Kenneth Rice
Regarded the most versatile musician, Kenneth Rice enjoys performing with an extensive range of musicians in a broad range of styles. A member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, he has performed and toured with artists such as Jorg Widman ,Ann Sophie Mutter, Pekka Kuusisto, Freddy Kempf, Stephen Hough, Maxim Vengerov and Nigel Kennedy Based in Dublin, Kenneth is in constant demand as leader of ensembles such as the Orchestra of the National Concert Hall, Casta Diva Orchestra, Lyric Theatre Opera, Crash Ensemble, The Lombard Ensemble and the Irish Sinfonia.
His Nuevo Tango Quartet performs the tango inspired music of Astor Piazzolla; his show Good evening Mr. Kreisler (with Pianist Una Hunt and BBC broadcaster Petroc Trelawny) pays tribute to the life and music of the great violinist Fritz Kreisler; and his work with the West Ocean String Quartet explores the boundaries of traditional/classical fusion.
Kenneth also enjoys working as composer and arranger for TV, radio, film, The Irish Chamber Orchestra, and a host of contemporary bands. He was string arranger and tour md for the Cranberries most recent acoustic album ‘Something Else’ recorded with members of the Irish Chamber Orchestra and is currently working as orchestral arranger and conductor with DJ Kormac for a follow up to a hugely successful Patrick’s festival 2018 concert. He is also orchestral arranger and workshop leader for the ‘Sing out with Strings’ project held annually in conjunction with the ICO in several schools in Limerick city. He is also conducted and wrote many of the orchestral arrangements for ‘Feile Classical’ with the Irish Chamber Orchestra held in Semple Stadium Thurles in September 2018 and 2019 featuring artists such
as The Stunning, the Hothouse Flowers, The Four of Us, Something Happens, an Emotional Fish, The Frank and Walters and Sinead O Connor. In 2019 the Late late show performance of Nothing Compares to You with Sinead O’ Connor and the Irish Chamber orchestra conducted and arranged by Kenneth with Cian Boylan went viral with over 1 million hits in a few days. As a recording artist his distinctive sound features on over 900 tracks, with artists as varied as Kirsty McColl, The Cranberries, Van Morrison, Bono and the Corrs. His solo playing features with Sinead O’Connor on the Oscar nominated soundtrack to the movie Albert Nobbs, on the IRMA award winning soundtrack to Jim Sheridan’s The Secret Scripture and on Lance Daly’s new movie ‘Black 47’.