Spring 2015 / Earrach 2015
Irish World Academy of Music and Dance
University of Limerick
Dámh Chruinne Éireann Rince agus Ceol
Ollscoil Luimnigh
OF OUR TIMES
COMHAIMSEARTHA
Front cover photo: Marketa Formanova (Czech Republic)
and Vivian Brodie Hayes (Ireland), MA Contemporary
Dance Performance
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
Niamh Ní Bhriain performing at the Waking
St Munchin event at Dance Limerick
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
Contents
2
INTRODUCTION
4
FACULTY & STAFF AT THE IRISH WORLD ACADEMY
6
LUNCHTIME PERFORMANCE SERIES
12 THE TOWER SEMINAR SERIES
20 LOGOS SEMINAR SERIES
24 SPECIAL EVENTS
28 AG FÉACHAINT SIAR / RECENT EVENTS AT THE ACADEMY
34 BEALACH / COMMUNITY CULTURAL PATHWAYS
AT THE IRISH WORLD ACADEMY
38 CÓNAÍ / ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
42 TAIGHDE / RESEARCH AT THE ACADEMY
48 IRISH WORLD ACADEMY ENSEMBLES
52 SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARD RECIPIENTS
General Editor: Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin
Text Editors: Gráinne O'Donovan and Eilín Mulcahy
Photography: Maurice Gunning
Design: Joe Gervin
Space Booking Coordination: Melissa Carty
Ag Féachaint Siar/Recent Events: Jennifer de Brún (Media Office)
Tower/Logos Module Coordinator (Colloquium): Aileen Dillane
Thursday Lunchtime Performance Coordinator: Ferenc Süzcs Tuesday Lunchtime Performance Coordinators: Sandra Joyce/Niall Keegan
Taighde/Research Editor: Helen Phelan
56 CLÁR / IRISH WORLD ACADEMY PROGRAMMES
60 OTHER PROGRAMMES AND ARTS OFFICES
CONTENTS
Credits
1
Introduction
Sionna’s Box: Artists-in-Residence
at the Irish World Academy
In its earliest manifestations, the Academy was not a physical entity but an imagined
space, often referred to playfully as a ‘bosca’, or ‘box’, by its founder-director,
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. This bosca was no ordinary cube with six faces but a
magician’s box with false walls and escape hatches; a Pandora’s Box of curiosity,
creative subversion and mischief; a box of tricks where anything could happen.
It was also imagined as a reliquary: a sacred box housing precious and valuable
impulses; and a sanctuary and safe haven: a place where scholarly and artistic
searchers could explore, experiment and be nourished by the sharing of the
journey. Most tellingly, the Academy was imagined as a junction box: a bordered
space where energies and currents could meet and electrify each other.
The junction box of the Academy allows for the flow of energy through the curricula
– or circuits – of its educational programmes. Scholarship and performance grow out
of this box as branches from the trunk of a tree. The Greek (puxos) and Latin (buxis)
for ‘box’ derive from the boxwood tree. Indeed, writing and scholarship literally
grew out of the boxwood tree, whose wood was favoured for early wood-block
printing. With its finely grained, high-density texture and resistance to chipping,
music also grew out of the boxwood tree in the form of tail pieces, chin-rests and
tuning pegs for stringed instruments, Baroque recorders, uilleann pipes and Great
Highland bagpipes.
INTRODUCTION
Flowing around the circuitry of the Academy is the wider world of musicians, dancers,
singers, story-tellers, clowns, acrobats and global performers. The Academy connects
outwards to these energies through access programmes such as NOMAD, which
celebrates Irish Traveller culture; SANCTUARY, which celebrates new migrant cultural
communities; and numerous community-based, educational and therapeutic projects.
2
Just as the Academy reaches out into local and global creative communities,
it also welcomes these worlds of performance into its bosca in the form of artistsin-residence. Over the last two decades, the Academy has facilitated more than
40 artistic residencies. The establishment of a Chair of Music at the University of
Limerick in 1994 coincided with an impulse to professionalise and decentralise the
Irish Chamber Orchestra, Ireland’s premier chamber string orchestra. A dialogue
between the orchestra’s chief executive, John Kelly, and the Academy’s newly
appointed Chair, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, resulted in a decision by the then Minister
for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Michael D. Higgins (now President of Ireland),
Dr Helen Phelan
to relocate the orchestra to the University of Limerick campus in accordance with
a recommendation from the Arts Council. This decision birthed a relationship
between the orchestra and the Academy, which has spanned two decades.
If the chamber orchestra was the first artistic-ensemble to establish itself at the
Academy, it was preceded by an earlier artistic residency at Thomond College of
Education, which was dissolved and integrated into the University of Limerick
in 1991. In 1986, Mary Nunan was appointed Dancer-in-Residence at Thomond
College, and in 1988, with support from the Arts Council, Thomond College and
Mary Immaculate College of Education, she founded Daghdha Dance Company
at Thomond College. Mary was Daghdha’s artistic director until 1999, when she
became a full-time member of faculty at the Academy. In 1995, Toyota Ireland gifted IR£500,000 to the Academy. The donation resulted
in the creation of the Toyota Performing Arts Initiative, a five-year programme of
artistic residencies, commissions and festivals managed by Margaret O’Sullivan.
In 2000, a publication entitled Bosca commemorated the initiative, and in its
introduction, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin likened the bosca that had emerged during the
five-year period to things as diverse as the alchemist’s vas hermeticum – the sealed
container of wisdom; the hazelnut of Irish mythology, cracked open to reveal the
purple bubbles of imbas, or inspiration; and the egg-shaped beehive huts of
medieval, monastic Ireland, dotting the banks of the River Shannon (Sionna) and
creating beads of education and artistry, threaded together by the river. Bosca, in
this sense, is Sionna’s box; a gift waiting to be opened by those who would spend
time on her banks.
