Newpark Festival 2027
13 February - 20 February 2027
Running for over 30 years, the Newpark Festival is a week-long celebration of music, featuring instrumental and vocal competitions open to participants of all ages and levels. Taking place from February 13 to 20, 2027 at the beautifully refurbished Carnegie Library in Dún Laoghaire, the festival provides an encouraging space for performers to share their music and develop their skills.
Festival 2027 marks an exciting expansion of its programme of competitions, introducing five new competition categories designed to engage and encourage a whole new audience of young musicians. Alongside the long-established week of competitions, a vibrant programme of workshops and concerts will welcome the wider community to take part in the Festival.
By bringing performers, audiences, and educators together, the Newpark Festival continues to strengthen the musical life of our community and inspire the next generation of musicians.
Please take a moment to read the Rules and Regulations of the Festival.
Competition Categories are under review.
New categories will be announced shortly.
2026 Winners
Strings 14 years and under
1st prize...Ava Li
2nd prize...Evan Zikuan Tong
3rd prize...Theodore Lexa
Highly Commended...Linden Chen
Evan Zikuan Tong
Louise Zhang
Lily Yang
Strings 12 years and under
1st prize...Alexandra Zou Paul
2nd prize...Rosie Liao
3rd prize...Victor Ciubotaru
Highly Commended...Kaylee Long
Matilda Potts
Commended...Lexi Yang
Oscar Cullen
Strings 10 years and under
1st prize...Meicen Chen
2nd prize...Yuet Ling Wong
3rd prize...Angela Liu
Highly Commended...Alice Yang
Commended...Ava Yuhan He
Strings 8 years and under
1st prize...Emma Yang & Maedhbh Nic Cathmhaoil
2nd prize...Niall Campbell
3rd prize...Evelyne Mazataud
Highly Commended...Eloise Burns
Méabh Byrne
Grace Meng
Strings 18 years and under - The John Donald Cup
1st prize...Éabha Foy
2nd prize...Ava Li
Highly Commended...Louise Zhang
Commended...Yihan Jasmine Chen
Chris Fu
Junior Piano Repertoire - The Fuller Trophy
1st prize...Lily Yang
2nd prize...Emily (Dongni) Liu
Highly Commended...Winnie Zhao
Piano 16 years and under
1st prize...Alex Platsas
2nd prize...Lily Yang
3rd prize...Tom McMahon
Highly Commended...Brian Li
Yihan Jasmine Chen
Anita Han
Coakley Fuller Cup (Baroque Era)
1st prize...Jack McDowell
The Owen Walsh Perpetual Cup - Senior Piano Repertoire 16 years and over
1st prize...Louise Byrne
2nd prize...Eleanor Xu
Highly Commended...Brian Li
Caitlin Ng
Senior Piano Sonata Cup - 16 years and over
1st prize...Eleanor Xu
2nd prize...Brian Li
3rd prize...Deirdre Keane
The Prichard Cup - Adult Solo
1st prize...Liam Collins
2nd prize...Sadie Mitchell
3rd prize...Gabriel Landmark
Damien Roche
The Ruth Beare Perpetual Cup - Adult Vocal Classical
1st prize...Ciara Smith
2nd prize...Chiara Trejo Infante
3rd prize...Rebecca Thornes
Caoimhe Fitzpatrick
Vocal 14 years and under
1st prize...Jasmine O'Malley
2nd prize...Nellie Smyth
3rd prize...Líadan O Sullivan & Mimi Oxley
Vocal 12 years and under
1st prize...Erin O'Shaughnessy
2nd prize...Lily Hennessy & Ben McCormack
3rd prize...Emiko Paz Berrios
Highly Commended...Yimo Sui
Chloe Walshe
Posy O'Sheehan Brady
Maria Abin
Wind & Brass 12 years and under
1st prize...Arthur Cullen
2nd prize...Jude Bridgeman Carr
3rd prize...Linda Chen
Highly Commended...Kejun James Du
Richard Ni
Clive Tempany
James Ringsland Cup - Wind & Brass 18 years and under
1st prize...Aran Cahalan
Senior Instrumental Repertoire - 16 years and over
1st prize...Karl Murtagh
2nd prize...Ira Schwitzer
3rd prize...Anna Luisetti
The Concerto Cup - The Evelyn Levins Perpetual Cup
1st prize...Ava Li
2nd prize...Aran Cahalan
Piano 8 years and under
1st prize...James Murphy
2nd prize...Ryan Meehan
3rd prize...Owen Michael Ogbedor
Piano 10 years and under
1st prize...Sophie Shannon
2nd prize...Richard Ni
3rd prize...Angela Liu
Highly Commended...Aaron Yueming Zhang
Piano 12 years and under
1st prize...Emily (Dongni) Liu
2nd prize...Jenny Han
Coco (Luoxi) Xu
3rd prize...Devrah Tomas
Highly Commended...Angela Kendrick
Terry Gan
Oscar Shi
Junior Piano Sonata Cup - 15 Years and Under
1st prize...Tom McMahon
2nd prize...Alexandra Zou Paul
