Irish Association of Youth Orchestras

This month’s electronic version of our printed Newsnotes can now be viewed online at this link.

Brass and percussion students from Cork School of Music were invited to join the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in its rehearsal base of Studio 1, RTÉ Radio Centre in Donnybrook on Tuesday 30 April.

The RTÉ CO and conductor Neil Thomson were rehearsing a John Williams programme for a concert in Cork Opera House the following day. Young people studying French horn, trumpet, trombone and percussion not only sat in the body of the orchestra observing the rehearsal, they actually got the chance to perform as part of the RTÉ CO for the Raiders March. The students then got to experience the music from the other side for the concert itself when they sat into the audience at Cork Opera House as the RTÉ CO’s guests.

St Canices NS B Orchestra completed a great victory at the recent Feis Ceoil competition in Dublin by winning the Peter Killian Cup. The junior musicians, who are between the ages of 8-10, beat off stiff competition from their older colleagues in St Canices A Orchestra to win in the Primary Schools Orchestra category.

St Canices NS have an illustrious record in this particular competition, having won the competition 22 times and there were happy smiles all around as the cup returned to its rightful home in the Kilkenny national school. The B Orchestra, conducted by Ms Margaret O Faoláin de Bhróite, played “Prelude in G” by Edward B Jurey and “Marco Takes a Walk” by Sheila Nelson, while the A Orchestra, conducted by Ms Ruth O Leary, played “Dambusters March” by Eric Coates and Elgars “Nimrod”. St Canices have had another very successful year, with the A Orchestra having retained the Miller cup at the recent Wesley College Inter Schools Music Festival.

2013 is a particularly significant year for St Canices, as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the instrumental music programme. The programme gives all children from Junior Infants upwards the opportunity to play a musical instrument. The number of children participating in the programme continues to increase year on year despite the economic climate, and today there are over four hundred children involved in music in the school. The programme has been recognised nationally and has received many awards over the years, from the Pushkin Educational award in 1994, the AIB Better Ireland Award in 1998 to the Irish Association of Youth Orchestras Award for Organisational Achievement in 2004 and 2007, To mark the anniversary, a special Gala Concert will be held in the Watergate Theatre on Saturday 22 June – “St Canices Instrumental Music Programme – 30 years of music making”. The concert will feature past and present students of the programme in a celebration of the schools musical achievements over the last thirty years. Many former pupils have gone on to have very successful musical careers in their own right, and a wonderful night of music is promised.

The Wheel and Iarnód Éireann are delighted to announce that they will support community groups with a free train travel promotion in 2013.

They are offering FREE train travel, on an agreed return journey, for up to 100 groups of up to 50 people at a time. All groups such as Local Community Groups, Sports Clubs, Voluntary Bodies, Charities and other such groups can apply.

• Are you involved in such a group, or do you know someone who is?
• Would free group travel help your organisation achieve its goal?

Fill in the application form online  by 5pm on Friday, 3 May 2013 and you could be one of the lucky groups to be offered free travel.

Athenry Music School celebrated their 5th birthday in style with their MEGA Concert in Galway Cathedral on Sunday 14th April with the 1500 seat cathedral packed to capacity. The concert started with a world premiere of the school fanfare composed by Duncan Moore. This was followed by a varied and rich programme.

The Athenry Junior Orchestra played Alan Lee Silva and Thank you for the music by ABBA (sung by Athenry Childrens’ Choir Cor le Kids). They also played Katharina Baker’s Show Time and Athenry Music School was delighted to dedicate the performance to the composer, who was in the audience.

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Primary school children may only have been back at school a couple of days after the Christmas break but for many of them, a real musical treat was in store. On January 9th the Dublin Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Fergus Sheil, performed two concerts specially for them.

Over 1800 children in all attended the Victory Centre in Firhouse and word is that it was a fantastic morning. Included in the repertoire was an energetic rendition of Marquez’s Danzon no 2., following which the composer Brian Irvine facilitated a highly engaging interactive experience between children and the orchestra. Pupils were enthusiastically singing, harmonising and dancing to South American dance tunes and learning about the orchestra in about as lively a manner as is possible.

The orchestra was joined by members of the Irish National Youth Ballet Company who danced to the Sleeping Beauty Suite by Tchaikovsky.

The venue itself was amazing, featuring fully tiered seating for audiences up to a thousand people and the latest technology providing close up images of players and dancers which were then projected on the walls behind the stage.

Members of the Dublin Youth Concert Orchestra provided workshops downstairs in the Victory Centre allowing participants a very close up and personal experience of all the orchestral instruments and a chance to try out the instruments themselves.

Prior to the morning, teachers were provided with an educational pack to help prepare children for the event and there were accompanying art and music competitions all based around the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ theme.

The Galway Music Residency is calling musicians interested in becoming its Apprentice Ensemble 2013 to submit applications for the coming season. Now in its 7th year, the apprentice ensemble programme offers a group of musicians dedicated tuition time with the world famous Galway Ensemble in Residence – ConTempo Quartet and much more besides.

Over the past seven years ConTempo have mentored all types of ensembles – everything from a ‘Cello Duo, Piano Quartet and String Trio to a Saxophone Quartet. Each of these ensembles was provided with practice space and resources to further their instrumental proficiency both as individual players and within ensemble playing. They were mentored, tutored and advised on a monthly basis by ConTempo Quartet and also provided with a number of performance opportunities as part of The Galway Music Residency programme.

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The transport of musical instruments on airplanes often raises awkward questions and generates costs which can be prohibitive. The European musicians’ trade union has launched a petition to the EU Commission demanding significant improvements in this matter. Amateur musicians travelling with their instruments have been subject to complex and expensive protocol when it comes to transporting their instruments internationally by air, and it seems as though a proactive stance for change has been made.

A first success has been achieved. The International Federation of Musicians (FIM) petition ‘Fair teatment for musicians travelling on planes with their instruments’ was sent to the EU Commission, and a few days ago it emerged that a draft amended regulation has been published by the EU Commission on March 20th, 2013, which includes specific provisions about musical instruments carried on planes, which is exactly what the petition was about. Of course, there is still some work to be done in order to make sure that the EU Parliament supports – or even improves – the Commission’s proposal. But this is already a big success for all involved in the petition and it’s implementation.

The document can be read here.

The Music Instrument Fund of Ireland was founded in May 1995 with the purpose of making string instruments of high quality available on loan to promising young musicians. Since the foundation of MIFI, more than 50 young Irish musicians have benefited from such support.

Auditions will take place on the 18th May, and the closing date to apply is the 29th March.

More information can be found here.