The New Wave: Gráinne Meyer & Atóg

Atóg is a live collaborative performance that explores the traditional Irish session; not simply how it sounds, but what it feels like to be part of one.

Atóg reimagines the session outside its usual spaces, settings and schedules, creating an environment that feels comfortable, open and welcoming. The audience is arranged in a way that echoes a traditional session, allowing spectators to see one another as well as the performers, to create an intimate, immersive and shared experience. Hana Abri Smith is joined by Brendan Kerr, Cameron Clark, Catriona Ní Ghribín, Joshua Burnside, J SHIELDS and Neil Óg Martin. Gráinne Meyer is a Belfast based harpist and composer whose work combines original, improvised and traditional influences. Drawing from a background in both traditional Irish and concert harp, her music interweaves these approaches to create a distinctive sound characterised by “an evolved and multidimensional approach to melody” (Pwyll ap Siôn).

In 2023 she won the World Music Competition at the Wales International Harp Festival and has performed and recorded with the Ulster Orchestra and Ulster Consort and for BBC, RTÉ and TG4, with The Times describing her playing as “uniformly delightful.” She was Artist in Residence at the Cairde na Cruite International Festival 2024, and in 2026 was awarded a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre through Cruit Éireann / Harp Ireland. She is currently part of Moving On Music’s Middle Aisle, a platform for improvising and contemporary musicians.

Gráinne’s compositional work is widely performed and broadcast and she has been commissioned by Harp Ireland to write for harp ensemble, as well as a large scale commission from Music Generation developing a five-movement collaborative work created with young musicians through workshops, improvisation and co-creative development. The piece premiered at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2024 and has since been performed at major festivals and at the National Concert Hall in Dublin.