Duets 12 years and under
1st prize...Oscar Shi & Daniel Zhu
Duets 14 years and under
1st prize...Eileen Fan & Rian Ni
The Phoebe Murphy Cup - Duets 16 years and under
1st prize...Tongwei Wang & Tongyu Wang
The Mignon Rumbold Memorial Cup - Adult Vocal Baroque Aria
1st prize...Ciara Smith
2nd prize...Rebecca Thornes & Chiara Trejo Infante
Lieder Cup
1st prize...Rebecca Thornes
2nd prize...Ciara Smith
Vocal 18 years and under
1st prize...Grace Hanley
2nd prize...Arnold Alosious Kavukattu
3rd prize...Holly Trainor
Junior Musical Theatre - 15 - 18 years
1st prize...Ruby Smyth
2nd prize...Holly Trainor
3rd prize...Kyla Rose Rabbett
Highly Commended...Eloise Corrigan
Vocal 16 years and under
1st prize...Eloise Corrigan
2nd prize...Shaun Paulson
3rd prize...Eva Maria Ghiuza
Festival Venue
Carnegie Library, Dún Laoghaire
20 George Street Lower, A96 E9A2
2026Adjudicators
Festival Director
Mairéad English
@newpark_music_festival
Mairéad English is a Dublin-based flautist and educator whose career brings together performance, teaching, and community music-making. As an orchestral musician, she performs with many of Ireland’s leading ensembles, including National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, RTÉConcert Orchestra, and Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra. She is also a member of the Gardellino Flute Trio.
Mairéad is a long-time collaborator with Classical Kids, performing chamber concerts and education workshops specifically designed for babies and young children. She has also been involved with the National Concert Hall’s Discover series, performing concerts with a variety of chamber music groups.
At Newpark Academy of Music, Mairéad serves as Head of Wind and Brass and teaches flute. She also runs NAM’s monthly student concert series, designed to give students of all ages and levels the opportunity to nurture their creativity through performance in a supportive and encouraging environment. She is also committed to NAM's inclusive and community-based music projects through her work with the Musical Memories Choir, which welcomes people living with dementia and their carers.
Appointed Newpark Festival’s Director in 2026, Mairéad is focused on sustaining the long-standing legacy of competitions which have played a vital role in nurturing emerging musical talent for over thirty years, while simultaneously broadening and developing the scope of the Festival. Through the introduction of new competition categories, open workshops and concerts, Festival 2027 is curated to appeal to a wider audience, welcoming young competitors and performers, established artists and music lovers of all ages and backgrounds.
Co-Festival Director & Artistic Director
Alyssa Filardo
Alyssa Filardo is an American-Italian pianist based in Dublin, working across collaborative piano, opera réptétiteur work, and solo performance. She holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where she also specialised in piano pedagogy.
Her performing career has taken her from Carnegie Hall to stages across Bavaria, Germany, where she worked extensively as a réptétiteur and performer with Pasinger Fabrik Opera and at Stadttheater Ingolstadt. She has also appeared as a concerto soloist with the Symphonieorchester des Kulturvereins Zorneding Baldham e.V. under conductor Andreas Pascal Heinzmann. Alongside this work, she has collaborated with singers in a wide range of operatic and recital repertoire, with a particular focus on vocal partnership.
Since relocating to reland in 2021, Alyssa has established an active freelance career as a collaborative pianist, accompanying singers and instrumentalists for competitions, examinations, masterclasses, and recitals throughout Dublin. She accompanies regularly at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and has performed at both Whyte Hall and the National Concert Hall, including appearances in the main auditorium and the John Field Room.
In addition to her performing work, Alyssa is Artistic Director of Newpark Academy of Music and Co-Director of the Newpark Festival, where she programmes concerts, competitions and educational initiatives, supporting the development of emerging musicians across Ireland.
