Drogheda Classical Music has unveiled its 2026/27 season, with international opera stars, celebrated musicians and a brand-new two-day Beethoven festival among the highlights coming to the town.
The programme will run from September 2026 until April 2027 at St Peter’s Church of Ireland and will feature soprano Miah Persson, pianist Joe Middleton, the Irish Baroque Orchestra, guitarist Seán Shibe and pianist Roman Rabinovich.
The season will open on September 11 when internationally renowned soprano Miah Persson makes her Drogheda Classical Music debut alongside acclaimed pianist Joe Middleton for an evening of opera and song.
Artistic Director Dr Gavan Ring said the organisation was “enormously excited” about the new programme.
“Our ambition at Drogheda Classical Music is very simple: to bring extraordinary artists and extraordinary music to Drogheda, and I think this season demonstrates that ambition more strongly than ever,” he said.
“To open with an artist of Miah Persson’s international stature alongside the wonderful Joe Middleton is incredibly exciting, while welcoming the Irish Baroque Orchestra and Peter Whelan for Bach’s Christmas Oratorio will make for a truly special Christmas event.”
On October 27, Irish clarinettist John Finucane will return to Drogheda alongside pianist Fergal Caulfield and cellist Martin Johnson, with a programme featuring Beethoven and Brahms.
Uzbekistan-born pianist Roman Rabinovich will make his Irish debut on November 13 with a programme ranging from Rameau to Ravel.
A major Christmas concert will take place on December 12 when Olivier Award-winning conductor Peter Whelan returns with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, international soloists and the Irish Baroque Orchestra Chorus for a performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.
The programme continues into 2027, with soprano Claudia Boyle joined by tenor Cathal McCabe and pianist Rebecca Warren on January 22 for an evening of opera, song and Irish favourites.
Guitarist Seán Shibe will make his Drogheda Classical Music debut on February 19, performing music by Rodrigo, Dowland and Thomas Adès.
One of the major additions to the programme is BeethovenFest 2027, a new two-day festival taking place on March 19 and 20.
The festival will feature talks, workshops and interactive sessions before culminating in a gala concert featuring Irish pianists Finghin Collins and Dida Condria.
Dr Ring said organisers want BeethovenFest to go beyond the traditional concert experience and provide audiences of all ages with different ways of exploring Beethoven’s music.
“It will also celebrate the brilliance of Irish pianism and the jewel in Drogheda’s musical crown – our incredible Steinway piano,” he said.
The season will conclude on April 16 when internationally acclaimed tenor Dean Power and pianist-composer James Hurley present The Great Irish Poets Songbook.
The concert will reimagine Irish art song through settings of works by writers including James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, Fanny Parnell, Oscar Wilde and Katharine Tynan.
Drogheda Classical Music’s pre-concert talks will also return, beginning at 7pm ahead of performances at 7.30pm.
All concerts will take place at St Peter’s Church of Ireland in Drogheda.