The Festival of Youth Orchestras reaches its sixteenth birthday on Saturday 12th February 2011.
We’re very happy to announce the participants and looking forward to working with them all through the autumn and winter towards the big day at the National Concert Hall.
The National Campaign for the Arts will be holding a National Day of Action for the Arts on Friday 17th September, when artists and those working in the arts will meet with their TDs to present the value of the arts to Ireland’s economic recovery and their place in the society of the future. If you would like to take part, you can find out more at the NCFA web site.
The following video has been made by the Campaign for distribution via the internet. It can be shared via Youtube.
We were thrilled to win an AIB Better Ireland award in March. Thanks to everyone who voted for us, and voted, and voted. It is very much appreciated. Our biggest news is that St Agnes’ Parent Orchestra has taken off, including mums, dads and grandparents, an ensemble with 30 players on the list. Tuesday mornings are now so exciting. See pictures in our special parent orchestra photo gallery on www.stagnesmusiccrumlin.com. ”Cafe Musica” is open from 11am on Tuesdays in the cookery room where we rehearse, and the parent orchestra works for an hour from 11:30 to 12:30. We have three violas, three cellos and three double basses in the parent ensemble.
Our Junior Training Ensemble (mostly 1st and 2nd class) performed on April 22nd at Walkinstown-Crumlin Public library. We will have a Summer Camp as usual from June 30th to July 9th. We try to do chamber music as much as possible, and will be glad of volunteer helpers. We were delighted that three more players (one double bass and two cellos) got places in Dublin Youth Orchestras, all in 5th class. We are equally delighted to have received a donation of a bass drum from UCD and to have a new percussionist who is in 4th class in Scoil Colm. This year’s 6th class girls in the orchestra will have a School Leavers’ recital at the end of June. The project is committed to continuing its loan of instruments and provision of lessons to all these players as they move to secondary school so we expect to see them all in September for their weekly lessons, no doubt looking very grown up. The first two students who began learning viola in the early days of our project have taken their Junior Cert practical on viola, which is a milestone event for the project.
St Agnes’ CYO played in Drogheda Arts Festival in the Barbican Centre on Saturday May 1st, and on May 27th will perform in two schools, Star of the Sea NS Ringsend, Dublin (boys), and St Joseph’s School for the Visually Impaired, Drumcondra.
We want to say a very special thank you to the transition year students who have come to us in the course of this school year from Belvedere College and the High School, Dublin, as part of their year’s work experience and community service. Our thanks also to the runners / walkers / joggers in this year’s Flora Women’s Mini-Marathon in support of St Agnes Music Crumlin.
The highlight to end our school year is the Side by Side Concert, which will take place on Saturday 12th June at 6:30pm. Once again we are inviting adult musicians, professional and amateur, and student musicians to join St Agnes’ CYO for this concert. Please contact us at stagnesmusiccrumlin@gmail.com if you would like to play. The Parent Orchestra and Junior Training Ensemble will take part as well as the adult guest players and St Agnes’ CYO. Admission is free on Saturday 12th June in the big school hall at St Agnes’ Primary School, Armagh Road, Crumlin. Doors opening 6 pm for a 6:30 start under the baton of Seamus Doyle.
Joanna Crooks
IAYO has recently joined a Garda vetting consortium through our membership of the National Youth Council of Ireland and can now offer this service for member organisations.
Contact the IAYO office for more details.
The Dublin Youth Concert Orchestra, with their conductor Ronan O’Reilly travelled to Belfast on Friday 16th April for a weekend of shared music making. The first stop was St Brides Primary School, which was just off the Malone Road, where we were welcomed by the Principal and the music teachers. The orchestra gave part of a morning concert in their wonderful school hall. The excellent school orchestra performed first, and then the DYCO provided the second half.
The players then went on into the city to enjoy some lunch and a little shopping in the Victoria Square. Farset International Hostel on the Springfield Road was their accommodation and this proved to be an excellent choice. It is highly recommended to anyone with a similar group. Later that evening, after dinner, the players returned to St Bride’s Hall to give the second half of the concert for the parents of the pupils, the first half again being given by the school orchestra with their special percussion section and choir. It was a wonderful occasion and the DYCO played magnificently, receiving a standing ovation at the end of the concert. The players then returned to the hostel with their instruments, did a quick change and went to the Odyssey for some bowling.
