East Cork Early Music Festival adds another string to Gaynor's bow

For Cork violinist Marja Gaynor, originally from Finland, the East Cork Early Music Festival has been a big part of her life for 10 years.

This year she makes her own mark on the festival as artistic director, creating a new orchestra, festival club and bringing music to the streets.

As a musician, Gaynor plays everything from traditional and rock to any kind of classical music you care to throw at her. Yet it’s early music that is her first love.

“I play all kinds of music but if I had to pick one favourite it would have to be early music ensembles, followed closely by bands, singer-songwriter and studio session work,” she says. “I think people who do early music just seem to have a certain mindset. They’re not just about them, they’re about listening and being creative together.

“I suppose to play early music you have to be a bit of a nerd and a bit of an anarchist. Also, it’s a bit like trad and rock music in that usually you need to arrange it for yourselves, you decide what you do with the music.”

Gaynor’s first experience with the East Cork Early Music Festival was in 2004 as a volunteer. She first met Maya Homburger, with whom she studied, through the festival and counts it as an opportunity to make contacts and network as well as to hear great music. When the then artistic director Sarah Cunningham invited the London Handel Players to perform, Gaynor was offered the opportunity to play with the world-famous ensemble.

“I think that’s what makes a great festival. It’s not just about hearing and playing great music, it’s also about the coffees during the day and the beer afterwards, the meeting of people that happens. I hope this year will give plenty of opportunities for that,” says Gaynor.

Gaynor’s aim for the festival this year is to “raise the profile and standard of early music in Ireland while keeping the concept of early music flexible, and to make it visible and audible beyond the normal”.

A new festival club will quash any misguided impressions of early music being dry or fusty, featuring 17th century trad and 1920s jazz that will appeal, Gaynor says, to “students, hipsters and random music lovers”.

She’s excited about playing host to Spanish ensemble More Hispano. “It’s very trendy to have this full-on improv thing they do. It’s not mad-sounding but very spontaneous, and they’ll have as guest singer Camilla Griehsel, fresh from the success of starring in Maria de Buenos Aires at Cork Opera House.

“I’m also really excited about the new Cork Baroque Orchestra. I’ve heard from so many musicians that they want to play early music in a professional setting, but there aren’t many opportunities in Ireland. And of course we have Ioana Petcu-Colan leading and Leonie Curtin coming home for it as well.

“I think the theme of this year’s festival is really about collaborations and musical get-togethers,” says Gaynor. “I’m really happy to be bringing together Cork and Dublin in the form of Cork Chamber Choir with the Dublin Viols for the Saturday night concert in Midleton.”

* The East Cork Festival runs Oct 10-13. www.eastcorkearlymusic.ie