius “Betts”, she loves the ever giving colours and qualities of the violin.