Christmas comes early for classical music fans when The Michael Nyman Band visit the Opera House, Cork (April 11) and National Concert Hall, Dublin (12).

One of the UK's foremost composers, Nyman joined the Hollywood A-List in 1993 when he supplied the score for The Piano, and has just completed the soundtrack to the new Johnny Depp movie, The Libertine.

Tickets priced between €28 and €37 are on sale now from the respective box offices.