Bangers and Crash Percussion, Ireland’s premier percussion ensemble will perform a unique concert at VISUAL Carlow on Sunday 10 November with special guest performance by Brian Irvine.

This immersive, surround-sound music experience will captivate audiences with a mesmerizing blend of virtuoso performances and collaborative participation debuting a brand-new composition by the maestro of participatory music, Brian Irvine.

Supported by the Arts Council | Touring & Dissemination of Work Scheme and Commissions, and RTE Supporting the Arts, the performance will feature 50 young participant musicians from across Carlow, Laois, Kilkenny and Kildare. These aspiring musicians will join the ensemble for workshops, rehearsals and the live performance, adding a unique dimension to the event - for anyone interested in taking part please see below.

Led by renowned percussionists Alex Petcu, Emma King, Caitríona Frost, Brian Dungan, John Rousseau-Parlane, Paddy Nolan and guest Patrick Lynch, the Bangers and Crash Percussion Sextet not only showcases a spectacular array of percussion instruments - including marimbas, vibraphones, tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, tambourines, gongs and a vast array of drums from around the world - but also captivates audiences with their creative use of ad hoc materials like scrap metal and household materials, pushing the boundaries of sonic exploration and crafting a mesmerizing fantasia of percussion sonorities.

The concerts promise a captivating evening of sensory ambient percussion with a repertoire inspired by diverse genres ranging from contemporary Western percussion and Afro-Cuban, to Japanese taiko, Spanish flamenco, and Javanese gamelan.

As well as Brian Irvine’s new work, the concert will feature a debut performance of a new participatory composition by the group’s Musical Director Alex Petcu. Complementing these participatory works, the repertoire will also include: Music for Pieces of Wood by Steve Reich, Ghanaia by Matthias Schmitt, Catching Shadows by Ivan Trevino and Shell by Emma O’Halloran

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The ensemble’s past projects include large-scale productions for Cork Midsummer Festival and PIMA! Fest, a successful 8-date Music Network tour, collaborations with Irish National Opera and performances at prestigious events like Body & Soul. Additionally, Bangers and Crash Percussion has conducted over 100 workshops in schools across Ireland, fostering a love for percussive music among young learners.

“From the resonant chime of bells to the hissy rattle of shakers to the meditative hum of gongs, percussion instruments bring to our ears a vast region of sonic space. In this way, a percussion ensemble can at times be like a miniature orchestra in itself.” – Liam Cagney, RTÉ Culture

“Through all of this mixed programme, Bangers and Crash prove a reliably cohesive and entertaining ensemble. They promised us a fun night out, and the warm response from the audience – as well as the lingering conversations after – suggest that, and more. If they come to your town, seek them out…”, “witty, melodic ideas, with shifting patterns and cross-rhythms”, “Laid out, these become improvised keys of random tonality, offering strange melodies and rhythmic interplay, the players converging in a brilliant unison passage.”, “Their spare movements lead to flicks, slaps, and claps, shifting metre and rhythm to create intricate patterns from barely anything.” – Michael Lee, Goldenplec

GET INVOLVED!

Bangers and Crash invites young musicians of any instrumentation and skill level to be part of this exciting concert. Over two days, the six master percussionists will lead participants on an inspiring journey of percussive exploration, culminating in this exciting immersive concert performance. All activities take place in the Talbot Hotel Carlow and Visual. For further information and to sign up, please visit www.soundwavesmusicspace.com

Tickets can be purchased online, in person or over the phone at Box Office. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. Wheelchair users and any group over 8 persons should book tickets directly through Box Office. Further Terms and Conditions can be found atvisualcarlow.ie/visit/booking-information.