New Brian Byrne work to premiere at National Concert Hall

'The Great American Songbook and Beyond' stages on 4th July

US-based Navan native composer, arranger, pianist, and conductor, Brian Byrne is back in Ireland at present preparing for his next show at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, 'The Great American Songbook and Beyond' which takes place on Friday 4th July.

Olivier- and Tony Award winners Jamie Parker and Zara McFarlane join forces with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland and the multi-award-winning, Golden Globe-nominated composer, arranger and conductor, in a rich array of iconic standards from the middle of the last century to the present day.

Classic songs drawn from the glory days of Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, Hollywood and jazz include George and Ira Gershwin’s 'Oh, Lady Be Good!', Rodgers and Hart’s 'My Funny Valentine', Irving Berlin’s 'Cheek to Cheek', and Cole Porter’s 'Night and Day'. Modern classics such as Joni Mitchell’s 'Both Sides Now' and Billy Joel’s 'New York State of Mind' showcase the continuing vibrancy of the popular song in America.

Receiving its world premiere at the event, Brian Byrne’s 'From Silence to Song' is a song cycle inspired by some of history’s most literary poets: Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Sara Teasdale and Dylan Thomas. From the stark landscapes of Frost to the introspective musings of Dickinson, the boundless energy of Whitman, the quiet yearning of Teasdale, and the fiery lyricism of Thomas, it illuminates the depth and emotion of their poetry in a bold new way. Blending sweeping orchestration with rich jazz harmonies, it captures their very different voices in a deeply expressive and cinematic musical journey.

Byrne moved to Los Angeles from Ireland in July 2003 to expand his career as a film and television composer. Since then, he has consistently worked as a composer, conductor, producer, arranger, and pianist in the US and in Europe and has twenty-four film and television scores to his credit.

He is a two-time World Soundtrack Awards and a Satellite Award winner for his music to the song 'Lay Your Head Down', with lyrics by Glenn Close, score for the Academy Award-nominated movie, 'Albert Nobbs'. The song also earned him his Golden Globe nomination. In 2016, he received his third World Soundtrack Award nomination for Best Original Song 'True Love Avenue' with lyrics by his wife, Kasey Jones, for the film 'Jenny’s Wedding'. Brian is a three-time Irish Film and Television Award winner for his scores to the Irish Sci-Fi comedy 'Zonad', 'Albert Nobbs', and 'The Secret Scripture'.

Byrne's American conducting debut came in 2004 at Carnegie Hall with Irish tenor, Ronan Tynan. Subsequently, he was commissioned to write all the arrangements and conduct the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the release of Tynan’s first solo album. In 2012, he released a critically classical album for Decca called 'Tales From the Walled City', also with the RTE Orchestra. Even though living in the United States, Brian conducts and arranges many pop concerts and TV shows for international orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the BBC Ulster Orchestra and The Oklahoma City Philharmonic. He was the artist-in-residence with the RTE Concert Orchestra in Ireland from 2012-2018.

Brian Byrne has collaborated with international luminaries such as Katy Perry, Bono, Pink, Sarah McLachlan, Lisa Stansfield, Julian Lennon, Van Morrison, The Corrs, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Luis Miguel, Vince Gill, Gladys Knight and has composed and conducted original songs for Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Alanis Morissette, Kelly Clarkson, Sinead O’Connor and Kurt Elling. He also conducts many scoring sessions in Hollywood for such projects as the Academy Award-winning animation film 'Piper' for Disney Pixar, 'Modern Love 1 &2' for Amazon, and 'Ireland' featuring Liam Neeson for IMAX.

Recently, Brian has composed (additional music) and orchestrated for several notable projects, including 'Hotel Transylvania 4' for Sony Studios; 'The Croods 2' for Dreamworks Studios; 'Ratchet and Clank' video game for Sony PS5, and 'Vacation Friends' for Disney/Hulu.

Currently, he is busy composing, producing, and arranging the music for the Celtic Woman 20th anniversary for PBS Television.