About
Aoife Kavanagh is an Irish composer and sound designer, active across a variety of music disciplines, including dance, theatre, film, and contemporary instrumental and choral music. Aoife is primarily interested in composing for interdisciplinary work and collaboration with other artists is a key element of her practice.
Aoife has a background in dance and particularly enjoys composing and designing for movement-led projects. Credits include The Glasshouse (Ballet Ireland) and Double Act (Honey&Lemon - Project Arts Centre). Regular collaborators include Roisin Whelan Dance (Man Down, The Galaxy of Occupations, Iomhá), as well as Aisling Ní Cheallaigh and Jenny Tufts (Nasc, Ar Scath A Chéile, Dúlamán).
Aoife has composed and designed extensively for theatre. Credits include Reunion and The Saviour (Landmark Productions); Ghosts (Landmark Productions/Abbey Theatre); The Sorcerer's Apprentice and The Vanishing Elephant (Cahoots NI), the latter of which played at the Grand Opera House Belfast & New Victory Theatre New York, and will play the Southbank Centre London in 2025; The Long Christmas Dinner (Abbey Theatre); Tom Moran is a Big Fat Disgusting Filthy Liar (national and international tour); My Sister in this House (The Lir Academy); and Dream Factory (Lords of Strut and Jenny Jennings).
Assistant sound credits include Children of the Sun (Abbey Theatre/Rough Magic), Na Peirsigh (Abbey Theatre) and Earth SONNET (Once-Off Productions) for Mel Mercier; and King (Fishamble) for Denis Clohessy.
Aoife was one of two awardees of the Contemporary Music Centre’s Emerging Composer Scheme 2021-23. She has written for choirs and instrumentalists throughout Ireland, including for the Irish Youth Training Choir, the Mornington Singers, bass-baritone Kevin Neville and cellist Adrian Mantu.
Aoife’s short film credits include the animation ‘The Corona’, which was exhibited in the galleries at VISUAL Carlow for three months in 2021. She has previously assisted composer and music producer Anna Rice on projects such as Andrea Corr’s ‘The Christmas Album’ (2022). Aoife enjoys combining her passions for film and dance and has scored several screendance works for artists in Ireland and abroad.
Aoife also has a strong interest in music education. She currently teaches group piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and taught piano, composition and music theory to children and adults of all ages for many years at Waltons New School of Music and in other music schools throughout Ireland. She also facilitates composition workshops in primary schools.
Ahe holds a BA Double Hons in Music and German from Maynooth University and a Masters in Composition from Trinity College Dublin. Her work has previously been funded by the Arts Council, Carlow County Council and Artlinks.
Aoife is a proud member of the Screen Composers Guild of Ireland, the Irish Composers Collective and the Irish Society of Performance Designers.
