Thursday 14th August 2025
Location: Cleere’s Theatre
8 — 13 August 2025
Set Theatre
Wheelchair accessible
Two outstanding musical adventurers join forces this year to curate this exciting residency project that sees them collaborate with special guests on a series of one-off concerts. Festival regular and Artistic Director of Crash Ensemble Kate Ellis has long been at the forefront of contemporary music in Ireland, while the Grammy Award-winning polymath Francesco Turrisi makes a long-awaited return to KAF with a series of concerts exploring everything from chamber music to jazz.
As well as performing in each other’s concerts, Ellis and Turrisi also throw open their rehearsal rooms, offering a unique opportunity to glimpse new work in the making. Keep an eye on our social media channels for details!
Niwel Tsumbu & Francesco Turrisi with guest Kate Ellis
8 Aug. 7pm
Francesco Turrisi connects with Congolese guitar virtuoso Niwel Tsumbu for a very special concert that explores their shared influences and passions, from Brazilian acoustic music to flamenco via the Mediterranean and central Africa.
Colin Dunne, Joanna Mattrey, Kate Ellis & Francesco Turrisi
10 Aug. 2pm
Viola player Joanna Mattrey is a musician who continually expands the sonic terrain of her instrument. She opens this concert with a mix of commissioned and original pieces for solo viola, including the Irish premieres of ‘A Fleeting Once’ by Nick Dunston and her own composition, ‘Beholden’, before being joined by Ellis, Turrisi and Colin Dunne, the extraordinary dance artist who has been redefining Irish dance for years, for a special collaboration that blurs the boundaries between sound and movement, tradition and improvisation.
Rakhi Singh
11 Aug. 2.30pm
Violinist Rakhi Singh is shaped by musical curiosity and collaboration, from chamber ensembles to genre-crossing projects. As co-founder of Manchester Collective, Rakhi thrives on breaking down musical boundaries.
TRE
11 Aug. 7.30pm
Turrisi and Ellis are joined by saxophone virtuoso Nick Roth to form TRE, an original trio re-imagining both original compositions and Mediterranean modal music through contemporary chamber music, jazz and improvisation.
Vuci: work-in-progress show
12 Aug. 2.30pm
In this storytelling show, Francesco Turrisi explores his Sicilian roots through original piano compositions that reflect on the idea of migration: both of his family away from the island, and the more recent arrival of migrants from North Africa. The show features not only Francesco’s own voice and music, but also the voices of Sicilian people recorded during the 1940s and 50s, as well as pre-recorded poetry read in Sicilian by Ester Pantano and Nino Provenzano, and in English by celebrated actor John Turturro.
Francesco Turrisi, Matt Jacobson, Fulvio Sigurta & Derek Whyte
12 Aug. 9pm
Turrisi reimagines 17th-century Italian music in the context of contemporary European jazz, with help from Derek Whyte on bass, Matt Jacobson on drums and Italian trumpet virtuoso Fulvio Sigurta.
Kate Ellis, Colm Mac
Organisers Website
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