News
NOVEMBER 2023: ARTS COUNCIL MUSIC BURSARY
Finola has been awarded a generous Music Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland, which is funding an evening-length multimedia work for NYC-based ensemble W4RP. This new piece, for violin, cello, piano, drums, electronics and video projection, will be premiered in 2025.
NOVEMBER 2023: CIVITELLA RANIERI FELLOWSHIP, ITALY
Finola has been selected as a Music Fellow for the 2024–25 season at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation. She will six weeks at Civitella this summer, working on a new work for orchestra and an evening-length work for W4RP.
JANUARY 2023: THE WASHINGTON POST: “23 for ‘23 – COMPOSERS AND PERFORMERS TO WATCH THIS YEAR”
Finola is selected as a composer to watch in 2023, in Michael Brodeur’s article in the Washington Post. He writes that her album Tús is a “wild ride,” and that her string trio, Do You Hear Me Now? “barges in like a tornado of barbed wire before slowly, systematically undoing itself.”
JANUARY 2023: TÚS REVIEWED IN THE WIRE
Finola’s 2022 album, Tús, in collaboration with Desdemona, is reviewed in the January edition of The Wire (issue number 467):
“edgy and discomforting yet exciting and distinctive.”
“Merivale’s intensity generates its own idiosyncratically expressive forms.”
OCTOBER 2022: I CARE IF YOU LISTEN’S “5 QUESTIONS TO…”
Finola is featured in I Care If You Listen with 5 questions about her work and her new album, Tús, released with Desdemona. They speak about imagery, a sense of place, energy and the climate crisis.
SEPTEMBER 2022: “ENERGY AT THE CORE” – TÚS REVIEWED IN JOURNAL OF MUSIC
Brendan Finan reviews Tús: “It’s energy that’s at the core of this music. Whether that’s the charging, relentless drive of Do You Hear Me Now? or the stored electricity of The Silent Sweep as You Stand Still. The energy of her music may have changed across the ten-year span covered by the album, but it shows little sign of letting up.”
SEPTEMBER 2022: VIRTUAL REALITY COMMUNITY OPERA OUT OF THE ORDINARY/ AS AN nGNÁCH OPENS IN DUBLIN FRINGE FESTIVAL
Finola’s VR opera, commissioned by Irish National Opera and developed with three communities around Ireland, premieres at the Dublin Fringe Festival. The creative team also includes Jo Mangan (director) and Jody O’ Neill (librettist). Out of the Ordinary/ As an nGnách is part of the EU-funded Traction project.
JUNE 2022: RELEASE OF DEBUT PORTRAIT ALBUM TÚS, AND NAMED “THE BEST CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL ON BANDCAMP, JUNE 2022”
Finola’s first portrait album, Tús, is released by New Focus Recordings. The album was recorded by Finola’s close collaborators, NYC-based ensemble Desdemona.
Tús features five pieces for a selection of strings, piano and electronics, composed over the past ten years, including some of her very early works.
Tús was engineered and co-produced by Mike Tierney. Tamzin Merivale designed the cover art.
The album was made possible by Sounding the Feminists and National Concert Hall’s Music Recording Award.
MARCH 2022: RELEASE OF PATHOS TRIO’S NEW ALBUM “WHEN DARK SOUNDS COLLIDE” WHICH FEATURES FINOLA’S WORK OBLIVIOUS/OBLIVION.
Pathos Trio’s debut album for piano and percussion features Finola’s commission for them, oblivious/oblivion. The album is released on the New Focus Recordings label. The album has been reviewed by The Whole Note and Music City Review.
FEBRUARY 2022: INTERVIEW ON BBC RADIO 3’S NEW MUSIC SHOW
Finola was interviewed on the New Music Show on BBC Radio 3 in February. She spoke about her new single with ~Nois Saxophone Quartet, "Kenopsia". The New Music Show is presented by Tom Service.
FEBRUARY 2022: ~NOIS QUARTET RELEASE KENOPSIA
Chicago-based saxophone quartet ~Nois releases Finola’s 2016 work Kenopsia by Finola Merivale. It was recorded in the Shiny Things Studio by Mike Tierney in Brooklyn. Cover art by Tamzin Merivale. Listen here.
NOVEMBER 2021: INTERVIEW ON RTE LYRIC FM
Finola was interviewed by Elizabeth Hilliard for the RTE Lyric FM series "How the world begins again". You can listen back here.
NOVEMBER 2021: IRISH TOUR OF RELEASE, PERFORMED BY TAMSIN WALEY-COHEN AND GEORGE XIAOYUAN FU
Music Network presents a tour of Finola’s commission Release for violin and piano. Concerts are happening in multiple locations around Ireland. Please see events page for more info.
JUNE 2021: OUT OF THE ORDINARY/AS AN nGNÁCH WINS THE 2021 FEDORA DIGITAL PRIZE
Irish National Opera wins the 2021 Fedora Digital Prize for Finola’s upcoming community opera in virtual reality, Out of the Ordinary/As an nGnách. The opera is in development and will be premiered in 2022.
FEBRUARY 2021: FINOLA MERIVALE ANNOUNCED THE WINNER OF THE NATIONAL CONCERT HALL/SOUNDING THE FEMINISTS’ MUSIC RECORDING AWARD.
Finola was named the winner of the Music Recording Award, as part of the National Concert Hall and Sounding the Feminist's 2021 Commissioning Scheme. This award enables her to produce her first album, which will be recorded by Desdemona in New York this year. The album will be released by New Focus Recordings in 2022.
DECEMBER 2020: PREMIERE OF SUSURRUS AS PART OF NATIONAL SAWDUST’S DIGITAL DISCOVERY FESTIVAL.
Finola was amongst the winners of National Sawdust’s New Works Commission Competition in August 2020. For her resulting commission, she composed Susurrus for alto flute and cello. It was premiered by Brandon Patrick George and Jeffrey Zeigler as part of the Digital Discovery Festival. You can watch the concert here.
SEPTEMBER 2020: FINOLA JOINS THE “EVERYBODY HITS” CONSORTIUM FOR NEW WORKS FOR PERCUSSION
Finola joins the “Everybody Hits” commissioning project alongside a stellar group of composers to create six new works for percussion ensemble, aimed to be accessible for a wide range of ages and ability levels. The project is spearheaded by percussionist Adam Groh.
