The new Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra gave its premier concert during the 1997
Kilkenny Arts Festival at the 13th century Norman cathedral, "
St. Canices", in the ancient city of
Kilkenny. In addition to performing a repertoire of standard classical masterworks, the orchestra gives a voice to Ireland's contemporary composers. The orchestra has recorded classical and contemporary repertoire for commercial record companies, including
Albany Records (U.S.A.),
BMG/
Windham Hill Records, and in 2006 was featured on the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland's "Contemporary Music from Ireland, Volume Six" CD in a recording of
Baginbun 1170 by the composer Vincent Kennedy. Additionally, the orchestra has recorded film scores for motion pictures and television. In 2008, the DPO performed at "The World Fleadh", Ireland's largest Celtic music festival with
Frankie Gavin &
De Dannan,
Moya Brennan,
Brian Kennedy and
Anthony Kearns of the
Three Irish Tenors. In 2009, it undertook its inaugural tour of the
United States of America with 49-concert dates across 24 states, under the auspices of
Columbia Artists Management Inc., In 2010 it toured
China, performing at the official
Shanghai Grand Theatre World Expo 2010 program. It also opened the Beijing Summer Festival,
Roam about the Classics, with concerts broadcast from the
National Centre for the Performing Arts at the Opera House,(NCPA) Beijing, on TV, Radio and the Internet to over 400 million people. The Hong Kong-based,
Phoenix Television Station, made a documentary about the Orchestra's China Tour of 2010. In 2010, the DPO teamed up with
Samuel L. Jackson, the Samuel Jackson Foundation and
Dionne Warwick in presenting a gala fundraising event for Irish Autism Action at the O'Reilly Hall at
University College Dublin. In January 2016 the Dublin Philharmonic made its second tour of China. ==Composition and membership==