Avril Crotty from the Gaiety School of Acting talks to Suzanne Parker about their new range of courses. gaietyschool.com

Last Friday (5 April) saw the launch of the Chamber of Arts Heritage & Culture at the Dalkey Heritage Centre. Joining Artbeat's Des FitzGerald is Audrey McKenna, Director of the Kingston Academy of Music and CEO of the Chamber of Arts Heritage & Culture. dlrchamber.ie/chamber-of-culture

In recent years it's become impossible to turn on late night eclectic radio shows without hearing Arvo Pärt’s compositions. This Estonian composer's work has become shorthand for a sense of escape from modernity’s aural overload. Born near Tallinn in 1935 he witnessed the Soviet occupation of his country. His early work was often at odds with the Soviet system; he became the first Estonian to use Schoenberg’s famous 12 tone technique. Becoming more overtly religious in his output, Pärt retreated and developed his own version of plainsong: ’Tintinnabulation’, music based on the sound of bells, where the melody and voice are one. Passio, written after Pärt’s exodus to Berlin, is based on St John’s text. Conducted by a leading expert on Pärt’s work, Paul Hillier; the concert also features Theatre of Voices, Denmark and YXUS Ensemble, Estonia. Artbeat's Des FitzGerald spoke with Christina Whyte of the National Chamber Choir about the upcoming performance of Passio.

Arvo Pärt’s Passio - National Chamber Choir of Ireland
Tuesday 26 March, 8pm Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Tickets: €20/€15 (Conc) - Bookings through the National Concert Hall Box Office: 417 0000 or nch.ie

10 Days in Dublin, Ireland’s only open-format festival, is back for its third year and is currently open for registration to artists of any discipline who want to take part. Joining Des on Artbeat to talk about the festival is Co-founder Robert Kearns. Registrations will remain open until April 5th and interested acts can find more information plus a registrations guide on the website http://www.10daysindublin.com/submit/

On this week's programme with Des FitzGerald:

An interview with Miranda Driscoll of the Joinery arts space in Stoneybatter which is currently undergoing a fund:it campaign to raise vital funds to enhance its year round offering. See thejoinery.org for further details of the campaign.

It's also Electric Ireland Feis Ceol time which features over 5000 young musicians in competition at the RDS. Feis Ceoil board members Edith Forrest (herself a veteran of the competition) joined Artbeat to talk about this year's Feis Ceol underway at the RDS. feisceoil.ie has all the details and information on how to win a digital piano.

It's World Book Day tomorrow (7 March). Over 1 million free tokens have been distributed to children in schools nationwide, courtesy of Irish booksellers. This year Irish children’s author Judi Curtin has penned one of these special books for World Book Day 2013. Judi joined Des FitzGerald on Artbeat from her home in Limerick.

From the World Book Day press release:

World Book Day is Ireland's biggest reading event, was designated by UNESCO, as a worldwide celebration of books and reading and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. Book related events will be taking place this week all over Ireland.

The aims of World Book Day: The main aim of World Book Day in Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. It might seem very simple, but not all children have books at home. We’d like to get the message out about encouraging children to read and that there is a free book for all primary school children with their voucher, so that their parents know about it.

This is the 16th year of World Book Day and over those 16 years more than 20 million tokens have been issued to Irish children from Irish booksellers at a cost of 24 million euro.

The full list of €1.50 books for 2013 is:

Ask Eva, Judi Curtin (The O’Brien Press)

Alfie’s Shop, Shirley Hughes (Random House)

Giraffes Can’t Dance: Colouring and Puzzle Fun,Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees (Orchard Books)

Horrid Henry’s Guide to Perfect Parents,Francesca Simon, illustrated by Tony Ross (Orion)

Tony Robinson’s Weird World of Wonders: Funny Inventions,Tony Robinson (Macmillan)

The Diamond Brothers in… Two of Diamonds,Anthony Horowitz (Walker Books)

Hang In There Bozo: The Ruby Redfort Emergency Survival Guide For Some Tricky Predicaments,Lauren Child (HarperCollins)

Tom Gates: Best Book Day Ever! (so far),Liz Pichon (Scholastic)

The Chocolate Box Girls: Bittersweet,Cathy Cassidy (Puffin Books)

The Irish Baroque Orchestra bring Handel to Christchurch Cathedral (just beside the famous Fishamble venue for Messiah in 1742) for 'Handel's Grand Conversations' on the 28 February. Des FitzGerald spoke with harpsichordist Lars Ulrik Mortensen who'll be leading the orchestra. The Dane is one of the world’s leading baroque keyboard players and current artistic director of Concerto Copenhagen. The concert will be complemented by two of Handel's finest arias, Salve Regina and Gloria, performed by Northern Ireland guest soprano Mary Nelson.

*Please note that lines are now closed for the live on-air competition

7.30pm Thursday 28 February 2013
Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin
All tickets 16/12euro (unreserved seating)
Booking: Tel 01-4023518 or online at irishbaroqueorchestra.com

Suzanne Parker talked to artist Alana Richards from her home in Berlin. From her own website: "Born in 1985, Alana Richards’ paintings are based on dark emotions – both experienced and imagined. After leaving her hometown of Cork, Ireland, at an early age, Alana has wandered, studied and lived - always impulsively." alanarichards.co.uk

Des FitzGerald looked ahead to a concert at the Civic Theatre in Tallaght on Friday 1st March exploring the music of Louis Armstrong with trumpeter Rick Swann. Tickets for ‘Satchmo' available from Civic Theatre Box Office on 01 4627477 or online at www.civictheatre.ie

Frank Black visited the National Gallery of Ireland in the company of curator Pauline Swords to look at the new exhibition 'The Sketchbooks of Jack B. Yeats'. It runs until the 5th May 2013.

On this week's edition of Artbeat with Des FitzGerald: an interview with Anneke Scott, horn player with the Irish Baroque Orchestra ahead of their week long Mozart series at St Finian's Lutheran church. irishbaroqueorchestra.com

Des also spoke to Jim Carroll of the Irish Times about the collapse of HMV and what this means for the future of music retail in Ireland. irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord

In the first Artbeat of 2013, Suzanne Parker spoke with Karen Forde, commercial mural artist and Jack Walsh talked about the Law Society Music Society's upcoming charity concert.

Jazzorama's Des FitzGerald in conversation with Thought-Fox's Lauren Kinsella.

Lauren Kinsella, jazz vocalist and leading light behind Thought-Fox has travelled the globe over the last few years perfecting her singing. Spells spent studying South Indian vocal technique in Bangalore and a music scholarship to Sweden's Fridhems Folkhögskola have given Kinsella's sound a very individual flavour. Graduating from Newpark Music School in 2010, Kinsella has recently begun her Masters in jazz singing at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Amid all this academic fervour she’s found time for Thought-Fox's debut CD. Released on Diatribe Records as part of Music Network's Musicwide programme, ’My Guess' was produced by noted saxophonist Nick Roth. Tonight Dubliners have a chance (gratis) to see the quintet in action at the CD launch party. On the strength of this reviewer's listening - expect the album to sell like hot cakes.

Saturday 1st December, Dublin

The Grand Social, 35 Lower Liffey Street, 8 pm, Admission free, laurenkinsella.com

YAM.ie (Your Arts Map), a new website which maps out arts and cultural events across Dublin was launched in October by Dublin City Council. The website is aimed at 13 to 25 year olds giving them an event guide of events in Dublin city. The service is free to promote events and is linked with google maps. Emma Creedon of Your Arts Map joined Suzanne Parker to tell Artbeat more about the project.