National Concert Hall Bestows Lifetime Achievement Award 2024 on Celebrated Irish Mezzo-Soprano DAME ANN MURRAY at Gala Concert in her Honour

Media Release 6th December 2024

The National Concert Hall (NCH) is delighted to announce celebrated Irish mezzo-soprano Dame Ann Murray as its Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for 2024. The award will be presented to Dame Murray at a special gala concert paying tribute to her career and life in music hosted by RTÉ’s Sean Rocks and featuring special guest soloists together with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Peter Whelan at the National Concert Hall on the 30th of January 2024, 7.30pm. 

The evening will feature musical selections from the operas of Handel and Mozart, as well as traditional folksongs in a programme that has special meaning to Ann. It includes guest appearances by some of the young artists whose careers Ann has helped nurture over the years, including: countertenor Cameron Shabazi, tenor Robin Tritschler, baritone Armand Rabot, and pianist Dearbhla Collins.  

     Ann Murray, mezzo-soprano said: 

“Reflecting on my career, it has been an enormous honour and privilege to sing all over the world. In what I  have achieved, I have never forgotten my proud Irish heritage. I feel honoured to receive the National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award and look forward to celebrating it at the NCH in the New Year”. 

Robert Read, CEO of the National Concert Hall commented

“The NCH Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2012 to recognise and celebrate the significant contribution that Irish artists have had on Irish musical life both at home and abroad. For 2024, it is our great honour to bestow the award on such a deserving and talented recipient as mezzo-soprano Ann Murray. For over 50 years Ann has carved out a truly unique career performing in the great opera houses and concert halls of the world. She has been pioneering in her ambition, paving the way for young Irish singers, while also representing Ireland and its culture through her many performances on international stages. We look forward to celebrating her contribution to Irish musical life with this award at a special gala concert in her honour”. 

Celebrated worldwide for her remarkable portrayals of the iconic mezzo-soprano roles in the operas of Handel, Mozart, and Strauss, her unforgettable performances have graced the stages of renowned theatres in cities such as London, Paris, Hamburg, Dresden, Brussels, Berlin, Cologne, Zurich, Amsterdam, and New York. She has close links with both the English National Opera, for whom she has sung the title roles in Handel’s Xerxes and Ariodante and Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, and with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where her roles have included Cherubino, Dorabella, Donna Elvira, Rosina, Octavian, new productions of L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, Ariadne auf Naxos, Idomeneo, Mitridate, Re di Ponto, Cosi fan Tutte, Mosé in Egitto, Alcina and Giulio Cesare.

Amongst her many accolades, in 2002 Dame Murray was appointed an honorary Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the Golden Jubilee Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to music. In 2004 she was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit and in 2007 the Wigmore Hall Gold Medal. She also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the National University of Ireland (awarded to her in 1997).

Previous recipients of the National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award include: The Chieftains (2012), flautist Sir James Galway (2013), singer and educator Dr Veronica Dunne (2014), singer/songwriter Paul Brady (2015), The Vanbrugh Quartet (2016), pianist John O’Conor (2017), singer/songwriter Shane McGowan (2018), composer John Kinsella (2019), and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (2022), awarded posthumously. 

National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award 2024: Dame Ann Murray
Tuesday 30th January 2024, 7.30pm at the National Concert Hall 

Tickets: On - Sale Friday 8th December 10am

€20, €29.50, €37.50, €45 (10% Discount for NCH Friends and Groups of 10 or more).

www.nch.ie

ENDS

Media Queries: Sinead Doyle, Marketing & PR Manager, National Concert Hall (087-1775334) or Roisin Dwyer, PR & Publications Executive, National Concert Hall (085-7129628).

About the National Concert Hall

The National Concert Hall (NCH) has an ambition to be one of the world’s great centres for music, a centre which will be a symbol of national pride for Irish people everywhere. But above all, a centre for music which will enable the NCH to best deliver on its statutory remit for music, the arts, for culture and for our nation.  

Based in the heart of Dublin City Centre, the NCH is Ireland's National Cultural Institution for music hosting in excess of 1,000 events each year pre-pandemic. World-class music and entertainment for all ages is at the heart of its offering, enriching people's lives through music and the magic of live performance. It is the proud home to the National Symphony Orchestra, who perform their annual season of symphonic and classical music alongside more popular and lunchtime concerts throughout the year.  The NCH is also host to a number of Ireland's music development bodies including: Music Network, Music Generation and NCH associate ensembles, Chamber Choir Ireland, Irish Baroque Orchestra and Crash Ensemble, who together with the National Symphony Orchestra secures the National Concert Hall's position as a national centre for the performance, appreciation and enjoyment of music in Ireland.