The Giant’s Causeway was the destination on Saturday morning, followed by a visit to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. We had been keeping our fingers crossed for good weather, but we needn’t have worried. It was just perfect. After an early dinner, the orchestra set off for a seating rehearsal and concert in the Spectrum Centre on the Shankill Road. They were joined by the Andersonstown Taditional and Modern Music Group for the first half of the concert. Their Uilleann piper, Liam McCullagh, was only thirteen years of age but was so talented that he was asked to join the DCYO orchestra in ‘Riverdance’. He was then immediately invited to come down to Dublin on the following Saturday to play again with the orchestra in the DYO Spring Concert in the Artane School of Music. The evening ended with a very enjoyable and energetic Céilí back at the Hostel.
Next morning, before heading home again, we all went on a guided tour of the city in an open top bus. This brought our very enjoyable weekend to a close. Thank you to everyone who helped to make it so successful.
Cherry O’Keeffe
It is with regret that we inform members and friends of the passing of Agnes O’Kane, IAYO’s Honorary Vice President, on Easter Sunday.
Agnes was the founding Honorary Administrator of IAYO, Chair from 2001 to 2005 and was appointed Honorary Vice-President on her retirement from the board in 2005. Agnes dedicated much of her life to the development of education and opportunities for young musicians as part of Dublin Youth Orchestras IAYO, and the European Association of Youth Orchestras.
Sandra Dackow, who spent much time in Ireland working with youth orchestras and their conductors has paid tribute to Agnes’ work:
“Rarely does one person have the opportunity to make such a difference as she did. Agnes was visionary and down to earth at the same time. I was immediately impressed by her high energy and commitment to excellence. It was an honor and a treat to have been adopted as a member of the O’Kane family whenever I visited Ireland. We would talk late into the night about how to bring more orchestra activity to the young musicians of Ireland. We owe her a deep debt for what she initiated and honor her memory by carrying her work and her vision forward.”
The work done by Agnes over the years has been of great benefit to the youth orchestras and young musicians of Ireland and will be commemorated in the work of IAYO.
Allin Gray, General Manager
Sunday 7th March, 2010 saw the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort, County Galway awash with 150+ young musicians, all gathered together to participate in the 3rd Annual Junior Orchestra Festival. This festival is the only event of its kind in the West of Ireland and welcomed children from Sligo, Ennis, Galway, Athenry and Gort this year. ‘The greatest logistical challenge is physically fitting everyone in for the Finale’ says festival organiser, Fiona Buckley. ‘The Finale is a feature of the festival that sets it apart from other orchestral events. We are tremendously lucky that Katharina Baker, the Musical Director for the festival, is also a composer, and every year she has contributed a composition that is especially produced for the Finale which takes into consideration the instrument make-up and the level of playing of each participating orchestra. It was also Katharina’s idea to make the physical set-up of the Finale a ‘fun’ feature of the performance, thereby letting the audience get an idea of how it all comes together.’
Another aspect of this year’s festival was the support of RTÉ lyric fm. We were delighted to have Eamonn Lenihan as MC for the concert, and Gail Henry from the RTÉ lyric fm Education Outreach also supported the event by organising a workshop for teenagers on radio production.
What is next on the agenda for the Junior Orchestra Festival? According to Fiona Buckley, next year’s festival is already in planning and will be held on March 6, 2011. ‘As some of our usual participants are no longer ‘junior’ players, we are considering hosting a larger selection of orchestras in two age groups’. Orchestras interested in joining in should contact Fiona at info@coole-music.com.
Two new resources are available on the Arts Council website for arts organisations working with children and young people. Both have been designed as templates that can be adapted by arts organisations for their own use.
Child Protection Policy and Procedures – Information for Children is designed as a leaflet that can be given to children and young people. It is intended to provide them with a brief guide to the measures that are in place in their arts organisation to ensure their safety and welfare. Information covered includes code of behaviour, making a complaint and how they can expect to be treated.
