Six island composers will have their music premiered by a professional string quartet at this year’s Cooish Vooar Festival.

Mera Royle, Roy Baker, David Cowell, Estelle Oke, Leah Sizova and Tim Price have each had new pieces selected to be performed by the Talland Quartet at Peel Cathedral on September 25.

The concert will take place ahead of the quartet’s first performance of Caillagh, the first opera to be written in the Manx language.

All of the above composers are being featured as part of the Blein ny Gaelgey (Year of the Manx Language) project, which is creating and staging Caillagh.

The Talland Quartet will form the instrumental ensemble for the opera and will rehearse the new Manx compositions over the summer before performing them for the first time.

Noted Manx harpist and composer Mera Royle said she was excited to have her music performed by the visiting quartet.

‘I’m so excited to hear my composition will be brought to life by the Talland Quartet and thankful this remarkable opportunity has been made possible! It’s so incredible the musicians here are being supported in this unique and magical way.’

Her piece, ‘What Now’, is a new arrangement of her recently released single of the same name.

Laxey musician and composer David Cowell will also feature in the concert with his piece Three Miniatures on Manx Folk Tunes.

He described the project as ‘a significant moment in the development of Manx culture’, adding that it ‘brings together artists from many disciplines and unites the contemporary with the timeless.’

Composer of Caillagh and project leader Matthew Warren said the opportunity for local composers to have their work professionally performed was unusual.

‘The opportunity to hear new compositions professionally performed by a group of the calibre of The Talland Quartet is rare and I’m so excited by the response this idea has had from the island’s composers. It really shows the astonishing creative spirit of the Isle of Man’s musicians.’

Chloe Woolley, Music Development Officer at Culture Vannin, said opportunities for original music were important to the development of Manx music.

‘New opportunities for original music are so important to the development of Manx music. This is a one-off opportunity for concert-goers to hear this new music from Isle of Man composers and is not to be missed!’

The Talland Quartet, named after Talland Bay in Cornwall, won multiple prizes at the Royal Northern College of Music. The group was Young String Quartet in Residence at the South Downs Summer Music Festival in 2025 and also featured as Young Artists at the West Cork Music Festival. The project has been supported by individual backers through its crowdfunding campaign, Culture Vannin, the Isle of Man Arts Council, Island Escapes and the Steam Packet.

Tickets for the concert and Caillagh are available to book through TicketSource at https://www.ticketsource.com/caillagh

Further information about the opera and the project can be found at https://www.matthewwarren.info/caillagh