Our popular series of free lunchtime foyer concerts returns this year with dates throughout the summer. Enjoy lunch in Touchstones Café Bar whilst experiencing some of the most exciting artists in the North West.

The programme has music influenced by the dance rhythms of South American with works by Celso Machado and Iain Ballamy. Also featuring a premiere of Toccata for Obama written by Irish composer Dave Flynn. The composers may not all be familiar to you but the styles will be. The Celtic inspired Shannon Suite by Ciarán Farrell contrasts with atmospheric pieces from Poland and Australia by Marek Pasieczny and Stuart Greenbaum and watch out for No Rest, the funk inspired piece by German composer Ulrich Schultheiss.

A successful collaboration between Gerard McChrystal and Craig Ogden has seen them perform over 20 concerts to date. They have performed in a wide range of venues from The Wigmore Hall, London and St. David’s Hall, Cardiff to the Sugar Club, Dublin. They have recorded two discs and broadcast on BBC and RTE. Their repertoire is influenced by jazz, Irish folk and South American music. Original works from Germany, Australia and Brazil give the programme a true international feel. As the Belfast Telegraph wrote of their 2006 Festival recital: Historically, the combination of guitar and saxophone is an unconventional mix, so it was refreshing, albeit unsurprising, that this concert's programme featured music written within the last decade. The compositions were modern and well-written but also melodic and accessible. Mid-morning magic!

Craig Ogden and Gerard McChrystal, set the thermometer high....McChrystal's saxophone swings acrobatically from high octane celebration to sweet and low down melancholy in one and the same breath, wheedling more and more layers of complexity from Ogden's distilled guitar lines. Irish Times 2006.

We were blown away almost literally by Gerard who, along with Craig and the music of Ciaran Farrell, got things off to such a wonderful start. Paul Herriot, RTE LyricFM, Blue of the Night Show live.

Superb playing by Gerard McChrystal and Craig Ogden. Review of CD Perfect State. Sunday Business Post.