Founded in 2013, Hard Rain is a world class group of musicians based in Belfast, dedicated to the performance of modern and contemporary music.

Northern Ireland's cutting edge contemporary music ensemble.

SEASON

2024/25

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Programme

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HARD RAIN SOLOISTENSEMBLE

Coming up

Spring 2025

Cityside Sessions

An exciting new residency at Cityside Retail & Leisure Park. Expect live performances, workshops, talks, sound art, improvisation, and VR experiences...

19th May 2025

Belfast to Beijing

At Beijing Modern Music Festival - HRSE seeks common ground between two distinct musical cultures, through music inspired by folk history, culture and heritage.

30th May 2025

The Folds of Time

In Association with Ulster Touring Opera, this Irish/French programme presents four pieces, each remarkably haunting in its own individual way.

Hard Rain News

We are delighted to announce a new residency at Cityside Retail & Leisure Park, supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts & Business NI, and Cityside. This initiative aims to bring contemporary music, visual art, and immersive experiences to a wider audience through an engaging and innovative program.
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We are thrilled to announce our participation in this Summer's New Music Biennial festival in Bradford and London, in collaboration with innovative composer-pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett.
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Hard Rain are delighted to be participating in British Council's UK/Poland Season 2025, a groundbreaking initiative that celebrates the depth and diversity of cultural exchange between our two nations.
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We are delighted to announce HRSE’s Featured Young Artists for our 2024/25 season. We are very much looking forward to working with these talented young musicians and offering performance opportunities and mentorship in the season ahead.
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We are delighted to announce the recipients of our ‘Ink Still Wet’ commissioning scheme for our 2024/25 season. This scheme is supported by PRS Foundation as part of our Talent development network programme and offers paid commissions to early-career composers which will be performed by Hard Rain in our Ink Still Wet concert this season.
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Releases

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Season 24/25 brochure

Discover everything we have planned for this season by downloading our interactive brochure, or pick up a physical copy at one of our concerts.

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Gráinne Mulvey

The Tyndall Effect

Hard Rain peform on acclaimed composer, and close collaborator, Gráinne Mulvey's compelling collection of works, released on Métier 2024.

Buy at Metier

Greg Caffrey

Environments

HRSE Founder and 2023/24 featured composer Greg Caffrey releases album of orchestral works on Divine Art 2024. Featuring HRSE pianist Daniel Browell under the baton of Sinead Hayes.

Buy at Divine Art

HRSE Debut Album

A Terrible Beauty

Released on Diatribe Records in 2021.

A former Guardian pick of the week with works by eleven Irish composers, it is “...an extraordinary demonstration of the sheer range of colour it is possible to extract from this type of ensemble... in terms of performance standard and range of music commissioned, this CD set makes one look forward with anticipation to Hard Rain’s second decade promoting Irish composition.” (The Journal of Music)

Buy at Diatribe

Piers Hellawell

Up by the Roots

Hard Rain give a "delightfully puckish performance of Ground Truthing" (The Scotsman) on Hellawell's Up by the Roots. Released on Delphian 2020.

Buy at Delphian

Funders & partners

Discover More As a Member

The achievements of the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble reflect the core values of the Arts Council’s strategic plan, ‘Championing the Arts 2024-34’, particularly in their ambition to develop and showcase chamber music that is experimental, innovative and excellent. As principal investor through our National Lottery funds, we are proud to support another outstanding programme from one of the most interesting and dynamic ensembles currently performing anywhere on these islands.

Ciaran Scullion

Head of Music and Opera: Arts Council Northern Ireland

Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble have played a vital role in creating programmes and composer development schemes that ensure that music creators and new music audiences are at the centre of efforts. They work tirelessly to offer transformative support to composers and reach new audiences for the benefit of all involved. The impact of their work locally, nationally and internationally is clear for all to see.

Becci Scotcher

Senior Grants & Programmes Manager: PRS Foundation