IAYO Forum for Young Orchestral Musicians

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The IAYO Youth Sub-Committee, supported with funding from the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe, are proud to announce that the ‘Hear Us Play, Have Our Say’ forum for young orchestral musicians, aged 16 to 25 years of age, will be taking place this February across Saturday, 15 February and Sunday, 16 February. There is no cost to participate.

The closing date for applications is Monday, 13 January 2025.

Applications are open to all young musicians, 16 to 25 years, who have experience of youth orchestral or ensemble playing in Ireland. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept everyone this time as we have limited accommodation spaces.

Please apply here.

Details:

1pm on Saturday, 15 February to Sunday, 16 February 2025 at 3.30pm.

Location:

Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre, Clonbur in Galway.

This is suitable for young musicians who are passionate about or interested in the importance of:

  • Youth orchestras and youth ensembles for young musicians
  • Young people being actively involved in creating welcoming spaces
  • Young people voices being supported and listened to by decision-makers
  • Young people as leaders and advocates

Then this forum, the first of its kind for IAYO, may be for you!

What is involved?

The forum will run as a 2-day, 1 night residential for young musicians aged 16 to 25 years of age. The chosen venue of Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre will provide a beautiful and peaceful backdrop to what is shaping up to be a very interesting weekend.

There will be a one-day follow-up evaluation session at a later date in March.

This forum is part of our youth participation in decision-making programme and was developed in conjunction with the IAYO Youth Subcommittee and IAYO staff. The workshop contents have been informed by our engagement with young musicians over the last year and the insights shared by the young people at the forum will inform our work for the coming year.

The main themes addressed during this forum will be:

  • Our rights: Looking at the facts, the impact, and the relevance to our musical experiences
  • Creating welcoming spaces: What are welcoming spaces? Why do they matter to young orchestral musicians? Do we have a role in creating them?
  • Moving forward: How can we make sure young musicians across Ireland have their voices heard in our work?

As this is a discussion-based activity, young people are not required to bring their instruments nor is there a minimum playing standard required.

Sample Schedule:

Saturday, 15 February

  • 1pm-2pm Registration and lunch
  • 2pm-6pm Workshops and activities (with breaks)
  • 6.30pm Dinner
  • 7.30pm-9pm Workshops
  • 9pm-11pm Supper, downtime and activities

Sunday, 16 February

  • 8.30am Breakfast
  • 9am-1pm Workshop
  • 1pm-1.45pm Lunch
  • 1.45-3.00pm Q&A panel and evaluation
  • 3.00-3.30 Close up and depart

Thanks to the funding received from the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe, there is no fee to attend this forum.

Accommodation and meals are provided for all participants during the residential.

Transport:

We will be able to reimburse participants for public transport costs. Participants will need to provide evidence of travel costs and fill in a form in order to be reimbursed. Given the rural location of the venue, IAYO will organise shuttle points to facilitate participant’s travel.

Shuttle bus from Galway City Centre at 12pm on the Saturday returning to Galway at 4.30pm approx on the Sunday to facilitate participants traveling on the main rail and bus services.

Shuttle bus/taxi on Saturday with a return on Sunday to facilitate participants travelling using the expressway and Feda services heading North/North West. Participants will be asked to confirm their arrival time in order to ensure shuttle is available.

These shuttle services are provided free of charge but pre-booking with IAYO is essential.

Applications are open to all young musicians, 16 to 25 years, who have experience of youth orchestral or ensemble playing in Ireland. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept everyone this time as we have limited accommodation spaces.

If we are over-subscribed we will offer to keep young people on a waitlist for further opportunities within our youth participation programme.

The application form to participate can be found here.

For more information please contact Rachel Dunne Lambe, IAYO Youth Participation Office via email at rachel@iayo.ie or call/WhatsApp at 089 488 2626.

Funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

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