John OKane Announced as Executive Director RT Orchestras 31 March 2014: Following a public competition, John OKane has been announced as the new Executive Director of RT Orchestras, Quartet and Choirs.
Taking over from Aodan Dubhghaill, Head of RT lyric fm, who oversaw the role on a temporary basis, Mr O'Kane will head up RT 's two orchestras the RT National Symphony Orchestra and RT Concert Orchestra as well as, RT Philharmonic Choir and RT Cor na n g, and the newly announced RT Contempo Quartet.
Says Jim Jennings, Managing Director of RT Radio and RT Orchestras: John O'Kane comes to this key role with an outstanding record as a musician and within arts management. This appointment represents a return to working directly in the realm of producing and presenting high-quality music performances and John comes to RT at a time of challenge and opportunity for our musical groups and choirs. The orchestras offered more live performances in 2013 than in 2012, despite pressure on funding and resources, and this output is testament to the energy and commitment from musicians and staff. I'm confident John will match this energy and I look forward to inspiring and adventurous programmes in the seasons to come.
Born and educated in Belfast, John OKane studied music initially at Queens University and later at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. He worked for 13 years as a professional cellist, including a period as Associate Principal Cello with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and a spell with the Ulster Orchestra. With an interest in contemporary music, he formed and directed the specialist ensemble Sequenza in Belfast. Following a period working as a freelance cellist in Dublin with the RT National Symphony Orchestra, RT Concert Orchestra and Irish Chamber Orchestra, he returned to full time education to undertake an MBA at UCD and this led to his appointment in a number of roles within arts management. In 1998 he became CEO of Music Network and, in addition to artistic programming duties, undertook a number of key developmental initiatives including the Vogler Quartet in Sligo residency and authorship of what proved to be an influential feasibility study that first proposed the formation of a national system of publicly funded local music education services. He joined the Arts Council in 2003 and, as a member of the senior management team, led on significant developments to the councils grant programmes and managed a number of high profile policy initiatives including the development of a new approach to regional Touring. Since 2007, he has been responsible for the councils support for key performing arts areas including music, opera, theatre and dance and, since 2012, this role expanded to include the Councils support for regional arts venues and festivals.
John O'Kane welcomed his appointment: I am really looking forward to working with the remarkable team of musicians and everyone associated with the RT Orchestras, Quartet and Choirs. I hope to bring to bear some of the perspectives and experience I have gathered together from my time working for over 11 years in the Arts Council and, prior to that, with Music Network. It is important that the arts are recognised as an essential element in articulating who we are and I regard the tremendous work of these wonderful RTE ensembles is being absolutely central to that.
During 2013 RT Orchestras, Quartet and Choirs performed to almost 200,000 people, presenting a total of 258 (249 in 2012) live performances and events, ranging from symphonic and popular classical repertoire, contemporary music, opera and ballet productions, film music, jazz and contemporary popular music, family concerts and education and outreach activities. Many of the concert performances were made available for broadcast on RT lyric fm. Concert performance schedules were supplemented with recordings for radio, television appearances, commercial CD releases and film soundtracks. RT Orchestras, Quartet and Choirs presented over 49 education-related performances, workshops and talks/interviews with leading artists and commentators. The Orchestras were heard regularly overseas through the services of the European Broadcasting Union.
More: www.rte.ie/orchestras
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
John OKane Announced as Executive Director RT Orchestras 31 March 2014: Following a public competition, John OKane has been announced as the new Executive Director of RT Orchestras, Quartet and Choirs.
