70 for Jane (2016)

for String Quartet.

Duration 3 mins.

Premiere by Crash Ensemble, Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Ireland, 19th Nov 2025.

Programme Note

I composed this piece for Jane O’Leary’s 70th birthday in 2016. Jane is one of Ireland’s most prominent composers and she has been a mentor to me since she first programmed one of my works ‘Quirk No.1‘ for her ensemble Concorde in 2001. That performance was the first professional performance of my career as a composer! Jane subsequently became my PhD supervisor and was a wonderful guide to help me complete my thesis.

One of the most important figures in Irish modern classical music and a person of great company, Jane is someone I’ll always be very thankful for knowing.

The piece itself is a short 70 bar work for string quartet, one bar for each year of Jane’s then 70. The piece is based around some motifs from the first of Jane’s ‘Four Pieces for Guitar’ (1993). I ‘sample’ Jane’s motifs and use them for a variety of rhythmic and textural developments.