Esker Festival Orchestra and Choir 2025

We are delighted to announce that the 2025 edition of the Esker Festival
will take place between August 15th and 24th.

For the first time this years festival will consist two parts!
This gives musicians the option of participating in one or both of the exciting programs!
Those programs are:

August 15th to 18th: 'The Creation' Joseph Haydn's Magnum Opus
The Esker Festival Orchestra and Choir with one performance in Galway on August 18th.

August 19th to 24th: 'Transfigurations' Orchestral Masterworks
Performances in Galway and Dublin on August 23rd and 24th

Richard Wagner - Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Igor Stravinsky - Firebird 1919 Suite
Richard Strauss - Death and Transfiguration

For information about joining the Esker Festival Orchestra or Choir please visit our Applications and F.A.Qs pages.
For details of which opportunities are available for composers visit our Composers page
Details of our concerts and ticket information will be found on the Events Page

Esker Festival Orchestra 2024

Gustav Holst - ‘The Planets’

Esker Festival Orchestra’s 10th Anniversary Celebration

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 2
“Resurrection”

This project featured the largest orchestra in our history and for the first time the newly formed
Esker Festival Choir which was be made up of singers of all ages from all over Ireland.
From August 14th to 20th 2023, we were once again be resident in the beautiful surrounds of the University of Galway and performed concerts in Galway and Dublin, with soloists from the Irish National Opera Studio Madeline Judge and Kathleen Nic Dhiarmada under the baton of founder and director Peter Joyce.

Esker Festival Orchestra 2022

Esker Festival Orchestra 2021

To learn a little more about the beginnings of the orchestra, meet some players or see some highlights from our Film music concert in 2015 why not check out this video from our good friends at the Galway Film Fleadh!