Cork cellist to travel the world with famous string quartet

Blackrock musician has just performed at the BBC Proms and will now tour for three years

Tue, 17 Aug, 2021 - 20:30

Sean O’Riordan

A highly talented Cork musician is set to tour the world with a string quartet over the next three years after a 'crazy' trial with the musicians.

It's been a meteoric rise for Sinéad O'Halloran, 26, from Blackrock, Cork, who within weeks of getting a trial for the quartet has just performed at the legendary BBC proms and is now set to travel the world.

Sinéad got a trial as a cellist just six weeks ago with the famous Marmen Quartet, which was formed in 2013 at the Royal College of Music in London.

She thought the trial would last much longer, but they were so impressed with her they signed her up and last Monday she played twice at the highly-acclaimed BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall.

“I expected to go on trial with them for a year. I couldn't imagine how quick it would be. It's pretty crazy,” Sinéad said.

Sinéad was 18 when she moved to Dallas, USA to study music. Then followed a spell in Germany where she completed a masters degree and went on to further studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

Sinead O'Halloran from Blackrock with her cello

Sinéad will now tour the world with the Marmen Quartet, who in 2019 won the Grand Prize of the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition as well as the First Prize of the Banff International String Quartet Competition.

It's just amazing, the quartet have dates all over the world for the next three years. They have European tours as well as tours in the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.

“I was incredibly lucky to grow up in an environment where chamber music was the centre of my musical education, playing string quartets from a very young age and regularly attending concerts by the Vanbrugh Quartet. Experiences like these helped me to realise that this is how I want to spend my life. I am so delighted to be joining the Marmen Quartet and after such a fun few weeks together I cannot wait to see where this journey takes us,” Sinéad added.

In the meantime she is also busy organising a chamber music festival for Cork next month.

She's co-founder and artistic director of the Ortús Chamber Music Festival, which was established in 2016.

The festival takes place this year from September 3–5, with two concerts in Cork City, one in Tracton and the other in Cloyne, all of which will be available to watch online as well.

“It's going to be fantastic as we will have musicians coming to play in Cork from Britain, Germany and Israel,” she said.