Once Upon a Time concert 29th November 2025 - Richard Allen (harp)
Richard will be joining us to perform Debussy's Danse Sacree et Danse Profane.
‘An artist in the true sense of the word’, concert harpist Richard Allen studied with Gabriella Dall’Olio and Frances Kelly at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, going on to study in Switzerland with Letizia Belmondo at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne. Richard was born in 1993 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he initially trained as a pianist and traditional Irish harper.
As a soloist Richard performs recitals and concertos across the UK and beyond following sponsorship as a Countess of Munster Recital Scheme artist in 2017. Notable performances include Glière’s Harp Concerto with the Ulster Orchestra, and Mozart’s Concerto for Flute & Harp with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and recitals at the Clandeboye Festival, Cheltenham Music Festival, and St. Martin-in-the-Fields. In 2017 he won the 2nd Prize at the prestigious Félix Godefroid International Harp Competition in Belgium, following a 1st Prize at the North London Camac Competition in 2016, and the BBC Young Musician’s Platform Award shortly after. Among his artistic influences are Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Anneleen Lenaerts, Isabelle Moretti, Fabrice Pierre, Sylvain Blassel, and the late Germaine Lorenzini, with whom he has taken many masterclasses over the years. His playing is often noted for its palette of shades and colours, and a depth of expression that is rarely heard on the instrument.
A graduate of the Philharmonia Orchestra Fellowship Programme, he now freelances with orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Opera North, Bremer Philharmoniker, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. In 2023 he was appointed harp tutor at the Institute of Fine Arts at Leuphana Universität in Germany, and gives courses and masterclasses across Europe, including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Royal Irish Academy of Music, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Orchestral Masterpieces concert 21st March 2026 - William Curran (clarinet)
William will be joining us to perform Mozart's Clarinet Concerto as part of our Orchestral Masterpieces concert in RBAI's Common Hall.
William studied at Queen’s University Belfast and the Royal Northern College of Music, where his teachers included Nicholas Cox, John Bradbury, and Sarah Watts. He is currently completing the Recital Artist Diploma at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), where he is an 1848 Scholar. In February 2025 he won the Maura Dowdall Concerto Competition at RIAM, and is set to make his solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland in 2026.
As a freelance clarinettist, William has enjoyed a diverse career spanning orchestral, chamber, solo, and contemporary music. He has performed as a guest with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Northern Ireland Opera, the BBC Philharmonic, and the Ulster Orchestra. A specialist in comtemporary music, he works regularly with the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble, with whom he has toured internationally to Beijing and Berlin. His solo appearances feature concerto performances with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, and Ulster Youth Orchestra, alongside broadcasts for BBC Radio 3’s 'In Tune' and BBC Radio Ulster.
Recent performance highlights include appearances at the Kilkenny Arts Festival, Beijing Modern Music Festival, and as guest clarinettist for the UK & Ireland tour of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. An active chamber musician, he collaborates regularly with Ireland’s leading performers and was a featured artist at the Clandeboye Festival in 2021. His work has been generously supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.
In addition to performing, William serves as Festival Manager for the Northern Ireland Opera Glenarm Festival of Voice, held annually each August in Glenarm.
Song and Dance concert 16th May 2026 - Rebecca Murphy (soprano)
Northern Irish Soprano, Rebecca Murphy, hailed by Opera Journal for her ‘stunning delivery’, is making waves across the UK and Europe on both the concert and operatic platforms. She was a member of the Internationales Opernstudio at Oper Köln from 2020-22, and previously was a member of the Northern Ireland Opera Studio (2018-19). She is also a regular guest with the Ulster Orchestra (recently appearing as a soloist on their Coleridge-Taylor album under SOMM records) and the Belfast Ensemble.
Rebecca is the recipient of the Arts Council Northern Ireland Young Musicians Platform Award (2022).
Rebecca’s recent roles on the operatic stage include Miss Wordsworth Albert Herring for English National Opera, Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos for Garsington Opera, Najade Ariadne auf Naxos for Nederlandse Reisopera, Janine/Ofwarren The Handmaid’s Tale for English National Opera, Blonde Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Oper Köln, Frasquita Carmen, Sandmännchen/Taumännchen Hänsel und Gretel, Pünktchen Pünktchen und Anton, Woglinde Das Rheingold für jung und alt, Dritte Norn/Woglinde Götterdämmerung für jung und alt, and Helmwige Die Walküre für jung und alt, all for Oper Köln.
Also a lover of contemporary music, she works regularly with Irish composers including Anselm McDonnell, Conor Mitchell, and Daniel Quigley. Her debut album Traverser (funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland), is influenced by this style, as well as a heavy focus around Polish repertoire, another area of interest. Working closely with duo-partner, pianist Cahal Masterson, she has also featured on Anselm McDonnell’s album Kraina, and has premiered the material at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. The duo have also recently given recitals at Queens University Belfast Lunchtime concert series, Music for Galway, and Barrahane Festival Cork.
As well as singing, Rebecca is a vocal health enthusiast, and has recently added to her skillset in qualifying as a Vocal Habilitation Professional through Vocal Health Education UK.
We are delighted that Rebecca will be joining us for our Song and Dance concert on Saturday 16th May in Bangor where she will perform works including:
Lehar - Vilia Song from The Merry Widow
Bernstein - Glitter and Be Gay from Candide
Gounod – Je veux vivre from Romeo and Juliet
Delibes – Les filles des Cadix
Richard will be joining us to perform Debussy's Danse Sacree et Danse Profane.
