ABOUT US
The Ensemble
Aisling Agnew is a flautist from Belfast. She has performed internationally including prominent festivals such as Musicahora in Chile, National Flute Association’s 40th Convention at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Jeonju International Sori Festival in Korea, Sarajevo Winter Festival and also closer to home at New Music Dublin, the British Flute Convention in Manchester, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, and the Belfast International Festival. Aisling is host of the popular podcast The Flute NI and she has made many successful recordings, many of which have been broadcast on BBC Radio, RTE Lyric FM and Classic FM. Aisling is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is the recipient of many awards including the Countess of Munster, Arts Council of NI, Creative Scotland and Belfast Classical Music Bursaries. Aisling’s involvement in Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble reflects her continued passion for new music and working with composers. She has premiered and recorded many contemporary works for flute and highlights include performing for Sir Peter Maxwell Davies 80th birthday concert and giving the first performance in Scotland of Penderecki’s Flute Concerto. Aisling regularly performs with various orchestras in the UK and Ireland, she is a founding member of the Irish Memory Orchestra and also performs in Clyde Duo with Welsh Harpist Sharron Griffiths. Concerto performances include with Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and Camerata Ireland.
Daniel Browell enjoys a busy and varied performing career, having given recitals in the UK, Europe, China and North America. His debut recital at London’s Purcell Room in the Southbank Centre and concerto performance at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall received critical acclaim in the national press. Daniel particularly enjoys collaborative projects with instrumentalists and singers in addition to his work with the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble; he has performed with YCAT winner Kathryn Rudge at the Wigmore Hall and on many occasions since, and he has worked with the BBC Philharmonic on numerous occasions, including performing in the orchestra’s chamber music series in Salford. Other recent engagements have included projects with the Ulster Orchestra and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. After studying for his undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham, Daniel went on to study in Paris, London (Royal Academy of Music) and Chicago. Whilst then going on to become a Junior Fellow at the Royal Northern College of Music, he won numerous prizes and awards. Daniel is in great demand as a teacher; he has given masterclasses and has taught in China, Europe, the Middle East and America, and is highly regarded as an adjudicator. He was appointed Associate Head of Keyboard at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2014 and is currently a member of the jury and organising committee of the Dudley International Piano Competition.
David McCann was born in Belfast and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has worked with many of the U.K. and Ireland’s leading orchestras, including the Hallé Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra. David enjoys a busy and diverse performing career, appearing frequently as a soloist and chamber musician in addition to his orchestral work. Highlights of 2024 include performances with Cello Ireland as part of the Cellissimo festival in Galway, solo and duo performances at the inaugural TERRAIN festival of contemporary music in Belfast, a solo performance at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and collaborations with a number of local artists, including singer-songwriter Duke Special and guitarist Colin Reid. David is passionate about contemporary music and has given premiere performances of dozens of new works for cello. He is also active as a composer; in 2017 he was commissioned by HRSE to compose Three Caprices for solo cello. His Six Pieces for solo flute and Suite for solo cello received first performances in 2019, and his Reflexion for solo cello was premiered in 2022.
Sarah Watts studied clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music, and then solo bass clarinet at the Rotterdam Conservatorium. Sarah was awarded the Exxon prize for the best classical music student in Rotterdam and made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2016. Sarah has achieved an international reputation for her solo bass clarinet playing and has attracted composers such as Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Piers Hellawell and George Nicholson to write music for her. She has released numerous solo and chamber CDs playing on clarinet, basset horn, bass and contrabass clarinet. Sarah is Director of Music Performance at the University of Sheffield and has given masterclasses and workshops in many leading UK conservatoires and universities. She also runs an international solo bass clarinet course on the Isle of Raasay in Scotland and other courses for amateur musicians. Sarah performs extensively with SCAW (bass clarinet and piano duo) and rarescale (low flutes and clarinets). She has completed a PHD exploring bass clarinet multiphonics and published a book on the subject. Sarah is an Henri Selmer Paris artist, Vandoren Artist, and a Silverstein pro artist.
