2025 Festival
Corelliana : 26th Sept 2025
Vespres d’Arnadi, Dani Espasa
St.John’s Cathedral 7.30pm
Dani Espasa and his Catalan orchestra Vespres d’Arnadi brought the audience at St.John’s Cathedral on a whirlwind tour of Italy with their “Corelliana” programme, of the music of Arcangelo Corelli and his contemporaries.
Pictured : Vespres d’Arnadi, Dani Espasa, Rev.Adam Norris, Leas-Cathaoirleach Fergal Nealon and SBMF Artistic Director Sharon Carty.
Photos : Matt Brooker
Borrowed, not stolen : 27th Sept 2025
Woodpeckers recorder quartet
St.John’s Cathedral 7.30pm
Kate Hearne and her intrepid recorder playing colleagues regaled the audience with baroque and folk tunes from their respective countries of Ireland, Norway and Denmark.
Photos : Donal Hackett
Les accents de Passion : 27th Sept 2025
Florilegium
St.John’s Cathedral 9pm
For our late night concert this year, we were treated to Florilegium’s trio of Flute, Harp and Viola da Gamba for the trio’s exploration of the musical and political connections between 17th and 18th Century France and Italy
Photos : Donal Hackett
Outreach and Educational activities
Our educational activities began during the week leading up to the festival, where festival artists Laoise McMullin (Harpsichord) , Caitriona O’Mahony (Viola) and Sarah Kilcoyne (Mezzo) went on tour with Festival in a Van to 6 primary school in north Sligo. The Woodpeckers Recorder Quartet took their schools’ concert to 4 Sligo town schools, where the lucky students got to see and hear the recorder in a completely light! The Woodpeckers were busy during the festival as they also presented a beautiful parent and baby concert at The Model, as well as a free outdoor community concert in Queen Maeve Square with Festival in a Van. Baritone Cuan Durkin (from our 2024 The Fairy Queen cast) also made a special guest appearance with the Van!
Siobhan Armstrong delivered fascinating insights into her world of medieval, Early Irish and Baroque Harps in a lecture recital, followed by a public masterclass at The Model.
Our outreach programme saw over 1300 children experience live baroque music!
Sligo Academy of Music : 28th Sept 2025
In their annual collaboration with Sligo Baroque Orchestra, the Sligo Academy of Music performed to an enthusiastic full house at The Model Sligo.
Sligo Baroque Orchestra : 28th Sept 2025
The Model 2.30pm
Sunday afternoon listeners at The Model were treated to the glorious voice of Sligo soprano Orla Shannon, in concert with Rod Alston and the Sligo Baroque Orchestra, in a fascinating programme featuring female Italian composers of the 17th and 18th Centuries.
Viva Vivaldi! 28th Sept 2025
Dani Espasa, Vespres d’Arnadi, Pere Saragossa,Carlos Herruz,
Sharon Carty, Aoife Nic Athlaoich, Sarah Shine, Sarah Kilcoyne, SBMF Chorus,
Drumcliffe Children’s Choir
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception 8pm
Our closing gala concert was a resounding success with our festival record audience showing their appreciation with an immediate standing ovation.
This full programme of Vivaldi was a joyful culmination of months of hard work and dedication from all of the performers as well as SBMF team who worked tirelessy in the background. Viva Vivaldi and SBMF!
Viva Vivaldi! SBMF Chorus, Vespres D'arnadi, Sharon Carty, Sarah Shine, Sarah Kilcoyne, Aoife NicAthlaoich, Drumcliffe Children’s Choir
Viva Vivaldi!
Viva Vivaldi! Click HERE for tickets
Tickets €25. Under-18s half price with Go See.
Note : There will be NO tickets available at the door for this event, all tickets must be pre-booked.
Join us for the Sligo Baroque Music Festival’s Gala closing concert, dedicated to the music of Vivaldi, and featuring the debut performance of the Sligo Baroque Music Festival Chorus! Also featuring Dani Espasa, Vespres D’arnadi, The Drumcliffe Children’s Choir, Sarah Shine, Sarah Kilcoyne, Aoife Nic Athlaoich and festival director Sharon Carty.
Harp masterclass : Siobhan Armstrong
Baroque Harp Masterclass with Siobhan Armstrong. Click HERE for tickets.
Tickets €5 U18 half-price with GoSee
Tickets are limited for this event, early booking is advised.
Siobhan Armstrong Lecture-Recital
SIOBHAN ARMSTRONG Lecture-Recital Click HERE for tickets
Tickets €15 U18 Half-price with GoSee
Don’t miss this fascinating journey into the origins of Ireland’s national instrument, and its relationship to the Baroque Harp, as one of the world’s most celebrated experts in Baroque and Early Irish Harp shares her vast knowledge, humour and experience.
Tickets are limited for this event, early booking is advised.
