Pipeworks International Organ and Choral Festival 2026
We are delighted to announce the programme for the Pipeworks International Organ and Choral Festival Festival 2026, taking place from Wednesday June 10–21. Over twelve days, the festival welcomes celebrated artists from Ireland and abroad for concerts, recitals, premieres and masterclasses.
The 2026 Festival opens on Wednesday June 10 in the glorious surroundings of St Patrick’s Cathedral with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by Pipeworks' Artistic Director David Leigh, alongside internationally acclaimed organist Stephen Farr, the Pipeworks Festival Chorus and soloists Felicity Haywood, Sarah Thursfield, Rory Lynch and Eoghan Desmond. The programme includes Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, Leighton’s Organ Concerto and Mozart’s Requiem.
International guest artists Martin Schmeding and Sarah Kim appear across the festival alongside distinguished Irish organists David Adams, Peter Barley, David Bremner and Rónán Murray. We are also delighted to welcome Feis Ceoil 2026 Catherine McAuley Cup winner Nathan Whitley for a special lunchtime recital, and to present the return of the Young Organists’ Platform, showcasing emerging talent. Events take place at venues including St Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College Dublin’s Examination Hall, Sandford Parish Church, Adam and Eve’s Church and St Michael’s Church, Dún Laoghaire.
This year’s festival includes the world premiere of Christopher Fox’s The River and the Irish premiere of Morton Feldman’s Principal Sound, presented by David Bremner, alongside Rónán Murray’s Bloomsday recital at Adam and Eve’s Church. Earlier musical traditions also feature through a chant workshop led by Giovanna Feeley and a performance of Couperin’s Messe pour les Couvents with David Adams and Schola Hyberniae.
Pipeworks Festival is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
Festival partners include RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College Dublin, St Michael’s Church and Dún Laoghaire Organ Concerts, Sandford Parish Church and St Philip’s Milltown and the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Adam and Eve's).
Pipeworks
From its beginnings in 1980 as the Dublin International Organ & Choral Festival, Pipeworks has brought to Irish audiences a diverse programme of music-making with the organ at its centre, fully exploiting not only the wonderful range of instruments to be found in Ireland, but the splendid cathedrals, churches and concert halls which house them.
Pipeworks has expanded its remit to explore Ireland’s organ heritage. In non-festival years, Pipeworks presents recital series and has become known for its complete-works series, having presented the complete organ works of J.S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, Dieterich Buxtehude and Olivier Messiaen, as well as the complete organ symphonies of Louis Vierne, all given by organists resident in Ireland.