FLive: Iona Sound to transport Enniskillen audience to 'wild places north of here' through music

The trio of renowned musicians, featuring Enniskillen native Rory Pierce (Low D Whistle, Cello) along with Max Greenwood (Piano) and Brid Cannon (Violin), return to Fermanagh for their first live performance in the Ardhowen following sell out concerts at the Hambly & Hambly Gallery and Cultural Hub.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Rory said he is looking forward to returning to his hometown of Enniskillen to perform at the Ardhowen.

"I'm from Enniskillen originally so it'll be just lovely to play at the Ardhowen because I've never played at it before," he said, explaining that he left Enniskillen at around the age of 12 and has lived in various places including Scotland, England and the USA, but currently lives in Co. Monaghan.

"I've always toured and played elsewhere. The only place I've ever played in Fermanagh is Hambly & Hambly.

"It'll be lovely now to bring a bigger set home, as it were," he said.

From a young age, Rory has played the cello, and later, in his late teens/early 20s he started learning the uilleann pipes.

"I've always had that classical/folk crossover and then I studied composing at the Royal Academy of Music in London, looking at more kind of orchestral and ensemble music. Then I joined a Folk band after my studies with Martyn Bennett. I played all sorts of instruments in that and we toured the world playing Folk tunes mixed with Electronic Dance music," he said, adding: "Then later on I played cello and various instruments in the Divine Comedy with Neil Hannon.

"Recently, I've been doing more theatre and film music, and teaching young people how to compose music."

Rory is also one of the founder members of GRIT Orchestra, one of the UK's most exciting orchestras.

"We play very big venues in the UK, like the SECC arena in Glasgow, as well as big theatres, big concert halls, etcetera. And that is bringing together Folk, Jazz and Classical in an orchestral setting.

"So the trio is like a little micro version of that," he said, going on to explain that he started performing as Iona Sound with Brid and Max four years ago, and as a trio have toured around Ireland, the UK and other European countries.

Iona Sound explore and interpret traditional folk material connecting Finland, Sweden, Norway, Scotland and Ireland. The music follows a line running from Northern Scandinavia, down through the Great Glen of Scotland, through the island of Iona, across to North West Ireland.

Using long dances, lullabies, waltzes, reels, jigs and airs, Iona Sound re-harmonise the music, letting it breathe, encouraging the listener to drift off into thoughts of what lies “north east of here…”

This will be evident in the trio's Ardhowen performance, with Rory explaining that at some points the music will be "quite dreamy and reflective", and at other points, "a bit more boisterous".

"And in the background, behind the players on stage, there'll be a big screen and there'll be projections of daytime and nighttime landscapes of Scandinavia, the Highlands of Scotland and some Irish but basically the wild places north of here," he added, noting that during the performance, audience members can expect to be "transported" to these "wild places" of Iona Sound's musical influences.