The unusual, yet hauntingly beautiful, combination of guitar and saxophone.  World renowned musicians, Craig Ogden and Gerard McCrystal, come together to perform this year’s professional concert, including works by Irish composer, Ciaran Farrell.

Australian guitarist, Craig Ogden is one of the guitar world’s most enthusiastic and experienced concert and recording artists, taking in three number one albums, countless tours and concerto performances as well as leading one of the finest and busiest guitars departments in the country at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.

Originating from Derry in Northern Ireland, Gerard McCrystal has won a vast number of international competitions and has toured in over 35 countries.  He has an arm’s length list of collaborations including Philip Glass, Soweto String Quartet, BBC NOW, and the Ulster Orchestra.  His new programme Stand Up has won two awards from the Arts Council. Gerard is Professor of Saxophone at Trinity Laban, London.

“We were blown away almost literally by Gerard who, along with Craig and the music of Ciaran Farrell, got things off to such a wonderful start.” - Paul Herriot, RTe LyricFM, Blue of the Night Live

“Craig Ogden and Gerard McChrystal set the thermometer high with their sinuous and heady interpretation of Andy Scott's Nemesis. Ogden's highly disciplined guitar lines traced a pinprick route through Scott's scarifying three movement set piece, while McChrystal burrowed and mined, and ultimately scaled its petulant peaks and troughs. McChrystal's saxophone swings acrobatically from high octane celebration to sweet and low down melancholy in one and the same breath, wheedling more and more layers of complexity from Ogden's distilled guitar lines.” - The Irish Times,