Show Notes
Irish composer Emma O'Halloran was fresh off the plane from the GRAMMYs when we sat down with her to discuss her nomination for Best Opera Recording. She is the first woman composer from Ireland to be nominated for a GRAMMY in the classical field. Her two operas – Trade and Mary Motorhead – received international critical acclaim. They were called “remarkable,” by the Irish Independent, and the LA Times wrote that, “No Irish Opera has entered the standard repertory, but that is about to change.”
In this enlightening conversation with Emma, we learn about the fascinating process of what it takes to create a modern opera. Emma talks about how she found her authentic musical voice through years of shedding and letting go of expectations and external pressure. In this chat she shares openly and honestly about unhealthy self-worth patterns in creative career paths, and how she has overcome it all with nervous system regulation, which she's so passionate about that she has just qualified as a breathwork instructor. We found this conversation so informative and uplifting and we know you will too. Make a cup of tea and tune in to what feels like a calming mentoring session from yet another fascinating artist.
You can check out Emma's work and music here: www.emma-ohalloran.com
About your hosts: Tamzin Merivale is a visual artist and writer, on a mission to explore diverse stories and to guide people to process their life experiences through art. Tamzin’s visual art facilitates people in their quest to unearth their true, powerful selves — work which is unique and transformational. Tamzin’s writing was recently published in the New York Times best-selling memoir The Book of Alchemy (2025) by Suleika Jaouad, alongside Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Rushdie and more. Subscribe to Tamzin’s Newsletter here or follow her on Instagram @tamzinmerivale.
Finola Merivale is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, based between France and Ireland. She is currently a 2025–26 Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. Her music has been described as “edgy and discomforting, yet exciting and distinctive,” and "a wild ride." Finola completed her DMA in Composition at Columbia University. Recent accolades include fellowships from MacDowell (2025) and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2024), a 2025 Music Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland and an award from the New York Council on the Arts. Her music has been performed internationally. Follow Finola on Instagram @finolamerivale.
Audio editing and production by Finola Merivale Music by Finola Merivale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Lodestar with Tamzin and Finola
Firstly, apologies to listeneres for this very late release! In this final episode of Season 1, Tamzin and Finola dig into a thought-provoking Creativity Challenge set by poet Jason Allen-Paisant. Jason asked us to take some moments in silence and contemplate where our creative work sits in relation to the circle we are part of, including our ancestors and descendants.
Jason Allen-Paisant is a Jamaican scholar, poet and writer. His work explores how Afro-diasporic artists and communities shape their futures through embodied philosophies, focusing on the intersections of poetry and philosophy. His second book of poems, Self-Portrait as Othello won two of the most prestigious poetry prizes in the world: both the Forward Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize – a rare feat. His debut collection, Thinking with Trees won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Poetry and was named a Book of the Year by The Irish Times. His stunning memoir The Possibility of Tenderness: A Jamaican Memoir of Plants and Dreams was published last year, to critical acclaim. Jason is also Professor of Critical Theory and Creative Writing at the University of Manchester.
In this Creativity Challenge episode, Tamzin and Finola discuss whether or not they embraced the idea of "boredom." In the last episode, GRAMMY-nominated composer Emma O'Halloran pulled a card from the Oblique Strategies card deck – a deck full of creative prompts designed by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. The card that came up for our challenge was "Do Something Boring."
In this next Creativity Challenge episode, Tamzin and Finola sit down to discuss the task set for them by award-winning film-maker Payal Kapadia, called "Correspondence." For the challenge, the sisters created video letters for each other. Finola wrote her video letter from snowy Sweden and Tamzin made hers in Morocco. Tune in to hear about the process of creating these videos.
Our dream guest today is a writer and director making history. Payal Kapadia won the Cannes Grand Prix in 2024 for her sublime film, “All We Imagine As Light,” which was hailed by The Guardian as “A triumph.” She was the sixth woman to ever win this award and it was the first Indian film to be submitted to the festival’s main competition in three decades. Her films are captivating audiences around the world and Payal was nominated for two Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and so many more. Her documentary, “A Night of Knowing Nothing,” won the L’œil d’Or award for Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. She is currently a Fellow at the Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris.