RIAM unveils 2026/2027 Programme of Events
A new season of performances, international artists, student talent and creative collaborations brings audiences together at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, with Beethoven’s 200th anniversary providing a major thread through the year.
Every day at the Royal Irish Academy of Music creates encounters: between student and teacher, artist and audience, tradition and innovation, Ireland and the wider world. RIAM’s 2026/2027 Programme of Events brings those encounters to the stage in a season celebrating exceptional artists, ambitious students and the connections that make music such a powerful part of our lives.
Beethoven 2027
At the heart of the programme is the 200th anniversary of the death of Ludwig van Beethoven in 2027. His music and legacy will be explored across the season through performances, talks, masterclasses and educational events, extending across both the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons.
The celebrations reach across RIAM’s artistic programme. Dublin Piano Series turns its attention to Beethoven across five concerts, while ChamberFest Dublin returns with Echoes of Beethoven, placing his revolutionary chamber works alongside music they inspired. Beethoven also features in programmes from RIAM Philharmonia, RIAM Chamber Orchestra and visiting international artists.
World-leading artists in Dublin
Wigmore Series Dublin returns for its fourth year through RIAM’s partnership with Wigmore Hall and the support of Clinch Wealth Management. Six concerts bring internationally renowned artists to the Whyte Recital Hall, including Angela Hewitt, Paul Lewis, the Pavel Haas Quartet, Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien, Nardus Williams and Elizabeth Kenny, and The Gesualdo Six. Visiting artists will also work with RIAM students through masterclasses, talks and open rehearsals.
RIAM Philharmonia presents three programmes during the season, with conductors Olivia Clarke, Kyriaki Kountouri and Fiona Monbet leading repertoire spanning Beethoven, Schubert, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and music from Scandinavia and Greece.
The season also sees a new RIAM/NSOI Orchestral Apprenticeship Side-by-Side Programme, created with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland and Bank of America to prepare outstanding young musicians for professional orchestral careers. In April 2027, Academy Artists will join NSOI musicians in performance under conductor Hans Graf, with violinist Randall Goosby.
Students at the centre
RIAM students remain at the centre of the Academy’s artistic life, appearing throughout the programme in concerts, competitions, festivals, masterclasses and collaborative projects. The season ranges from RIAM Opera’s double bill of Monteverdi’s Il ballo delle ingrate and the first staging of Falvetti’s Il diluvio universale, to performances by the RIAM Chamber Orchestra, Young Artists, Junior Academy musicians and the RIAM Students’ Union.
There is also a strong emphasis on collaboration and new artistic possibilities. RIAM’s international partnerships include work with the Liszt Academy, KUG Graz and HMT Leipzig, while the Academy will host the European Chamber Music Academy’s first Dublin session during ChamberFest Dublin in April. A new co-creative work led by composer Karen Power and created in collaboration with the Royal Hibernian Academy continues RIAM’s work bringing students and people living with a disability together in musical creation.
Across Ireland, the programme extends beyond Westland Row through the RIAM Exams Spotlight Awards, with regional concerts in Thurles, Navan, Ballina and Dublin before the Spotlight Gala Concert at RIAM in December.
Welcoming audiences to the new season, RIAM Director Deborah Kelleher reflects on an artistic programme built around the connections music makes between people, and invites audiences to join the Academy throughout the year “to live in music”.
Explore the full RIAM 2026/2027 Programme of Events and discover what’s on throughout the season at riam.ie/whats-on.