Cora Venus Lunny
Encyclopedia
Cora Venus Lunny is an Irish violin
ist. Her father is the musician Dónal Lunny
and she is the niece of Manus Lunny
.
Established as one of Ireland's leading classical musicians since her teens, Cora Venus Lunny is active as a soloist, chamber musician, interpreter of contemporary classical music, improvising violinist and composer.
Born into a musical family of Irish and German parents in Dublin, Cora Venus was given her first violin at the age of three, immediately showing a natural aptitude and love for the instrument. She was classically trained in the Suzuki Method
. A brief fling with movie acting failed to distract her, and a life in music became her goal. From the age of thirteen she studied intensively with highly respected violinists around Europe, including Rimma Sushanskaya, Joji Hattori, Alexander Arenkov, Arkady Futer, Lara Lev and Vladimir Spivakov.
In 2002, Cora was a guest musician on Sinéad O'Connor
's album of traditional Irish songs, "Sean Nos Nua", her first excursion into the truly "non-classical" world. This inspired her to improvise more and experiment with other genres of music. A few months in Vienna among the classical establishment became an unintentional sabbatical, and confirmed for Cora that despite her love for classical music, she needed to broaden her musical horizons.
A jam with Nigel Kennedy
in Dingle in 2002 (filmed for a Philip King documentary) resulted in his inviting her to Berlin with his band, to play some Polish folk music and a bit of Jimi Hendrix. Subsequently, Cora Venus accompanied Kennedy on a tour of Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand as second soloist, playing Vivaldi Double Concertos and the odd bit of Bartok. Cora's musical travels took her as far as Iceland and the Faeroe Islands, and in 2004, she made her first foray into film score composition for Sangrail, an as yet unfinished short. In 2005, she made her debut as a violist in a performance of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with Vladimir Spivakov and the Ulster Orchestra at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast.
In recent years, she has toured Europe, and America and China with the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra
as a classical violinist soloist, as well as guesting on various albums, most recently the long-awaited 9, from Damien Rice. In 2007, she served on the international jury of the Sarasate Violin Competition in Pamplona, where she was a laureate in 2001. She is currently working on her own solo recording projects of both classical music and original material.
She has appeared in several Irish films, most recently Man About Dog
and Speed Dating and the upcoming feature film 3CROSSES.
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist. Her father is the musician Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of traditional Irish music for more than thirty-five years and has participated within the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period...
and she is the niece of Manus Lunny
Manus Lunny
Manus Lunny is an Irish producer and multi-instrumentalist from County Donegal, Ireland. He is the brother of multi-instrumentalist and producer Dónal Lunny.-Biography:...
.
Established as one of Ireland's leading classical musicians since her teens, Cora Venus Lunny is active as a soloist, chamber musician, interpreter of contemporary classical music, improvising violinist and composer.
Born into a musical family of Irish and German parents in Dublin, Cora Venus was given her first violin at the age of three, immediately showing a natural aptitude and love for the instrument. She was classically trained in the Suzuki Method
Suzuki method
The Suzuki method is a method of teaching music that emerged in the mid-20th century.-Background:The Suzuki Method was conceived in the mid-20th century by Shin'ichi Suzuki, a Japanese violinist who desired to bring beauty to the lives of children in his country after the devastation of World War II...
. A brief fling with movie acting failed to distract her, and a life in music became her goal. From the age of thirteen she studied intensively with highly respected violinists around Europe, including Rimma Sushanskaya, Joji Hattori, Alexander Arenkov, Arkady Futer, Lara Lev and Vladimir Spivakov.
In 2002, Cora was a guest musician on Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
's album of traditional Irish songs, "Sean Nos Nua", her first excursion into the truly "non-classical" world. This inspired her to improvise more and experiment with other genres of music. A few months in Vienna among the classical establishment became an unintentional sabbatical, and confirmed for Cora that despite her love for classical music, she needed to broaden her musical horizons.
A jam with Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
in Dingle in 2002 (filmed for a Philip King documentary) resulted in his inviting her to Berlin with his band, to play some Polish folk music and a bit of Jimi Hendrix. Subsequently, Cora Venus accompanied Kennedy on a tour of Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand as second soloist, playing Vivaldi Double Concertos and the odd bit of Bartok. Cora's musical travels took her as far as Iceland and the Faeroe Islands, and in 2004, she made her first foray into film score composition for Sangrail, an as yet unfinished short. In 2005, she made her debut as a violist in a performance of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with Vladimir Spivakov and the Ulster Orchestra at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast.
In recent years, she has toured Europe, and America and China with the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra
Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1997 and operates under the auspices of the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra Association, a corporation limited by guarantee and Irish charity, The former Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra was active from the...
as a classical violinist soloist, as well as guesting on various albums, most recently the long-awaited 9, from Damien Rice. In 2007, she served on the international jury of the Sarasate Violin Competition in Pamplona, where she was a laureate in 2001. She is currently working on her own solo recording projects of both classical music and original material.
She has appeared in several Irish films, most recently Man About Dog
Man About Dog
Man About Dog is a 2004 Irish comedy film starring Allen Leech, Ciaran Nolan and Tom Murphy. The film was distributed by Redbus Film Distribution and directed by Paddy Breathnach.- Plot :...
and Speed Dating and the upcoming feature film 3CROSSES.