Cormac Henry
Professor of Flute
Cormac Henry has been principal flute of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since 2002. He has played as guest principal with most of the orchestras in the U.K. and continues to appear regularly with many. A personal highlight is playing music from the classic Hollywood era with the John Wilson Orchestra. Further afield, Cormac has also performed as guest principal with many of the great european orchestras, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Tonhalle in Zurich and Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In November 2005 he was invited by Mariss Jansons to tour Japan and China with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
As a soloist, Cormac has appeared and recorded many times with the RLPO performing a wide range of repertoire, from Bach’s B Minor suite and Brandenburg concerto no. 5 through Mozart’s concerti for Flute up to Kurt Schwertsik’s “Instant Music” with Ensemble 1010. In 2010 there was a performance and recording of Jon Lord’s “To notice such things” for Flute, Piano and orchestra which was released later that year. Also that year Cormac was asked by the RLPO to suggest a composer for a new concerto to be commissioned. He suggested Kurt Schwertsik which led to the world premier performance of “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht!” in 2012. More recently Cormac collaborated with Catrin Finch in performances of Mozart’s concerto for Flute and Harp in Liverpool and Preston as well as in a concert of chamber music at St. George’s Hall in Liverpool. Next year will see two performances of the Chaminade Concertino for flute and orchestra at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool. Outside of the RLPO Cormac has appeared as a soloist at the Stresa international Music Festival in Italy and at the Chester festival. He has also given solo recitals at many venues across the UK and Ireland.
Cormac enjoys performing a wide variety of chamber music. He has played with the Hebrides Ensemble at the Aldeburgh Festival and most recently at the Edinburgh Festival this year and for many years was a member of the ‘Fusion’ wind quintet with colleagues from the RLPO. There have also been appearances with Ensemble Diva at the Chester Festival and performances with Ensemble 51+1, an ensemble of Flute, Viola and Harp. Further afield, Cormac appears with Ensemble Arlequin, a group made up of principal players from orchestras mainly in Switzerland on their International Summer Course for Wind Chamber Music and in other concerts. The summer course involves performing, coaching ensembles and individual teaching at the Hindemith institute in Blonay, Switzerland.
Starting out with Joosje le Coultre in the Kerry School of Music, Cormac studied in Dublin before leaving Ireland to attend the Guildhall School of music and drama with Averil Williams. A postgraduate year in Stuttgart with Jean Claude Gerard in Stuttgart followed before returning to the UK.
Outside of music, Cormac is a keen if not especially talented golfer, and is fortunate to be a member of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake, where when time allows he attempts to play with varying degrees of success. He is also an enthusiastic follower of rugby, being an especially passionate supporter of Munster and Ireland.
