The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is an Irish classical music ensemble, administratively based at the University of Limerick. János Fürst founded the ICO in 1963.[1] The ICO consisted only of strings as its regular ensemble for many years, adding wind, brass and percussion players on a freelance basis when needed. The ICO was reformed in 1970 under the name of the New Irish Chamber Orchestra and the principal conductorship of André Prieur.[2] The orchestra first toured North America in 1978. In 1995, the orchestra was again reconstituted, reverting to its original name of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.[3]
Since May 2022, Thomas Zehetmair has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Partner of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.[4]
Irish composers who have worked with the orchestra include Frank Corcoran,[5][6] Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin,[7][8][9] and Bill Whelan.[10]
Plectrum & Bow, a CD release, marked a collaborative recording with US composer and guitarist Steve Mackey.[11] It features his Concerto for Violin and Strings, Four Iconoclastic Episodes, which was jointly commissioned by the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, University of Notre Dame, US. Other recordings include Night Moves, conducted by Gérard Korsten,[12] and Hommage, which features works by Irish composer John Kinsella.[13][14]
It owns a custom built studio, which has been acoustically modelled, on campus at UL, Limerick.[15]