Music-lovers are in for a treat as 'Coming Together' Festival comes to Dundalk

Louth Contemporary Music Society (LCMS) celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with a special festival edition, 'Coming Together', taking place across Dundalk on 19–20 June 2026.

Founded in 2006, LCMS has spent two decades creating spaces for shared listening, bringing international artists and audiences together through adventurous contemporary music.

Five concerts will take place over two days across several distinctive Dundalk venues including St Nicholas’ Church of Ireland, the Oriel Centre at Dundalk Gaol, St. Vincent’s Chapel and the Spirit Store.

Louth Contemporary Music Society (LCMS) celebrates its twentieth anniversary at midsummer this year.

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The programme also glances back to the festival’s beginnings.

In 2006, the British pianist Joanna MacGregor opened the very first festival with a programme entitled Blues, Spirituals and Bach.

Twenty years later, the final concert brings the festival to a close with acclaimed American bass-baritone Davóne Tines performing Recital No. 1: Mass, a compelling programme that similarly brings together Bach, contemporary music and Spirituals.

Under the banner 'Coming Together', the 2026 festival brings past and present into dialogue, pairing brand-new works with music dating back to the 1930s, much of it rarely heard in Ireland.

"Like every time LCMS puts on a concert, it’s also about all of us coming together, people from Louth and visitors from far afield, the cognoscenti and the curious, drawn by the knowledge that whatever this outfit presents will be worth hearing, drawn also by the rare opportunity to be with other people in a simple place simply being quiet and listening", a spokesperson said.

Reflecting on that ethos of shared listening, Éamonn Quinn founder of LCMS says: “LCMS has grown around the idea of people coming together in a room and listening together.

"Over the years, audiences have become increasingly open and curious, engaging deeply with the music we present.

"The 2026 festival reflects that spirit, bringing artists and listeners together through the experience of live music.”

Dates for your diary are the evening of Friday 19 June and the afternoon and evening of the next day.

Featured composers include Beat (pronounced as in ‘beatific’) Furrer from Vienna, who made a splash last year with his intimate, intricate pieces for chorus.

This time he brings with him songs of one sort or another, all gently suggesting that whatever we know, we might want to think again.

Singers and instrumentalists from the cream of young talent will be taking part, including several from Ireland.

One of the blessings LCMS regularly brings is to enliven the experience of musicians here as well as audiences.

Also making a happy return to Louth is the Swiss composer Jürg Frey, master of a finely nuanced minimalism. He’ll be here for a performance of his String Trio, as engrossing and rewarding as an unhurried wander with friends.

There will also be a rare opportunity to hear the raw, strange music of Harry Partch, who spent much of his life on the road while forging his own path as a composer. His radically original work explored new musical sounds using specially adapted instruments.

‘Coming Together’ is also the title of a piece we’ll hear by another American, Frederic Rzewski, politically charged, enraged but also in a way joyous, music that stands and shouts. As we, too, might want to do.

Festival Highlights

Concert 1: Coming Together – Furrer & Rzewski

Friday 19 June | 8pm | St Nicholas’ Church of Ireland, Dundalk

The festival opens with a major programme of works by Beat Furrer, performed by Elina Viluma-Helling (soprano), Cornelia Sonnleitner (mezzo-soprano) of ensemble Cantando Admont and an international group of soloists, including the world premiere of a new LCMS commission Litanei.

After the interval, Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together is performed with singer Daisy Press as narrator, alongside a festival ensemble.

Concert 2: Frey’s String Trio
Saturday 20 June | 1pm | Dundalk Gaol

Swiss composer Jürg Frey returns to Louth for a performance of his String Trio, a work of hushed intensity, presented in the atmospheric setting of Dundalk Gaol.

Concert 3: Furrer’s Prophecies
Saturday 20 June | 3pm | St Vincent’s Chapel

An all-Furrer programme performed by Cantando Admont, featuring in mia vita da volpe, Lotófagos and Prophezeiungen.

Concert 4: Harry Partch: US Highball
Saturday 20 June | 5pm | The Spirit Store, Dundalk

A rare opportunity to hear music by American composer Harry Partch, whose radically original work sits outside the conventions of Western classical music.

U.S. Highball and 10 Lyrics of Li Po are performed on adapted instruments by Charles Corey and Luke Fitzpatrick.

A Highball Cocktail Reception will take place before the performance.

Concert 5: Davóne Tines – Recital No. 1: Mass
Saturday 20 June | 8pm | St Nicholas’ Church of Ireland, Dundalk

The festival closes with Davóne Tines, one of the most compelling voices in contemporary music today. Recital No. 1: Mass reframes the mass as a meditation on belief, identity and transformation, combining Bach, Caroline Shaw, Spirituals, a profound ending to Coming Together.

Tickets & Information

The 'Coming Together' Festival unfolds across five concerts over two days. All-Festival Tickets, which traditionally sell out quickly, offer access to the complete programme, while individual concert tickets are also available.

Funded by the Arts Council and the Arts Service of Louth County Council. Supported by RTÉ Supporting the Arts and with the friendly support of Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and Louth County Council Festival Grants Initiative 2026.

Full programme details and ticket information at www.louthcms.org