Welcome to the third episode of IMC’s weekly BAN BAM podcast, where we explore creative work from inspiration to execution, through conversations with a host of women working in jazz and creative improvised music today.
Our guest on the show today is Úna Monaghan, a harpist, sound artist and composer from Belfast, and one of three recipients of the BAN BAM commissioning award in 2020.
We talk about the exciting new work she is developing for the BAN BAM commission award, and the parallels between training and playing music, and training and playing sport.
She also shares the many influences and outputs in her diverse creative life, beginning with her strong background in traditional Irish music, and her personal evolution as a musician, the importance of moving towards what sparks interest, definitions of a ‘folk instrument’ in the past and for the 21st century, as well as her work as a sound engineer internationally.
www.unamonaghan.com
Úna Monaghan is a harper, composer, researcher and sound artist from Belfast. Her recent work has combined traditional music with bronze sculpture, sound art and movement sensors. Her compositions have been presented on BBC and RTÉ television and radio, and in theatre productions, festivals and conferences internationally. She performs with harp and computer, and released an album of her compositions for Irish harp and electronics, named “For” in 2018.
Úna gained a PhD from the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast in 2015 and held the Rosamund Harding Research Fellowship in Music at Newnham College, University of Cambridge from 2016-2019. Her research examines the intersections between Irish traditional music, experimental music practices, improvisation and interactive technologies. In 2019 she received the inaugral Liam O’Flynn Award from the Arts Council of Ireland and the National Concert Hall, Dublin.
Úna recently published a paper on 'The Impact of Gender on Participation in Traditional Irish Music' as part of an extensive research on gender balance in traditional music in Ireland by Fair Plé.
Improvised Music Company (IMC) is an Irish Arts Council funded resource organisation for Irish and Irish-based jazz musicians, and a specialist promoter of jazz, improvised and ethnic music in Ireland.
BAN BAM is an activity which began in 2017 to develop and support the work of women in jazz and improvised music, particular female instrumentalists and composers which are underrepresented in this genre.
As well as this new podcast series, BAN BAM activities in 2020-21 includes the Commissioning Award from IMC in partnership with Moving On Music. Performances of the new works will be announced later in 2021.
The next BAN BAM Commissions will be awarded in 2022.
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Our podcast theme tune is a track by Irish jazz artist Justin Carroll's Togetherness.