Night Two: Wind Songs // Sky Rivers

Presented by New Music Dublin with support from the Arts Council & in partnership with RTÉ and the National Concert Hall. The Diatribe Stage is supported by the Arts Council.

The Wind Songs, sung by Zoë Conway accompanied on viola by composer Garth Knox, bring together Irish poetic texts from the 9th Century, traditional ballads, and contemporary haiku by Gabriel Rosenstock. The songs are interspersed with new works for viola, viola d’amore and cello, featuring Knox in duo with three of Ireland’s most exciting string players, Ruth Gibson and Martin Moriarty on viola and Sinéad O’Halloran on cello, in pieces inspired by Irish traditional material that has been reworked and revisited in the composer’s inimitable, intriguing and playful contemporary style. The collection will be released on Diatribe Records in 2026.

Sky Rivers are a new trio composed of Li-chin Li (sheng), Lina Andonovska (flutes) and Nick Roth (saxophones), inspired by artist Elise Hunchuk’s essay ‘Prologue to the Sky River’ (Avery Review) to form an instrumental trifecta representing the three families of the winds – the aerophones, woodwinds and free-reeds. This performance at New Music Dublin 2026 marks the group’s debut appearance, including the world premiere of Taiwanese composer Chen-hui Jen’s suite ‘River without Shore’ (2025).