June 7th- Dr. Harry Meehan
Harry Meehan was born in Dublin. At the age of 16, Harry became one of the youngest ever organ scholars at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Harry accompanied the Cathedral choir regularly for their twelve weekly sung services, on the glorious Willis organ. Following a year in Truro Cathedral as Organ Scholar, Harry was awarded a scholarship to read music in the University of Oxford, where he was organ scholar in The Queen’s College. His duties in Oxford included conducting the famous Queen’s Chapel Choir as well as accompanying them on the world-renowned Frobenius organ. In addition, he worked with the boys and men of the choir of St. Giles’ Church, as their Senior Organ Scholar, and was organist to the Christ Church College Choir and Assistant Organist at Hertford College. At the age of 21, Harry was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists.
After graduating from Oxford, Harry moved to New Zealand where he worked for some years as Assistant Organist of Christchurch Cathedral. In New Zealand, he enjoyed a busy freelance career as an orchestral keyboard player, accompanist, and teacher before returning to Ireland in 2019.
Harry has played live on national TV and radio, and has been involved in numerous recordings. He has played in all major classical venues in Ireland and with major ensembles such as the RTE Concert Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment the Oxford Bach Soloists. In his spare time Harry works as a medical doctor.
June 14th – Rónán Murray
A native of Dublin, Rónán Murray was born into a musical family and is a third generation organist and pianist. Having studied organ under Peter Sweeney at the DIT Conservatory of Music, he was awarded associateships of The Royal College of Organists and Trinity College London. Rónán is titular organist of St. Joseph’s church, Glasthule, where he presides over one of the country’s finest instruments. Past performances include engagements in such venues as St. Sulpice, Paris, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, St. John’s Cathedral, Newfoundland, and Lodz Cathedral, Poland. 2015 saw Rónán performing in Galway Cathedral as part of their summer recital series. Rónán is very active as a freelance organist, pianist and accompanist, and composes music ranging from organ and choral pieces to contemporary songs.
He also works in musical theatre. With an especial love for improvisation, he plays music in almost any genre and has in recent years created improvised scores to accompany silent movies, which have proven especially popular with audiences, opening up the organ to many new listeners. In November 2018, Rónán was invited to play the organ for the inauguration of the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, in Dublin Castle. As an associate artist and committee member of Pipeworks, Dublin’s international organ and choral festival, Rónán opened the 2019 festival with an improvised score to Murnau’s classic silent film, Nosferatu, in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, making full use of the cathedral’s mighty Willis pipe organ. September 2022 saw Rónán perform a recital in Wattenscheid, Germany.
June 28th – Judit Máté
Judit Máté is a Hungarian-born organist, church musician, and choral conductor currently based in Ireland. She began studying the organ at the age of fourteen under the guidance of local organist Edit Sabján. In 2006, she earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Church Music in Hungary, and later completed a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance at TU Conservatoire, Dublin, in 2016. Her organ studies in Ireland were mentored by Simon Harden, Siobhán Kilkelly, Colm Carey, and David Adams.
In 2011, Judit founded the St Jude’s Chamber Orchestra and Concert Choir, a project-based amateur ensemble that performed a diverse repertoire, including works by Hungarian composers as well as Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Mozart, and Rheinberger. Since 2022, she is the musical director of the Trim-based Credo Vocal Ensemble.
Judit is currently the organist at St Michael’s Church in Dún Laoghaire and also serves as the artistic director of the Dún Laoghaire Summer Organ Concerts. In addition, she is the organist of the Church of the Divine Word, Marley Grange. As a recital organist, she has performed in Hungary, Ireland and France.
