Christmas by Candlelight

Irish Heritage announces new Music Bursary for Composition

£3,000 Award for successful young composer

Irish Heritage is pleased to announce the launch a new bursary for an original classical music composition on an Irish theme by a young Irish composer based in Ireland or Britain.

The new bursary, which has been made possible through the support of the Ireland Fund of Great Britain and a generous donor, complements the Irish Heritage Music Bursary for Performance which was launched in 2015 and which has already had a major impact.

The new Bursary is open to young first and second generation Irish composers studying at recognised music conservatoires and other colleges in Ireland and Britain.  Students are invited to participate through the relevant music departments.

Announcing the new Bursary, Patrick Lennon, Chairman of Irish Heritage said, “Since its formation in 1974 Irish Heritage has focused on the celebration and performance of classical and Irish music of the past in the process encouraging and launching the careers of many now established Irish singers and musicians.

“The organisation believes that the time has come to turn its attention to contemporary classical music composition with Irish themes and nurture the composers of the music that will be performed by future performers.

“We are most grateful to the Ireland Fund of Great Britain and to one of our generous supporters for providing the funding to launch this exciting new bursary.  I hope it will attract interest and submissions from young Irish composers in both countries.”

The theme of the inaugural Bursary composition is peace and reconciliation in an Ireland-Britain context in these testing times.

The recipient of the successful composition will receive an award of £3,000 to be used in furthering their artistic and professional development.  The composition will be premiered at an Irish Heritage event in London.

The panel of adjudicators, which will consist of leading, current professional performers and academics drawn from Ireland and Britain, will be announced in early December.
 

Visit the Irish Heritage website at https://irishheritage.co.uk/ for full details.

Auditions for 2018 Irish Heritage Music Bursary for Performance

The auditions for the 2018 Irish Heritage Music Bursary for Performance will take place in the Wigmore Hall on 2^nd November.

The Bursary, which is now in its fourth year, has attracted a range of high quality nominations from conservatoires across this country.  Candidates will perform for a panel chaired by John Gilhooly OBE, Director of the Wigmore Hall.

The recipient receives an award of £5,000, a solo recital at a London venue and a performance at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in Lismore, County Waterford.

Previous recipients of the Bursary including Adam Heron (2017), Christopher Quaid (2016) and Maire Carroll (2015) and Carloyn Holt (2015),have benefitted from the funding and performance opportunities provided by Irish Heritage.

News from Irish Heritage Alumni 

Marie Carroll

Marie, who was the joint recipient of the first Irish Heritage music bursary, has been in contact about her  project “Hidden Pianos: Chords along the Canal”, a series of exciting collaborations with Waterways Ireland featuring site-specific performance.

The series is a new, intimate performance experience that takes the piano to places that are often forgotten yet full of history and are bursting to be shared. The first concert in the series took place in collaboration with Dublin Port at the Old Graving Dock Pumphouse in Dublin Port.  For the next exciting event, Máire was pleased to shine a musical light on Waterways Ireland through performance and discussion in venues on the Grand Canal.

Unfortunately, this newsletter went to press too late for Marie’s recent performances on 11^th and 12^th October so look out for future events in the series by visiting www.hiddenpianos.com

Marie’s eclectic programme for the series includes pieces from her debut album ‘ROADS’ which features musical favourites by Rodgers & Hammerstein, jazz inspired melodies by George Gershwin, dazzling Etudes by Academy Award winner Philip Glass, and many more.  Anyone that was fortunate to be in the capacity audience in Lismore Cathedral during the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in June will know what excellent entertainment to expect from Marie.
 

Adam Heron

All those who have seen Irish Heritage’s 2017 Music Bursary recipient Adam Heron (pictured below) perform will be unsurprised to learn that is career is taking off!

St Ann’s Church in Dublin will be the venue for a performance by Adam on 15^th November, he will be pleased to see any friends from Irish Heritage should you be in the city that Thursday evening.

Adam is collaborating with 2016 Bursary recipient, Christopher Quaid, in a recital in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on 19^th November.

He is also planning a summer 2019 tour of Ireland performing in venues in Colraine, Limerick and Wicklow, more news about this tour in future newsletters.