DCU BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance
Final Year Student Performances

A Celebration of Young Irish Jazz

An exciting opportunity to see the best of young Irish jazz, as DCU’s BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance students take to the stage to perform in front of a live audience to showcase their talents, as part of their final assessments.

Ireland’s best Jazz Festival lights up the Walled City this May Bank Holiday weekend, Wednesday 29th April – Monday 4th May 2026.

Jazz is the music of improvisation. No boundaries. No barriers. City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival reflects just that. A musical legacy open to all. We invite you to get involved in our 25th year of this world-renowned celebration of all things jazz.

Bray Jazz will showcase some of the brightest and best of the next generation of Irish jazz at this afternoon showcase of ensemble music by graduates of the Dublin City University (DCU) BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance programme.

Bray International Jazz Festival returns over the May Bank Holiday weekend, May 1st–3rd, marking a significant milestone as the festival celebrates its 25th anniversary. Established in the millennium year, the festival has grown into one of the leading contemporary jazz weekends in the greater Dublin area, attracting over 5,000 concertgoers annually to venues across the North Wicklow town.

A triple-harpist, singer and sonic explorer whose performances feel at once ancient yet utterly contemporary, Cerys Hafana’s music honours old songs and storytelling from Wales in a remarkable way.

Tommy Halferty has been instrumental in shaping the sound of Irish jazz, a guitarist who has been at the forefront of a vibrant jazz scene on this island for over half a century.

Opening presentation in double bill with Fred Hersch Trio

Guitarist, composer and author, Mike Nielsen is a leading teacher of jazz guitar in Ireland. His unique style is influenced by jazz, classical, flamenco, Irish and world music genres.

A towering figure of contemporary jazz whose influence spans generations, Fred Hersch has shaped the language of the modern piano trio throughout a career marked by continuous reinvention.

Havana-born pianist Harold López-Nussa’s music pulses with the richness of Cuban music, with its distinct combination of classical, folk and popular music elements, as well as its embrace of jazz improvisation. 

Without a doubt, Leo Richardson a regular at London’s famous Ronnie Scott’s club - is widely recognised as one of the UK's leading jazz tenor saxophonists, known for his honest, straight-ahead, contemporary hard-bop style.

His album The Chase was selected by The Times as one of the Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2017 and one of the Top 100 Albums of all music genres. The Chase was also the first debut album to receive five stars from The Observer.

CEO Experiment is the highly acclaimed Dublin-based trio featuring Leopoldo Osio (piano), Peter Erdei (electric bass), and Cote Calmet (drums), known for defining the cutting edge of fusion jazz and modern improvisation.

ÓNinaÓ are a captivating six-piece who blend traditional Brazilian rhythms, including samba and bossa nova, with bluesly guitars, electronics and pyschedelic rock.

(If you’re buying tickets to main evening shows at Mermaid, Bray Town Hall or Whale Theatre in Greystones, admissions to these concerts is at a reduced price).

Alina Bzhezhinska made history when she became the first harpist to receive the Best Jazz Ensemble of the Year award when her band Hip Harp Collective took the prize at the UK’s prestigious Parliamentary Jazz Awards in 2024.

Guitarist John Moriarty and saxophonist Richie Buckley lead a dynamic quartet on the first Saturday of every month at Walters, Dún Laoghaire.