Celebrated Irish Acoustic Band Lúnasa to Release Album with RTE Concert Orchestra

Lúnasa, one of the finest Celtic music bands from Ireland will release their new album titled Lúnasa with the RTE Concert Orchestra this year. The album is a musical collaboration between the all-star Irish traditional band and the distinguished national orchestra of Ireland. Lúnasa with the RTE Concert Orchestra is scheduled for release on April 16th on Lúnasa Records, distributed by City Hall Distributors in the United States. It will be preceded by a digital release in time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in March.

Lúnasa with the RTE Concert Orchestra began when RTÉ approached Niall Vallely, one of Ireland’s most talented rising composers and arrangers and brother of Lúnasa’s Cillian Vallely, with the idea of creating arrangements and working with a traditional band. Niall suggested Lúnasa for the project, and the result is a captivating union of Ireland ‘s top traditional band and Ireland ‘s national orchestra to create a very new sound in Irish music.

Their first joint concert was a sold-out performance at Dublin’s National Concert Hall on June 19, 2012 that was later broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 and followed by the recording of the album. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra, whose credits include projects with talents as diverse as Luciano Pavarotti and Cleo Laine and Ireland’s Sharon Shannon, Sinéad O’Connor, Imelda May and The Coronas, is conducted by David Brophy.

Lúnasa includes Kevin Crawford on flute; Seán Smyth on fiddle and low whistles; Trevor Hutchinson on double bass; Cillian Vallely on uilleann pipes and low whistles; and newest member Ed Boyd on guitar.

The band will begin a month-long U.S. concert tour on February 22, 2013.