Rhiannon Giddens is an extraordinary American musician, who is now a doyenne of the international folk scene. With the ground-breaking ensemble, Carolina Chocolate Drops, she forged the award winning path that she has continued to walk since the group won a Grammy Award for “Best Traditional Folk Album” of the year in 2011. They were nominated in the same category again in 2013 and Giddens was nominated in a solo capacity in 2016 with her solo debut “Tomorrow is My Turn”, produced by T Bone Burnett, which won “Best Album of the Year” at the International Folk Music Awards and, in the same year, earned her the accolade of the BBC 2 Folk Singer of the Year. She was the first American to win the BBC prize. Her latest album “There Is No Other”, with Francesco Turrisi, was also nominated for a GRAMMY, and she has recently become the new Artistic Director of the Silk Road Ensemble. 

The Irish Chamber Orchestra is Ireland’s most dynamic ensemble, continually pushing the boundaries of what a chamber orchestra can do. Led by the ebullient Katherine Hunka, the ICO comprises twenty-two outstanding musicians whose unique sound has captivated audiences all over the world. Every year, the orchestra presents concert seasons in Limerick and Dublin, embarks on two national tours, and makes a series of prestigious international appearances supported by Culture Ireland. Under Principal Conductor/Artistic Partner Jörg Widmann, the ICO has scaled new heights, working with major international stars, forming partnerships with leading venues and releasing a series of acclaimed recordings on the Orfeo label. At the heart of the ICO’s vision is the belief that music can change lives. Sing Out with Strings (SOWS) is a groundbreaking initiative offering primary school children in Limerick the chance to learn music for free. The success of SOWS has inspired the ICO to establish the ICO Youth Orchestra (ICOYO) for aspiring musicians aged 12 to 18. The orchestra also supports new talent on the MA in Classical String Performance at the University of Limerick, and commissions work from exciting young Irish composers. The ICO is funded by The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.

In June 2019 at the Modes of Capture Symposium, the Irish World Academy and Liz Roche Company launched a creative partnership entitled Intraspaces, which will be an experimental space for both organisations to collaborate on research, performance and pedagogy/training. Exchange will take place across the fields of high level professional practice, arts research and performance training with a focus on fostering relationships between the Academy, Liz Roche Company and a wider range of Irish and international artists, organisations and communities. This partnership model between the university and this professional dance organisation supports the development and dissemination of dance knowledges across the Irish and international arts and research landscape.Interdisciplinarity is key, with a view to creating opportunities for shared projects to intersect with a range of Academy faculty, students and courses. Liz Roche Company will offer open access to students around its working practices supported by the expertise of the company dancers, associated dance artists and creative collaborators in sound, light, set, costume and dramaturgy. Particular alignments for shared performance projects are envisioned with the MA Contemporary Dance Performance and the new MA Composition and Creative Music Practice. Furthermore, through this initiative, the partnership will expand possibilities for mentoring of postgraduate research projects and developing collaborative arts practice research outputs with faculty members.