Bella Musica: Songs of Joyce

Bella Musica presents a special Bloomsday recital with songs mentioned by Joyce as well as some light excerpts from Ulysses. The programme will include popular hits of the time such as “The Low Back’d Car,” “Love’s Old Sweet Song,” “The Green Isle of Erin,” “She Is Far From The Land,” “I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls,” and more.  A particularly special treat will be a charming song Joyce wrote the lyrics to called “Out by Donnycarney.”

The concert features Aimee Banks (soprano), John Rownan (tenor), and Didzis Kalniņš (piano). For any questions about the recital, please email hello@bellamusica.ie or call at 085 130 3259.

About the artists:

Aimee Banks is a soprano from Galway with a string of vocal awards to her name such as the winner of the Junior Class of the Charles Wood International Song competition 2023, The Irene Sandford Award and Bursary 2022, The Birr Lions Club Bursary at Birr Festival of Music 2022, The Vladimir Piontkovsky Memorial Scholarship At Saluzzo Opera Academy 2022. She was a multi-award winner at Newpark Festival of Music 2023 & Dublin Feis Ceoil 2023, including the Plunkett Greene Cup for interpretation and the German Government Cup for Bach Aria amongst others. Aimee has performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall New York USA, The National Concert Hall, Christchurch Cathedral and The National Gallery of Ireland. She has also had the honour of performing at the Irish Government’s launch of the 1916 Commemorations in Dublin’s Convention Centre, National Famine Commemoration in 2020 and has also performed at Áras an Uachtaráin for the President of Ireland Micheal D. Higgins.

John Rownan is a tenor from Dublin but trained in classical singing in Bucharest, Romania, where he performed in two recitals for the Irish Embassy including a noteworthy Bloomsday Recital he prepared in 2017.  John took further training in Greece and worked with the Hellenic Opera Corporation and Greek Opera Festival, where he performed in roles such as Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Boheme, and Don Basilio in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, among others. John has since performed in roles and given recitals across Europe, including for several opera productions by Opera Classica Europa in Germany and The Netherlands. In 2023, John founded Bella Musica Recitals to present a variety of popular music events to excite and delight.