Composer

Éna Brennan

Biography

Éna Brennan is a Dublin-based composer, arranger, violinist and graphic designer, originally from Brussels. Since moving to Dublin she has obtained a BA in Music and Drama and an MPhil in Composition from Trinity College Dublin, and collaborated with a vast array of artists, weaving in between many of the layers of the Irish music scene. Over the years she has had her work performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Dulciana Vocal Ensemble, Tonnta Vocal Ensemble, New Dublin Voices and Mornington Singers. Éna's main musical outlet is her experimental solo project Dowry – with violin and electronics at its core. Pre-pandemic she would find herself performing on stage almost weekly, whether it be as Dowry, a session violinist or with her quartet Dowry Strings. Notable collaborators include Christian Löffler and Bell X1, with whom she has toured extensively across Ireland and abroad. Her most recent commissions include a micro-opera for the Irish National Opera project 20 Shots of Opera and an arrangement of O Holy Night performed by Lisa Hannigan, Loah and members of the RTÉ NSO for RTÉ One's Christmas at Home. This year she has received the Established Composer Award to create a new work in partnership with Sounding the Feminists and the National Concert Hall, a Music Bursary and Agility Award from the Arts Council to create new work, as well as funding from the Music Industry Stimulus Package to record her debut album.

September 2021

Image credit Stephen White