Guest artists
Conductors
Benjamin Haemhouts
Sinead Hayes
Paul Hoskins
Brian Irvine
Lilianna Krych
Matthew Lynch
Jonathan Mann
Matthew Quinn
Luka Venter
Instrumentalists
Richard Allen
Lina Andonovska
Cristo Barrios
Alexander Bernstein
Sasha Buettner
Ben Burnley
Yseult Cooper-Stockdale
William Curran
Stephen Davis
Andrew Douglas
Madeleine Easton
Zuzanna Edmonds
Scott Foster
Ben Gannon
Caimin Gilmore
Susie Griffin
Clare Hadwen
Rohan Harron
Feargus Hetherington
Thomas Jackson
Lidia Jewloszewicz-Clarke
Gongbo Jiang
Samuel Kane
Chris Kelly
Garth Knox
Aoife Magee
Keith McAlister
Ciaran McCabe
Roger McCann
Ronan McKee
Ciaran McQuaid
Darragh Morgan
Xenia Pestova Bennett
Alex Petcu
Marta Piórkowska
Eva Richards
Nicholas Rippon
Elias Rooney
Tristan Russcher
Fie Schouten
Laura Sinnerton
Sam Staunton
Claire Sterling
Jennifer Sturgeon
Grace Sun Park
Michael Trainor
Singers
Jenny Bourke
Rebekah Coffey
Malachy Frame
Elizabeth Hilliard
Aoife Miskelly
Rebecca Murphy
Rory Musgrave
Sarah Richmond
Lucy Schaufer
“A ground-breaking and dynamic ensemble” Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble is Northern Ireland’s cutting-edge contemporary music group. Well-known for their daring approach to programming and immersive performances, Hard Rain features a world-class group of unique musicians specialising in modern music.
Hard Rain have performed at major festivals such as Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Musicahora Festival (Chile), and Classical:NEXT in Berlin as well as closer to home at New Music Dublin, Sonorities Festival, Walled City Music and Belfast International Festival.
Having made their London debut at Southbank Centre in July, 2025/26 will see them perform extensively at home and abroad, on international stages across Europe, South America and Asia.
Hard Rain was founded by composer Greg Caffrey in 2013. They have given multiple premieres and through extensive commissioning (around 90 works to date), have developed a dedicated following for new music in their home city of Belfast and beyond. They feature on several successful recordings, including Up By the Roots (Delphian), The Tyndall Effect (Métier), GLOW (NMC), and their debut double CD A Terrible Beauty (Diatribe). 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...” (The Journal of Music)
As Ensemble-in-Residence at Queen’s University Belfast, Hard Rain are dedicated Industry Professionals and work closely with students throughout the various stages and aspects of their music development. Other outreach and talent development initiatives include Cityside Sessions (an inner city residency), NI Film Scoring School (with Dumbworld), Composer workshops (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Ulster University and St Andrews University), Belfast Conducting Workshop (with International Conducting Academy), Drake Music collaborations (VR instruments for musicians with additional needs), Ulster Touring Opera (performances and workshops), Ink Still Wet (Composer Talent Development programme with PRSf), and their long-standing association with Ulster Youth Orchestra. Hard Rain are proud to support a wide range of Northern Irish creatives, composers, performers and sound engineers, and they remain passionate about developing the creative industry at home.
“ Every once in a while, a group of likeminded artists come together and shake things up. They become the catalyst of something special, pushing the boundaries of creativity and taking their chosen art
form to new places and new heights. The only contemporary classical music repertoire ensemble in Northern Ireland, Hard Rain’s championing of innovative New Music is acknowledged as pioneering
on these islands … They have built new audiences for the music, performing works that we would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience live, and all to the highest possible standards. In doing so, they have reconnected Northern Ireland’s music making with the best of modern classical music from elsewhere in the world….”
Ciaran Scullion Head of Music and Opera at Arts Council N.I
Hard Rain’s mission is to give a platform and visibility to the vibrant community of creative musicians in Northern Ireland, imaginatively performing local composers alongside the leading exponents of contemporary music worldwide. The ensemble’s repertoire ranges from virtuosic solo and chamber pieces, multimedia music, graphic scores and improvisatory works, contemporary opera and more. They frequently explore cross collaboration with other artistic organisations including dance, visual arts and the written word.
“This was an intriguing recital featuring extraordinary virtuoso playing from the members of the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble.”
Robert Beattie Seen and Heard International
Hard Rain are passionate about bringing innovative Irish music to wider audiences on a worldwide platform and are looking forward to collaborations with other ground-breaking ensembles: Third Angle New Music (USA) in 2026, and Paramirabo (Canada) in 2027. The ensemble is excited to explore the possibilities of meaningful exchange and co-curation with other artistic organisations worldwide.
Our Story
Mason map
.png)
1
Use this space to explain the above number.
2
Use this space to explain the above number.
3
Use this space to explain the above number.
4
Use this space to explain the above number.
5
Use this space to explain the above number.
6
Use this space to explain the above number.