Child Protection Policy and Procedures – Information for Parents / Guardians provides an outline for parents/guardians on the policies and procedures that are in place in an arts organisation attended by their child. It includes guidance on recruitment procedures, how the organisation will communicate with the parents in the event of a concern regarding their child and lists points on how parents can cooperate with them to ensure the safety and welfare of their child.
Love:live music, Ireland’s first National Music Day, took place on Friday April 16th. The event was coordinated by Music Network in association with RTÉ lyric fm and supported by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism.
Over one hundred live music events of all descriptions took place in twenty counties across Ireland, eighty-eight of which were free. Twenty-four concerts took place in traditional concert venues while twenty-eight performances took place in cafes as recitals or lunchtime choir events. There were ten public events including the spectacular ‘Friends of the Harp’ event on the recently opened Samuel Beckett Calatrava-designed 24 string ‘harp’ bridge in Dublin.
Eighteen schools participated in lunchtime concerts and workshops.
Other events on the day included three orchestra open rehearsals and Ireland’s first ever orchestral flash mob by the Irish Chamber Orchestra in Limerick. Highlights from the day were broadcast by RTÉ lyric fm.
A number of IAYO members were involved in events on the day. Laois School of Music Orchestra gave an open rehearsal and there were also orchestral performances in Scoil Mhuire in Portlaoise and Newtown National School, schools where Laois School of music is running outreach programmes.
Liffey Valley Orchestra performed in ‘Maynooth makes music for Zambia’ while the County Tipperary Ryan Youth Orchestra performed a “Shopping Showcase” in Tipperary Town shopping centre.
Donegal Youth Orchestra held open rehearsals while CIT Cork School of Music held a 12-hour Music Marathon with students of all ages and levels taking part. Athenry Music School hosted a 500 strong vocal celebration of music for National Music Day involving 15 national schools from Athenry and the surrounding areas and County Cork School of Music held a showcase concert with soloists, wind and percussion ensembles.
Plans are already under way for the 2011 repeat.
Music Network is delighted to announce that a Director and Board for the National Music Education Programme have been announced.
Rosaleen Molloy has been appointed Director of the National Music Education Programme. Rosaleen has over fifteen years experience working in the field of music education in Ireland and has acted as Project Director of Arts in the Classroom Initiative, Founder / Director of The County Wexford Children’s Choir Programme and County Arts Officer, Wexford County Council. The Board will be chaired by Tony Ó Dálaigh and Directors include Danny O’Hare, Ann-Marie Power, Leo Blennerhassett, Clíona Doris, Bill Whelan and Ellen Cranitch.
With funding from the Arts Council, Music Network has over the decade been working to raise awareness of the value of music education, and of the need for enhanced provision through a national system of local music education services. A model developed by Music Network (as recommended in the Music Network report A National System of Local Music Education Services – Report of a Feasibility Study 2003) set out to make music education available to all children of the state irrespective of their geographical location and their social and economic circumstances. The model has been successfully piloted in County Donegal and City of Dublin, with funding from the Department of Education and Science. The model is widely agreed to be a workable and cost efficient solution. Funding for the project has been donated by U2 to the tune of €5 million and a further €2 million pledged by The Ireland Funds to allow the project to be rolled out between 2010 and 2015.
“We are thrilled with the appointment of Rosaleen and the Board, and look forward to the enhancement of the Irish musical education system as a result of this programme, which we have been working on now for almost a decade,” Deirdre McCrea Music Network CEO said.
Rosaleen Molloy will manage the national rollout of the scheme, which will take place on a phased basis, in a number of new locations each year, beginning in 2010 and including all musical genres. Involvement in the scheme will be offered on the basis of competitive tender. Local partnerships (to include one or more local VECs and/or local authorities together with other local interests, such as private music schools, parents groups etc.) will be invited to bid for a three-year subsidy to provide for the costs of teachers and local administration; they must show how they will generate matching resources locally, and how they will plan to make the scheme sustainable in the longer term.
