CLÍODHNA RYANand KATE ELLIS, curators of music salon Kaleidoscope, talk to EOIN BUTLER
Where did the idea for Kaleidoscope come from?
Clíodhna:Well, I'm a violinist. Kate is a cellist. I had been a member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra for several years, commuting between London and Dublin. Kate had been working in Ireland with all sorts of groups and ensembles. So we had quite diverse backgrounds. But it was always my dream to host a salon-type event, in which performers could play in a more intimate setting and interact more freely with their audience. As a musician and a music lover, I've always found concerts halls . . . Kate: . . . quite staid.
You feel that performance works better in a less formal setting?
Kate: A lot of the pieces we play would have been written to be performed in party settings – in someone's drawing room, someone's living room.
Clíodhna:The big concert halls were built to accommodate big orchestras. But prior to that, orchestras were small and they played in people's houses. When the kings and queens of Europe commissioned music it was always to be played at their parties and celebrations, their commemorations and coronations.
When was the first Kaleidoscope night held?
Clíodhna: It was October 2009. I had moved back to Ireland and it seemed to me that if you could make this idea work anywhere it would surely be Dublin. It's a small city, but a real community with amazing musicians, incredible young composers and wonderful people experimenting with new music. But I needed a partner in crime and that's where Kate came in.
Kate: I did.
Clíodhna: From the outset we shared a common goal: never compromise on quality. These are artists who perform in the greatest concert halls in the world, but they come into the Odessa Club on a Tuesday night and play for 70 people on the stairs.
How many performers would you have on a given night?
Clíodhna: There would be a minimum of six musicians usually, although we have had as many as 25. Some of the bigger groups we've had have been Yurodny and Tarab, both of whom Kate play with, and The Clarinets, which comprises 11 clarinettists. So yes, it's like the Oslo Peace Accord around here sometimes.
It sounds pretty wild all right
Clíodhna: The Clarinets performed Steve Reich's New York Counterpoint for us, which was the first time it had been performed in Ireland. We did Kevin Volan's White Man Sleeps too, which was another huge occasion that generated lots of excitement. We've had Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Cora Venus Lunny. . .
You’ve had an eclectic mixture of performers along then
Clíodhna: We have. What's interesting about pushing the different eras of music together, the way that we have, is that it makes explicit the connections that exist, the journey that music has been on through the ages. There are a lot of people out there who are into new music and wouldn't dream of going to see Bach or Biber performed – so they're coming here and seeing it performed in a setting like this and realising how extraordinary and revolutionary that music is. And the same goes for classical people who might never go to a new music concert. People are exposed here to things that they might never have heard before.
Kaleidoscope will be one year old in October. Any plans beyond that?
Clíodhna: We've got Arts Council funding to continue on for another year, so that frees us up a little to draw up plans for world domination.
You’d hope to take the show on the road, I presume
Clíodhna:Absolutely. This is an event that could travel anywhere – the Galway Arts Festival, Kilkenny Arts Festival, the Electric Picnic, the Flat Lake Festival. There are also lots of amazing venues around the country we'd love to play, like the Spirit Store in Dundalk, and of course abroad. As a showcase for Irish-based artists we'd love to tour the east and west coasts of the US, Canada, Berlin, Prague, Barcelona.
In tabloid soccer terms then, this is what would be called a “dramatic come-and-get-me plea”. What’s your pitch for prospective bookers?
Kate:Have we not just given you our pitch?
Clíodhna: Kaleidoscope offers an evening of exceptional music making, from across all genres, in a beautiful, relaxed setting.
Kate: Perfect.
Kaleidoscope takes places in the Odessa Club in Dublin on the first Tuesday of every month. 9pm. Admission €8. kaleidoscopenight.com
