ARTIST RESIDENCY CONCERT

Seán Morgan-Rooney, piano

7:30-8:30pm | The Big Barn, Putney VT
Free admission | Reserve tickets

PROGRAM

Maurice Ravel Miroirs for solo piano
with original works and film created in response by Seán Morgan-Rooney
followed by a post-concert conversation facilitated by Artistic Director Seth Knopp

A Few Reflect the Heart
“The eye sees itself not, but by reflection, by some other things...”

Maurice Ravel cited this particular quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as the inspiration for his piano suite Miroirs. The quote describes how we do not see ourselves directly, but rather perceive ourselves in the reflections of external sources. In composing Miroirs, Ravel was seeing his own humanity reflected in nature - the night moths, the melancholy birds, the boat on the ocean...

In this performance, four pieces I have written for piano and electronic track bring an extra dimension to the idea of reflection. These original works reflect the natural themes of Miroirs and communicate a personal musical response to Ravel's suite.

On a parallel plane, a similar process of reflection occurs in the visual material accompanying this music. I have created original films which reflect the music's natural themes and which aim to convey an inner emotional world through reflections, memories and scenes of the nature in which he grew up. My mother plays a role in conveying the connection to the land through spoken memories and poetry. With my original music and film, I explore how autobiographical elements can be incorporated in an intentional way, setting out to dissolve the artificial boundaries that all too often separate the musical score from its recreation.

—Seán Morgan-Rooney
 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Irish pianist Seán Morgan-Rooney has a varied performing career as a soloist, chamber musician, and composer. In 2026, he will release an album of original arrangements of Irish folk songs for voice and piano with Delphian records as well as a solo album of piano and electronic music. Recipient of the Brennan Prize for the highest placed Irish competitor at the 10th Dublin International Piano Competition, he released a début album and appeared as a concerto soloist with several of Ireland’s major orchestras, including the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra. He is a past winner of the Royal Academy of Music's Else Cross Prize for contemporary music and was a past finalist of the Dutch Classical Talent Award in the Netherlands. Seán completed his Bachelor’s with Professor Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and his Master’s and Artist Certificate with David Kuyken at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Seán currently lives in Amsterdam.