Tullamore International Summer Organ Series

Thomas Charles Marshall lives in Westmeath. A music graduate of Cambridge University, he studied organ with Shane Brennan at the Schola Cantorum St Finian’s College, Mullingar, with Peter Hurford at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and with David Adams at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He is the Director of Music and Organist at St Ann’s Church, Dawson St., Dublin as well as director of the Dublin Male Voice Choir and Kildare Cathedral Singers. He lived in Japan for 14 years and is a recognised exponent of the Japanese traditional instrument, the Satsuma biwa, a four-string lute. Charles has been a regular and highly valued recitalist in this series since its inception in 1999 as both solo organist and chamber music player.

Bogdan Sofei is the leader, violinist/founding member of ConTempo Quartet, a celebrated String Quartet that has been RTE's Quartet in Residence since 2014 and has been Galway's Ensemble in Residence since 2003. He is also the concertmaster of Luminosa, Galway’s first professional permanent orchestra, founded in 2018. Bogdan has won numerous international awards as achamber music practitioner and has performed over 2000 concerts in major venues in 42 countries including his native Bulgaria, the UK, USA, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Japan, Romania, etc. Bogdan became an Irish citizen in 2011 and was awarded the degree of DMus honoris causa by National University of Ireland, Galway, for outstanding services to music in his adopted country. He has been a regular and much-admired participant in these July concerts in Tullamore over the years.