IBO to tour to USA in 2026, with Culture Ireland award
- irishbaroque
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
The Irish Baroque Orchestra has been awarded €35,000 by Culture Ireland to support concert performances in the USA in March 2026.
Countertenor Hugh Cutting joins the Irish Baroque Orchestra and Peter Whelan to present 'The Trials of Tenducci' in performances at Corpus Christi Church, NY (March 15th, for Music Before 1800) and the Anne & Ellen Fife Theatre at the Center for the Arts in Blacksburg, VA (March 17th, for Virginia Tech).
The USA performances will be preceded by performances at London's Wigmore Hall (March 9th), RIAM Dublin (March 11th) and University Concert Hall in Limerick (March 12th), kicking off the Irish Baroque Orchestra's 30th anniversary year. The USA tour is presented with corporate support from Global Dream Travel, taking the best of Ireland to the rest of the world.
'The Trials of Tenducci' extends the Tenducci story from the IBO's 2021 album of the same name, recorded with Tara Erraught, including expanded repertoire such as Mozart's early symphonies sitting alongside arias by Giordani, JC Bach, Arne, Mozart and Gluck. Famed among Irish audiences in the 1760s, Tenducci was very much the celebrity of his day. Known as the man who had once taught Mozart to sing, he caused scandal by eloping with the young daughter of a nobleman. Subsequently thrown into jail in Cork he was occasionally released to give performances to curious Irish audiences, fascinated by tales of his talent and disrepute.
Speaking on today's funding announcement, CEO Aliye Cornish Moore says "This incredibly generous commitment from Culture Ireland makes our long-held ambition of a USA tour a reality. With the IBO's performance calendar expanding to new heights in 2025 in light of our BBC Proms debut this August we are delighted to be taking the orchestra to New York and Virginia to start our 30th anniversary year. We simply can't wait to enchant audiences in the UK, Ireland and the USA with Tenducci's story, as we recreate this glorious programme under Peter Whelan's direction, with fantastic countertenor Hugh Cutting".
Details of the March concerts will appear on the IBO's website in early Autumn, with the full 30th anniversary season set for publication in January.
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