Donnchadh Mac Aodha
Donnchadh Mac Aodha (2002) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Dundalk, Co. Louth (Ireland). He is a Quercus Creative & Performing Arts Scholar at University College Cork (UCC) where he is currently studying composition under the direction of John Godfrey (BMus degree). As both a traditional Irish and classical musician, Aodha finds himself most at home at the interface of these genres and allows his bi-musical upbringing to influence his compositional output. In arranging and composing, he often uses tuneful, folk-like motifs and situates them within his unique and ever-changing compositional language of contemporary techniques. In particular, he is drawn to the Irish language and deals with ideas of belonging and identity in his music. In 2020, Aodha won 1st prize in the composition competition at the New Ross Piano Festival for his piano work Music in the Tuileries. He is a member of the Irish Composer’s Collective and premiered a film score and a work for clarinet and electronics at their recent festival. His composition Music for Flute and a Two-Handed Pianist was selected as the winner in this year’s West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition.
