Friends
FRIENDS of UNA CORDA
We couldn’t do anything without the help and support we receive from our friends in the Irish and Cuban music communities. Please visit their sites, and support them if you can.
MUSICIANS
Chucho Valdés is a legend of Cuban music and a friend of the Una Corda project since its inception. We are proud to have Chucho as our official patron in Cuba.
In July 200, Chucho visited Ireland and played two concerts – a solo piano recital in Cork School of Music and a concert with his full band in Vicar Street, Dublin, with all proceeds going to support Una Corda’s work in Cuba.
Renowned composer, producer and arranger Bill Whelan has worked extensively in theatre, film and television and sits on the board of Una Corda.
Bill’s grammy winning album of music for Riverdance The Show is certified Platinum in the US, Ireland and Australia. As a producer he has worked with U2, Van Morrison, Kate Bush, The Dubliners, Planxty, Andy Irvine, Stockton’s Wing, Davy Spillane and Bulgarian/Irish band, East Wind.
Barry Douglas, one of Ireland’s foremost musical ambassadors, performed at the first ever fund-raising event for the project.
He has performed with every major international orchestra, collaborating with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, André Previn, Mstistlav Rostropovich, Michael Tilson-Thomas and Yuri Temirkanov. He also founded and leads Camerata Ireland, with whom he made a 3-disc recording of the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos in 2007.
Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Paul Brady is a firm and enthusiastic supporter of Una Corda.
In a career that now spans five decades – as well as his own compositions, which have been recorded by artists such as Tina Turner and Bonnie Raitt – he has won a place in the hearts of millions with his renditions of classic folk songs like Arthur McBride and the Lakes of Pontchartrain. In 2010, Paul was awarded the prestigious Tenco Prize for songwriting, an award previously won by Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell.
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin is one of Ireland’s best known musicians, and founder of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.
He has over ten CD recordings on release of his own compositions and arrangements performed bythe Irish Chamber Orchestra under his direction. As a pianist, he is widely acknowledged as having originated a unique Irish piano style out of an Irish traditional base.
Joanna MacGregor is one of the world’s most wide-ranging and innovative musicians and has pursued a life connecting many genres of music defying categorizations.
She has performed in over sixty countries often appearing as a solo artist with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Joanna performed at the first ever Una Corda benefit at Vicar Street in 2006.
Ronan Guilfoyle is Ireland’s leading jazz educator and a composer of international stature.
Founder of the jazz faculty at Newpark Music Centre and a driving force behind the development of jazz in Ireland, he has performed with many major figures in international jazz, including Dave Liebman and John Abercrombie, as well as leading his own groups. Ronan contributed a brand new composition to the first Una Corda fundraiser.
ORGANISATIONS
Jeffers of Bandon are Ireland’s leading piano specialists and have been a feature of the west Cork landscape for over 100 years.
Alex Jeffers, who now heads up the family business, sits on the board of Una Corda and has travelled to Cuba on several occasions, volunteering his expertise and his tuning skills. Jeffers are also one of the participating workshops in the Una Corda training programme.
For more than 160 years, the Royal Irish Academy of Music has been a beacon of excellence for musical study,performance and composition. The Academy is Ireland’s oldest musical institution, and annually offers examinations in classical music, speech and drama to over 40,000 students throughout the 32 counties of Ireland. The Academy’s in-house pianot tuner, Feena Lynch, sits on the board of Una Corda and is a central part of the Una Corda training programme.
As Cork’s principle arts centre, Triskel Arts Centre commission, present, and promote the contemporary arts in Cork, ensuring that the arts are made available to as wide a public as possible. Their commitment to music and to musicians has been a feature of their programming for the last 30 years, and in 2009, they helped to make the visit of Una Corda patron Chucho Valdés’ visit to Cork such a success.
Music Network is a professional arts organisation, funded by The Arts Council of Ireland, committed to promoting, encouraging and funding the highest standards of music creation and performance throughout the island of Ireland.
Their diverse range of activities are tailored to allow as wide an audience as possible engage with and enjoy the rich heritage of Irish traditional music as well as jazz, classical and contemporary music.
The Improvised Music Company is Ireland’s leading promoter of jazz and world music.
IMC produced and promoted Chucho Valdés’ two benefit concerts in Ireland in 2009, including a sell-out at Vicar Street in Dublin.
Lyric FM is the specialist music station of Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE.
Lyric have supported Una Corda from the beginning, and in 2009 broadcast a recording of Chucho Valdés’ solo performance in Cork School of Music. Lyric presenter, flautist and composer Ellen Cranitch is one of the founders of Una Corda and sits on the project’s board.
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Conor O’Dwyer of Mediawave has been involved from the start as photographer for the Una Corda concerts and took some great photos of Chucho Valdés’ triumphant concert at Vicar Street in 2009.
He has also visited Cuba, and a selection of his startling images is available here.
Corkman David Creedon is an award-winning photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.
In 2008, David travelled to Havana and photographed the Una Corda workshop, which resulted in his acclaimed exhibition, Una Corda-the Soft Pedal which has been exhibited internationally.
Norwegian photographer Laara Matsen has worked extensively in Cuba.
A slideshow of her photographs was shown at the first Una Corda fundraiser, and Laara donated a large framed edition of one of her photos (left) as a raffle prize.
