Children of the Universe (Screenings)

Diamanda La Berge Dramm, guide and solo violin

Crash Ensemble

Ryan McAdams, conductor

Crash Ensemble:
Larissa O’Grady, violin
Cian Ó Dúill, viola
Kate Ellis, cello
Caimin Gilmore, double bass
Susan Doyle, flute
Leonie Bluett, clarinet
Roderick O’Keeffe, trombone
Alex Petcu, percussion
Barry O’Halpin, guitar
Eliza McCarthy, piano

Children in the Universe
Laura Sheeran, film
Sam Perkin, music

Audio Recording by Crash Ensemble (recorded at St. Nicholas’ Church, Galway at Galway International Arts Festival 2022. Recorded by Ian Dowdall. Edited, Mixed and Mastered by Brian Bolger

Children in the Universe is a hybrid symphony by composer Sam Perkin, created in collaboration with filmmaker Laura Sheeran and performed by Crash Ensemble. Combining recorded performance with cinematic imagery, the work explores ritual, reflection, and collective listening through a layered audiovisual form.

Composed between 2020 and 2022 during Perkin’s time as Composer-in-Residence with Crash Ensemble, the piece features a ‘halo track’, a continuous electronic sound bed that underpins the live ensemble. Building on the work’s evolving artistic life, Sheeran was commissioned as Filmmaker in Residence to extend Children in the Universe into a standalone film, drawing on visual material developed for its premiere at New Music Dublin in 2022.

The film premiered at the inaugural Beta Festival in November 2023 and was subsequently screened at Kilkenny Arts Festival in 2024. Together, the live and filmed versions form a continuing artistic cycle, reflecting Crash Ensemble’s commitment to long-term collaboration and cross-disciplinary creation.