THE Irish Chamber Orchestra, which launched its Spring Season of concerts this week, will continue its series at the NCH on Sunday, April 20th with the first Dublin performance of Gerald Barry's La Jalousie Taciturne, writes Michael Dervan. This concert, which also includes works by Mozart, Finzi and Honegger (the wartime Second Symphony) provides a platform for two young Dublin musicians, the conductor Fergus Sheil and the pianist Rachel Quinn, both appearing with the orchestra for the first time.

The final programme of the series will be heard in Limerick, Galway and Dublin (May 21st, 22nd and 23rd) and reunites the orchestra with former principal conductor Nicholas Kraemer, who has a special soft spot for the final work on the programme, Strauss's Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings. Also appearing is soprano Suzanne Murphy (in Britten's Rimbaud setting, Les Illluminations). All three concerts will include a new work by Fergus Johnston.

Away from the National Concert Hall, the orchestra will be appearing at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin on April 19th, when they work for the first time with Gunter Pichler, long time leader of one of the world's most highly regarded chamber ensembles, the Alban Berg String Quartet. This programme of Schubert, Brahms and Bartok will also be heard in Limerick on April 9th.

Also on the orchestral front, Ulster Orchestra has appointed Takuo Yuasa as its first ever principal guest conductor. The appointment is for a three year period beginning next season, and the orchestra has also announced that it will be making a series of recordings with Yuasa for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels.

Repertoire currently planned includes works by James MacMillan and Michael Nyman.