Nigel Flegg Travel Department 30th anniversary celebrations at event in National Concert Hall

Nigel Flegg, chair of the National Concert Hall, told the 30th anniversary celebrations for Travel Department that the partnership between a national cultural institution for music and Travel Department might appear unusual at first. He explained that both organisations provide moments of escape and transformation. He stated that travel and music allow people to step away from daily life and experience something different that can alter their outlook. He highlighted synergies in offering journeys that inspire curiosity, connect cultures and create lasting memories.

Flegg noted the tenacity and determination shown by Travel Department over 30 years, including resistance to unnecessary change. He empathised with this approach and referenced his own early experiences with credit cards while travelling in Europe. He described the current week as momentous for the National Concert Hall due to the groundbreaking on the first phase of redevelopment, the restoration of a building into the Discovery Centre for music education and engagement. He mentioned that the project, discussed 11 years earlier, had progressed at a pace typical of the public sector.

He expressed gratitude to Travel Department for supporting extraordinary artistic experiences at the National Concert Hall. He introduced the young artist Sarah Brazil, aged 17, a recipient of the Young Musician Award for String Players and a bursary holder. Sarah, who first performed at the venue at age 8, has worked with the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland and tutors such as Maxim Vengerov. With Máire Carroll on piano, she performed an excerpt from Ravel’s Tzigane, a piece inspired by travel and cultural exchange across Europe.

He said Travel Department maintains a partnership with the National Concert Hall that supports cultural and artistic programmes. The anniversary event linked the themes of travel and music as sources of transformation and connection. The redevelopment of the National Concert Hall’s Discovery Centre represents a parallel commitment to long-term vision and perseverance.

A toast by Miriam O’Callaghan marked the conclusion of the formal presentations and the start of year-long anniversary activities for Travel Department.

Nigel Flegg shared: “We both offer moments or extended moments of escape. We offer moments of transformation, an opportunity to step out of our daily grind step away from the busyness of life, corpus or family, or otherwise. We can take a few special moments to be abroad with something completely different, and something which can be completely transformational and travel in my own and many people’s experience, has the possibility of the potential to really transport your life, and we believe at the National Concert Hall that music could also does the same.”

“We share this common belief to take people on journeys and we inspire curiosity, we connect cultures, and we create lasting memories that stay with us long after the long has passed. “