Concert: Andreea Banciu & Adrian Mantu (viola & cello)

Thursday, October 26, 2017 - 13:00
Riverstown Hall

Members of the renowned RTÉ Con Tempo String Quartet, husband-and-wife duo Andreea Banciu & Adrian Mantu, present a varied recital of music for viola and cello accompanied by MU resident accompanist Aileen Cahill. The programme will include works by Bruch, Paganini, and a Brahms trio.

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Biography

Dr Andreea BANCIU is the violist/founder of the RTÉ ConTempo Quartet, Galway Ensemble in Residence since 2003 & RTE Quartet in Residence since 2012. She is a lecturer in viola at DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama, Dublin (2017) and a chamber music visiting teacher at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, (2014). She studied viola with Bruno Giuranna, David Takeno, Piero Farulli & Valeriu Pitulac at the Royal Academy of Music in London (where she was holding a three years fellowship), University of Music in Bucharest (BMus), Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid (MA), Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, European Music Academy in Aix-en-Provence, Academia Chigiana in Siena, UL (MA) & CIT(MA).

Andreea has won 14 International Prizes in Chamber Music Competitions (including London, Munich, Berlin, Prague, Graz, Hamburg, Rome). She has performed over 2000 concerts around the world, in 42 countries (in venues such as Wigmore Hall London, Berlin Philharmonic, Tel-Aviv Opera House, Gedai Hall Tokyo, Théâtre de Chatelet Paris, NCH Dublin, Palazzo del Quirinale Rome, Auditorium Brussels, Konserthuset Stockholm, LA Beverly Hilton, Atheneum Bucharest, Waterfront Belfast), the Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Bartok & Shostakovich String Quartet Cycles and viola concertos (including Bach, Telemann, Mozart, Weber, Elgar,  Spohr, Williams & Howells).

Andreea had the honour to perform in front of great personalities (Michael D Higgins, Prince Charles, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, Nobel Prize Winners, EU Ministers & Hollywood Stars). 
Her connections with the film world include appearances in two movies as a supporting actress ("Trop tard", being selected for the Cannes Festival in France).
Last year Andreea was celebrating the 20th Anniversary of ConTempo Quartet through over 100 concerts in Ireland and abroad (including appearances in NCH, Wigmore Hall and Tours in UK, Romania, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Northern Ireland & Sweden).

Her latest album “New Airs” went straight to no 3 in the iTunes classical charts. Her recordings can be found on the Universal, Sony, Quartz, Deutsche Schallplatten & NMC labels.
On 10th June 2016 Andreea was awarded a Degree of Doctor of Music (honoris causa) by the the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG).