The Earls of Ormond

Laoise O'Brien: Recorders
Mark Chambers: Countertenor
Sarah Groser: Viols
Norah O'Leary: Viols
Patrick Goyvaerts (special guest): Lute

The Earls of Ormond bring together a collective of musicians who specialise in historically informed performance. Individually, they have performed throughout Ireland and internationally, and they come together as the Earls of Ormond to perform ensemble music of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The core group of musicians performs on wind, string and keyboard instruments.

Based in the medieval city of Kilkenny, the consort is inspired by the historical buildings and rich cultural heritage of the Marble City, and this vibrant tapestry of history, heritage and culture informs the group’s musical direction. In addition to exploring instrumental music, the consort looks forward to collaborating with vocalists to perform both sacred and secular music from the era.

Laoise O'Brien has been described in the press as a crusader with mesmerising skills and boundless imagination. Laoise has been championing the recorder since discovering the versatility and virtuosity of this historic instrument while a student of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

She has promoted the recorder through concert performances, education, recording, and broadcasting, working with multiple ensembles and arts organisations in Ireland. Laoise's recent recording 'Boyne', a collaborative project with Grammy Award-winning engineer, Ben Rawlins, combines centuries-old melodies with the music of the natural world around the River Boyne. www.laoiseobrien.ie

Mark Chambers graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music and has established himself as a versatile and distinguished vocalist, performing internationally with leading ensembles and conductors. His solo repertoire spans from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary works, including Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with Paul McCreesh (Deutsche Grammophon), and Beloved and Beautiful with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging under Jos van Veldhoven.

He collaborates regularly with acclaimed ensembles including The Monteverdi Choir, Tenebrae, Gallicantus, The Gabrieli Consort Alamire, and the Academy of Ancient Music and is a core member of Chamber Choir Ireland and Resurgam. His discography includes solo recitals of Rubbra and Vaughan Williams, and recordings with The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble across their acclaimed European series. Now based in Wexford, Mark combines an active performance career with part-time lectureships in voice at the University of Birmingham and University College Dublin.

Sarah Groser first played the viola da gamba as a child. At Manchester University she studied both Baroque cello and viol with Charles Medlam of London Baroque and continued on to Rotterdam's Conservatorium to study Baroque cello with Jaap ter Linden. Later she had lessons with Jordi Savall as an external student at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Sarah was a member of the Rose Consort of Viols for fifteen years and of Sonnerie under Monica Huggett for three years. She has also played with London Baroque, Fretwork, Charivari Agréable, and the Dowland Consort. In 2001 Sarah moved from England to West Cork, Ireland, where she is in frequent demand as both a solo bass viol player and as a continuo player.

Norah O'Leary is an Irish cellist and viol player specialising in period instrument performance. Norah holds a first-class degree Masters of Performance of Early Music from the Sibelius Akatemia of the University of Fine Arts, Helsinki, where she studied under Louna Hosia and Markku Luolajan-Mikkola whilst undertaking mentoring projects with the Nordic Baroque Orchestra and Concerto Copenhagen.

Norah has performed with various other groups such as the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Camerata Kilkenny, Sestina Music, Cork Baroque Orchestra, Capella Scania, and the Irish Baroque Orchestra. www.noraholearycello.com

Patrick Goyvaerts grew up in Antwerp, the son of two musicians. It was there, among the Flemish folk songs and the works of the polyphonic masters, that he first learned to love the music of his roots. In 1965, he moved to West Cork, where he took up the steel-string guitar and began exploring everything from folk, blues, and ragtime to the early music of the lute and vihuela.

Throughout his teenage years, Patrick made his way playing the local pubs and hotels of the coast. While he enjoyed the life of a working musician, his heart was always set on the early string instruments. To further his craft, he went to study modern "classical" guitar in Cork and London, though his true ambition remained the historical sounds of the past.

In 1975, Patrick returned home to West Cork and made a definitive change. He set aside the modern classical guitar, built his own lute, and began the quiet, dedicated work of mastering historical plucked techniques. Today, his life in music centres on the lute and vihuela repertoire of the early 16th century, along with a deep-seated joy for performing 19th-century guitar music on a historically accurate instrument.