Aoife Kavanagh is an Irish composer and sound designer. She is active across a variety of music disciplines, including theatre, dance, film, and contemporary instrumental and choral music.

Aoife is primarily interested in composing for interdisciplinary work and collaboration with other artists is a key element of her practice.

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For theatre, her composition and sound design credits include the Abbey Theatre production of 'The Long Christmas Dinner' (2021/22), which was nominated for five Irish Times Theatre Awards 2021, and ‘Tom Moran is a Big Fat Disgusting Filthy Liar’, which won the Fishamble New Writing Award at Dublin Fringe Festival 2022 and which will tour to Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023. She assisted Denis Clohessy in the sound design for Fishamble and Pat Kinevane’s production of ‘King’ (2023) most recently designed for Mark O’Rowe’s adaption of ‘Ghosts’, a Landmark Productions and Abbey Theatre co-production which premiered in April 2023.

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​Aoife’s composition for dance credits include The Glasshouse with Ballet Ireland (2022), The Galaxy of Occupations and Man Down with Roisin Whelan Dance (2022), and Nasc with Infinite Pants aerial dance company (2022). Aoife’s film credits include ‘The Corona’, exhibited at VISUAL Carlow in 2021, and the Canadian short ‘Hoodie’ (2020). Aoife has previously assisted film composer and producer Anna Rice, and is an associate member of the Screen Composer’s Guild.

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Aoife also writes contemporary music for instrumental and vocal soloists and ensembles, and her current practice is focused on combining live instrumental music with electronics operated via QLab. She is one of two composers receiving extended mentorship under the Contemporary Music Centre’s Emerging Composer Scheme. She curated and composed for the Smithfield Sessions in 2022, in collaboration with CMC and Dublin City Council. Her music has been workshopped as part of Project Prelude (2020) and Finding A Voice Composition Competition (2021), and she is currently working on a new commission for the Irish Youth Training Choir in association with Sing Ireland, premiering in June 2023.

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​Aoife also has a strong interest in music education. She teaches piano and music theory at Waltons New School of Music and has facilitated composition workshops at primary schools in Dublin. She holds a BA Double Hons in Music and German from Maynooth University and a Masters in Composition from Trinity College Dublin. Her work has previously been funded by the Arts Council, Carlow County Council and Artlinks.

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