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music · Sunday 2 August 2026 · 3:00pm 
Cappella Felsinea at Music in the Forest
At Dorlindon Nature Sanctuary · Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow
At Dorlindon Nature Sanctuary · Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow
On a Sunday afternoon in early August, three musicians take their place inside a forest cathedral in the Wicklow hills and play music that is roughly four hundred years old. Dorlindon Nature Sanctuary’s main performance space is known as “The Cathedral of Trees” - a natural woodland amphitheatre where the canopy closes overhead and the acoustics belong to the trees rather than to any concert hall. The programme is “A Feast from Bologna”: Baroque music from one of Italy’s great musical cities, performed by countertenor Francesco Giusti, baroque cellist Norah O’Leary, and organist Thomas Charles Marshall. This is not background listening.
Cappella Felsinea draws on the Bolognese School - seventeenth and eighteenth-century music described as stately, grand, and rich in counterpoint. The programme puts the cello and the voice in direct conversation: the instrument rose to prominence in Bologna during exactly this period, and the ensemble explores the interplay between a countertenor’s agility and the deep resonance of a period cello, with the organist holding the two in balance. Sacred and theatrical repertoire both feature.
If rain comes in, the event moves to a sheltered area within the forest rather than being cancelled. A portion of ticket proceeds goes to the Children’s Health Foundation.
Kilmacanogue sits on the N11 south of Bray, roughly 35km from Dublin city centre - follow the N11 south from the M50. On-site parking is reserved for ticket holders but numbers are limited; carpooling is strongly encouraged and the car park is unsupervised, so leave valuables at home. Bus Eireann and Dublin Coach services on the Dublin-Wexford corridor pass through the area. Gates open at 2:00pm and parking must be vacated by 6:00pm.
The village sits at the foot of the Great Sugar Loaf, and the Avoca Handweavers’ flagship store is just down the road - a useful stop before or after the concert. There is more to see in Kilmacanogue and across Co. Wicklow.
Heading to Dorlindon Nature Sanctuary in Kilmacanogue? Wicklow has plenty more to see. Read the Kilmacanogue area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.