The 2024 Cellissimo festival line up has been revealed with programming for veteran classical music connoisseurs and for those looking to dip a toe into the world of cello.

Particular festival highlights include a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Galway native Eímear Noone on May 22, who will be making her hometown debut. Noone is a a blockbuster name in the conducting world, but best known for her award-winning work on video game music on games such as Overwatch and World of Warcraft.

She has also  conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Bretagne, the Sydney Symphony, and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

Along with her many accolades, Noone was the first woman to conduct at the Oscars on 9 February 2020, leading the orchestra in excerpts from the five nominated film scores.

Accompanying her on the May 22 date is fellow Galway Native Aidan Mantú on Cello in what promises to be one of Cellissimo's flagship events.

The festival not only focuses on cello events, as it also features a breadth of programming surrounding topics surrounding migration, climate changes and other pressing social issues.

Opening the festival on May 18 will be Galway Bay is Calling, a  collaborative community project run in conjunction with Galway Aquarium, featuring composer and cellist Naomi Berrill and conductor Matthew Berrill.

The opening concert will take place in Galway's Leisureland and will see National Symphony Orchestra play with a star-studded cast and Former President of Ireland and Chair of the Elders Mary Robinson give an address on climate justice.

Presented in conjunction with Songs of Travel project which funded by an EU Creative Europe grant, Galway's Black Box Theatre will host a Songs of Travel: Interactive Comic premiere on May 19.

This event will present an interactive motion comic that follows the story of five real people who for different reasons had to leave their homes and find new ones.

Narrated by Jack, a young man who had to leave Syria in 2014 and is now working with the company that developed this game, you will discover the story of Light, Van, Michele, Hasan and Olga.

Amalgamating classical music with contemporary issues, Songs for Travel promises to be a completely original type of game.

Other major classical musicians billed for inaugural Cellissimo festival  include Serbian pianist Djuro Zivkovic, Galway traditional musician Michael Chang and German cellist Alban Gerhardt.

There will also be a world premiere of Kurdish/Dutch musician Hawar Tawfiq's Voyage composition, commissioned as part of the Songs of Travel initiative.

Further information regarding festival programming, tickets and travel is available on the Cellissimo website here.