‘An artist in the true sense of the word’, concert harpist Richard Allen studied with Gabriella Dall’Olio and Frances Kelly at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, going on to study in Switzerland with Letizia Belmondo at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne. Richard was born in 1993 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he initially trained as a pianist and traditional Irish harper.
As a soloist Richard performs recitals and concertos across the UK and beyond following sponsorship as a Countess of Munster Recital Scheme artist in 2017. Notable performances include Glière’s Harp Concerto with the Ulster Orchestra, and Mozart’s Concerto for Flute & Harp with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and recitals at the Clandeboye Festival, Cheltenham Music Festival, and St. Martin-in-the-Fields. In 2017 he won the 2nd Prize at the prestigious Félix Godefroid International Harp Competition in Belgium, following a 1st Prize at the North London Camac Competition in 2016, and the BBC Young Musician’s Platform Award shortly after. Among his artistic influences are Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Anneleen Lenaerts, Isabelle Moretti, Fabrice Pierre, Sylvain Blassel, and the late Germaine Lorenzini, with whom he has taken many masterclasses over the years. His playing is often noted for its palette of shades and colours, and a depth of expression that is rarely heard on the instrument.
A graduate of the Philharmonia Orchestra Fellowship Programme, he now freelances with orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Opera North, Bremer Philharmoniker, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. In 2023 he was appointed harp tutor at the Institute of Fine Arts at Leuphana Universität in Germany, and gives courses and masterclasses across Europe, including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Royal Irish Academy of Music, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Orchestral Masterpieces concert 21st March 2026 - William Curran (clarinet)
William will be joining us to perform Mozart's Clarinet Concerto as part of our Orchestral Masterpieces concert in RBAI's Common Hall.William studied at Queen’s University Belfast and the Royal Northern College of Music, where his teachers included Nicholas Cox, John Bradbury, and Sarah Watts. He is currently completing the Recital Artist Diploma at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), where he is an 1848 Scholar. In February 2025 he won the Maura Dowdall Concerto Competition at RIAM, and is set to make his solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland in 2026.
As a freelance clarinettist, William has enjoyed a diverse career spanning orchestral, chamber, solo, and contemporary music. He has performed as a guest with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Northern Ireland Opera, the BBC Philharmonic, and the Ulster Orchestra. A specialist in comtemporary music, he works regularly with the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble, with whom he has toured internationally to Beijing and Berlin. His solo appearances feature concerto performances with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, and Ulster Youth Orchestra, alongside broadcasts for BBC Radio 3’s 'In Tune' and BBC Radio Ulster.
Recent performance highlights include appearances at the Kilkenny Arts Festival, Beijing Modern Music Festival, and as guest clarinettist for the UK & Ireland tour of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. An active chamber musician, he collaborates regularly with Ireland’s leading performers and was a featured artist at the Clandeboye Festival in 2021. His work has been generously supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.
In addition to performing, William serves as Festival Manager for the Northern Ireland Opera Glenarm Festival of Voice, held annually each August in Glenarm.
Song and Dance concert 16th May 2026 - Rebecca Murphy (soprano)
Northern Irish Soprano, Rebecca Murphy, hailed by Opera Journal for her ‘stunning delivery’, is making waves across the UK and Europe on both the concert and operatic platforms. She was a member of the Internationales Opernstudio at Oper Köln from 2020-22, and previously was a member of the Northern Ireland Opera Studio (2018-19). She is also a regular guest with the Ulster Orchestra (recently appearing as a soloist on their Coleridge-Taylor album under SOMM records) and the Belfast Ensemble.Rebecca is the recipient of the Arts Council Northern Ireland Young Musicians Platform Award (2022).
Rebecca’s recent roles on the operatic stage include Miss Wordsworth Albert Herring for English National Opera, Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos for Garsington Opera, Najade Ariadne auf Naxos for Nederlandse Reisopera, Janine/Ofwarren The Handmaid’s Tale for English National Opera, Blonde Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Oper Köln, Frasquita Carmen, Sandmännchen/Taumännchen Hänsel und Gretel, Pünktchen Pünktchen und Anton, Woglinde Das Rheingold für jung und alt, Dritte Norn/Woglinde Götterdämmerung für jung und alt, and Helmwige Die Walküre für jung und alt, all for Oper Köln.
Also a lover of contemporary music, she works regularly with Irish composers including Anselm McDonnell, Conor Mitchell, and Daniel Quigley. Her debut album Traverser (funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland), is influenced by this style, as well as a heavy focus around Polish repertoire, another area of interest. Working closely with duo-partner, pianist Cahal Masterson, she has also featured on Anselm McDonnell’s album Kraina, and has premiered the material at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. The duo have also recently given recitals at Queens University Belfast Lunchtime concert series, Music for Galway, and Barrahane Festival Cork.
As well as singing, Rebecca is a vocal health enthusiast, and has recently added to her skillset in qualifying as a Vocal Habilitation Professional through Vocal Health Education UK.
We are delighted that Rebecca will be joining us for our Song and Dance concert on Saturday 16th May in Bangor where she will perform works including:
Lehar - Vilia Song from The Merry Widow
Bernstein - Glitter and Be Gay from Candide
Gounod – Je veux vivre from Romeo and Juliet
Delibes – Les filles des Cadix