Sligo Baroque Orchestra
Music of the female imagination from 17th and 18th century Italy
Orla Shannon, Soprano
Sligo Baroque Orchestra
Rod Alston, Director and Harpsichord
Sligo Academy of Music concert
Sligo Academy of Music with Sligo Baroque Ochestra
Baroque Festival Concert Programme Click HERE to reserve a seat. Tickets free but booking essential
Young musicians from Sligo Academy of Music collaborate with the Sligo Baroque Orchestra to bring you a wonderful afternoon of music.
Les accents de passion
Florilegium Click HERE for tickets
Tickets €17 U18 Half-price with GoSee
Ashley Solomon, Flute/Director
Reiko Ichise, Viola da Gamba
Siobhan Armstrong, Harp
This programme explores the intimate, elegant sound-world of France and Italy in the 17th and early 18th centuries.
Borrowed, not stolen
WOODPECKERS RECORDER QUARTET
BORROWED, NOT STOLEN Click HERE for tickets
Caroline Eidsten Dahl
Clara Guldberg Ravn
Pernille Petersen
Kate Hearne
In this imaginative programme, the Scandinavian WOODPECKERS recorder quartet, including our own Kate Hearne, brings the audience through music by Baroque favourites, Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, woven together with music by Irish music giants such as O’Carolan and Ruaidhrí Dall Ó Catháin
Murder at Midnight Performance 2
MURDER AT MIDNIGHT Click HERE for tickets
Tickets €10 Adult €5 Child
Join us for the world premiere of Sligo Baroque Music Festival’s very first youth opera. Presented in collaboration with Festival in a Van, this Arts Council funded project has seen Sligo teens working together monthly with adult opera practitioners since January 2025, to create their very own opera from scratch.
Under the inspiring guidance of Anna Mullarkey (Composer), Molly Twomey (Librettist), Ute Engelhardt (Director) Claire Garvey (Designer), Sue Crawford (Props and Stage Management), James Riordan (Movement) and Sharon Carty (Singing) our young opera creators have written, composed, designed, created, problem-solved, rehearsed and worked together to bring you “MURDER AT MIDNIGHT”, a tale of murder, mystery, morality and humour.
Funded by the Arts Council of Ireland YPCE project award and supported by Irish Rail and The Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo.
Queen Maeve Square Community Concert (admission free)
WOODPECKERS RECORDER QUARTET Admission FREE, no booking required
Presented in association with FESTIVAL IN A VAN
Join the WOODPECKERS recorder quartet for a free lunchtime community concert for all ages.
Murder at Midnight Performance 1
MURDER AT MIDNIGHT Click HERE for tickets
Tickets €10 Adult €5 Child
Join us for the world premiere of Sligo Baroque Music Festival’s very first youth opera. Presented in collaboration with Festival in a Van, this Arts Council funded project has seen Sligo teens working together monthly with adult opera practitioners since January 2025, to create their very own opera from scratch.
Under the inspiring guidance of Anna Mullarkey (Composer), Molly Twomey (Librettist), Ute Engelhardt (Director) Claire Garvey (Designer), Sue Crawford (Props and Stage Management), James Riordan (Movement) and Sharon Carty (Singing) our young opera creators have written, composed, designed, created, problem-solved, rehearsed and worked together to bring you “MURDER AT MIDNIGHT”, a tale of murder, mystery, morality and humour.
Funded by the Arts Council of Ireland YPCE project award and supported by Irish Rail and The Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo.
Vivaldi’s Forest
Vivaldi’s Forest (Woodpeckers Recorder Quartet) Click HERE for tickets
Adult ticket €10, accompanying children 0-5 free
Suitable for children 0-5 years and accompanying adult.
Tickets are limited for this event, early booking is advised.
We are grateful to the Sligo Credit Union for their sponsorship o
The four virtuoso players of Woodpeckers present an exciting, choreographed performance of music written and arranged for the recorder spanning over 600 years, from the 15th to the 21st century. Throughout the concert, our young listeners get the chance to hear and see many different sizes of recorders at close range. Our aim is to inspire and ignite curiosity in our audience, giving them a long-lasting joy of live music.
The programme is presented without spoken word, where the instruments and music transport our young listeners to a magical forest, alive with birdsong, weaving a story of conflict, friendship & reconciliation through improvisation and carefully chosen works. Bach and Vivaldi are presented alongside old folk melodies and dance tunes from each of our respective countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Ireland. Excerpts from contemporary pieces, such as Chiel Mejlering’s ’Sitting Ducks’, inspired by bird and animal sounds, are tied together with improvised interludes. The concert concludes with a sombre rendition of Orazio Vecchi’s So ben, mi, c’ha bon tempo, first published in 1590. After the concert there will be time to meet the instruments and musicians.
FESTIVAL PASS
Festival Pass €100. Under-18s half price with Go See. Click HERE to purchase
The Festival Pass admits the holder to all events over the weekend of 26–28 September, at a saving of 20% on the standard ticket prices, and with the convenience of a single purchase.
Corelliana
VESPRES D’ARNADÍ and DANI ESPASA Click HERE for tickets
Tickets €25 U18 Half-price with GoSee
Programme includes music by Corelli, Scarlatti, G.F.Handel, Geminiani.