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Newry Chamber Music will present an afternoon of string sextets at Carlingford Heritage Centre on Sunday 15 November 2026 at 2pm with Violinist Stephanie Gonley leading The Fews Ensemble for the concert. The programme includes the world premiere of a new composition by Newry composer Amy Rooney.
Newry Chamber Music explains that the premiere continues its commitment to championing contemporary musical voices alongside the great masterpieces. The works on the programme are Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Brahms’s String Sextet in G major and the opening sextet from Richard Strauss’s opera Capriccio.
Stephanie Gonley has had an international career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader, and is best known for her longstanding role as Leader of the English Chamber Orchestra. She will be joined by violinist Joanne Quigley McParland, violists Rose Redgrave and Joel Hunter, and cellists Jonathan Aasgaard and Nick Trygstad. All are internationally accomplished chamber musicians, and the six bring experience from orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world.
Joanne Quigley McParland, Artistic Director of Newry Chamber Music, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Stephanie Gonley to lead The Fews Ensemble. She is a phenomenal musician with an extraordinary international career, and someone I have had the great fortune of working alongside for many years in the English Chamber Orchestra. To welcome her to Carlingford to perform with The Fews Ensemble is particularly special.
"The string sextet repertoire is among the most beautiful and emotionally powerful music ever written. With six exceptional musicians, these works have an incredible richness of sound, but also the intimacy and immediacy that make chamber music so exciting.
She concluded: "It’s a wonderful opportunity for audiences to experience world-class music right on their doorstep.”
The concert gives local audiences a chance to hear an artist of Gonley’s calibre in the setting of the historic Carlingford Heritage Centre.
It forms part of Newry Chamber Music’s 2026-27 season, which celebrates the tenth anniversary of The Fews Ensemble and features internationally renowned artists at venues in the region.
Tickets are available at newrychambermusic.org.
