Thursday, October 27, 2022 @ 18:45 – 20:00
Sudden Wells is a new musical project led by composer, songwriter and performer Michael Gallen. The project brings together some of Ireland’s finest musicians, creating an atmospheric collective sound that merges an intimate, lyrical quality with expansive musical arrangements. A debut Sudden Wells LP was recorded at Killyon Manor earlier this year, with a release and touring planned for Spring of 2023. For this special Westival performance at Grove House, Michael will be joined by guest performer Patrick O’Laoighaire of “I Have a Tribe” for an evening of traditional and newly-composed songs and instrumental works arranged for two pianos.
Michael Gallen is one of Ireland’s most celebrated composers. Recent works of note include Wilde Stories, a suite for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Cór na nÓg; At a Loss, an opera-film composed and directed by Michael for Irish National Opera and Session, a co-creation with dance artists Colin Dunne and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui which toured across the main stages of Europe in 2019/20. Michael’s opera Elsewhere premiered at the Abbey Theatre in November 2021 to widespread critical acclaim, described by the Irish Times as “an extraordinary, shocking, funny, and, ultimately, moving piece of contemporary theatre.” Elsewhere is produced by Straymaker, of which Michael is the Artistic Director, and will tour nationally and internationally from 2024 onwards. Other Straymaker projects in development include multi-platform music-theatre work The Curing Line and an operatic feature film entitled Ways of Disappearing.
Michael has been a recipient of numerous national and international awards including an Arts Council Next Generation Award and a Platform 31 bursary. He was a National Trailblazer for Culture Night 2020. He will be the Artist-in-Residence at La Brèche Festival in 2023, creating a new work for the festival, and has been commissioned to compose an evening-length piece for the Orchestre Nationale de Bretagne for their 2024 season.
