Kate Ellis and Francesco Turrisi – come together at Kilkenny Arts Festival in a series of exciting musical collaborations with renowned musicians and artists

Kilkenny Arts Festival is celebrated as a space where artists can explore new collaborations, bringing together musicians, dancers and artists from across the artistic spectrum. This residency by Kate Ellis and Francesco Turrisi as part of KAF 2025 will give audiences the chance to both witness the collaborations evolving off stage in the rehearsal room, and on stage in a series of performances from 8-13 August at the Set Theatre. 

Kate Ellis, the renowned cellist and Artistic Director of Crash Ensemble, returns to the Kilkenny Arts Festival (KAF) next month in a collaboration with Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi which will see them being joined by a number of renowned artists and musicians for a series of one-off performances. The residency according to Ellis centres around ‘bringing together extraordinary artists who live and create in the spaces between genre, tradition and discipline’.

The residency offers a unique opportunity to glimpse new work in the making, as the public will be invited into the rehearsal room as new collaborations come to life. Details of when these will take place will be posted on KAF social media channels. 

Performance schedule:

8 August: Niwel Tsumbu & Francesco Turrisi with Guest Kate Ellis

The residency kicks off on 8 August with a performance that brings them together with Congolese guitar virtuoso Niwel Tsumbu. This concert explores a rich tapestry of shared influences and passions, from Brazilian acoustic music to flamenco.

10 August: Colin Dunne, Joanna Mattrey, Kate Ellis & Francesco Turrisi

Joanna Mattrey opens this performance with solo viola pieces, including the Irish premieres of Nick Dunston’s “A Fleeting Once” and her own composition “Beholden.” The four artists then come together for a performance that blurs the boundaries between sound and movement, tradition and improvisation.

11 August: TRE – Francesco Turrisi, Nick Roth, Kate Ellis

Joined by Nick Roth, Kate and Nick will then become TRE, an original trio that reimagines Mediterranean modal music through the lens of contemporary chamber music, jazz, and improvisation.

12 August: Francesco Turrisi, Matt Jacobson, Fulvio Sigurta & Derek White

With help from Derek Whyte on bass, Matt Jacobson and drums and Italian trumpet virtuoso Fulvio Sugurta, Francesco reimagines 17^th – century Italian music in the context of contemporary European jazz.

12 August: Vuci –  work-in-progress show

In this storytelling show Francesco Turrisi explores his Sicilian roots not only through original piano compositions that reflect one the idea of migration, but also through recorded poetry read in Sicilian and English. 

13 August: Kate Ellis, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Rakhi Singh & Simmy Singh

This unique residency culminates on 13 August when Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Rakhi Singh, and Simmy Singh, three musicians steeped in tradition but driven by curiosity,  join Kate to create an alternative string quartet. The evening will open with a solo performance by Colm.

Booking open now online at kilkennyarts.ie