The Toyota Performing Arts initiative resulted in commissions and publications from
artists such as Raymond Deane, Gerald Barry, Kenneth Edge, Tommy Hayes, Michael
Alcorn, John Buckley, Elaine Agnew, Mary Nunan, Terry Moylan, Niall Keegan and
Desi Wilkinson. James Keane from Labasheeda, Co Clare became the first Irish
traditional dancer in residence at any university in the world. Other artists-inresidence included Peggy McTeggart, Dara Bán MacDonnacha, Cindy Cummings,
Stephen Scott, James Scanlon, Subroyo Roy Chowdhury and Saibal Chatterjee.
The Irish World Academy building has emerged as a physical manifestation
of the imagined spaces of Sionna’s bosca. In the middle of the foyer there is a pit,
sunk into the foundations at the time of construction in the tradition of ritual pits
built to consecrate newly constructed buildings. The 11th-century Kasyapasilpa, a
Sanskrit treatise on art, architecture and literature, describes the ritual for placing
a deposit box in the pit. Known as garbhanyasa – ‘the placing of the embryo’ –
the ritual describes the constructed deposit box as ‘the womb house’, the place of
gestation, fertility and birth. The ritual pit in the Academy has a bag of hazelnuts,
a pair of bones, a bodhrán and a replica bronze-age horn, all symbols of the
Academy’s own quest for creativity and wisdom.
and dance in the world. Irish language song has been supported by the efforts of
Foras na Gaeilge with the appointment of Iarla Ó Lionáird and Áine Uí Cheallaigh as
Foras na Gaeilge artists-in-residence. Pecker Dunne became the first ever Traveller
musician-in-residence in an Irish university through the NOMAD initiative, while the
contemporary Nigerian dancer Peter Badejo was appointed SANCTUARY’s artist-inresidence to work with new migrant communities in Limerick. Fidget Feet, Ireland’s
foremost Aerial Dance Theatre Company, became artists-in-residence in 2013 to
mark the launch of a new postgraduate programme in festive arts.
The Academy building is a space of hospitality for artists who continue to interact
with the bosca in a variety of ways. Musicians-in-residence, including Lajos Szücs,
the Bellatrix Piano Trio, Donal Lunny, the Chieftains, Martin Hayes, Tommy Peoples,
Mickey Dunne, Paul Brady and Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, have all made rich
contributions during their residencies as teachers and musicians and have provided
students with the invaluable opportunity of performing with their heroes and
mentors. Dancers-in-residence Colin Dunne, Jean Butler, Breandán de Gallaí,
Liz Roche and the Liz Roche Dance Company (formerly Rex Levitates) have led the
artistic and intellectual dialogue on future directions in Irish dance, dance in Ireland
Artistic energy fuels the creative and scholarly endeavours of the Academy but it
also responds to, subverts, represents and questions the Academy’s identity and
ethos. If the bosca that is the Irish World Academy is a junction box of connectivity,
artists who reside and spend time here provide an essential aspect of its weave and
wattle. Sionna’s box is an invitation. It is waiting to be cracked open. Come to her
riverbanks and join the celebration.
Dr Helen Phelan
Programme Director, PhD Arts Practice
Irish World Academy
Dr Helen Phelan is programme director of the PhD Arts Practice at the Irish World
Academy. From 2000 to 2009, she directed the MA Ritual Chant and Song. She has
served as associate director and acting director of the Academy and as associate
director, academic affairs of the UL College of Humanities (now the Faculty of Arts,
Humanities and Social Sciences). She was appointed Herbert Allen and Donald R.
Keough Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2012.
Her research interests are primarily in the areas of ritual and performance studies.
3
Faculty & Staff
FACULTY & STAFF
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE, UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK
4
Dr Sandra Joyce
Director
Course Director, MA Irish Traditional
Music Performance
Phone: +353 61 202065
Email: [email protected]
Dr Niall Keegan
Associate Director
Director, Undergraduate Studies
Phone: +353 61 202465
Email: [email protected]
Professor Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin
Founding Director
Chair of Music,
University of Limerick
Phone: +353 61 202030
Email: [email protected]
Paula Dundon
Academy Administrator
Phone: +353 61 202149
Email: [email protected]
Barbara Christie
Senior Administrator
Phone: +353 61 202030
Email: [email protected]
Melissa Carty
Assistant Administrator
Phone: +353 61 202590
Email: [email protected]
Jennifer de Brún
Performing Arts Coordinator
Phone: +353 61 202917
Email: [email protected]
Dr Ferenc Szucs
Course Director,
MA Classical String Performance
Phone: +353 61 202918
Email: [email protected]
Dr Yonit Kosovske
Lecturer in Classical
Piano Chamber Music Performance
MA Classical String Performance
Phone: +353 61 234922
Email: [email protected]
Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain
Course Director,
MA Irish Traditional
Dance Performance
Phone: +353 61 202470
Email: [email protected]
Jean Downey
Course Director,
Professional Diploma in Education
(Music), MEd (Music),
MA Community Music
Phone: +353 61 213160
Email: [email protected]
Dr Helen Phelan
Programme Director,
PhD Arts Practice
Phone: +353 61 202575
Email: [email protected]
Dr Mary Nunan
Course Director,
MA Contemporary
Dance Performance
Email: [email protected]
(Currently on sabbatical)
Dr Tríona McCaffrey
Lecturer, MA Music Therapy
Phone: +353 61 234358
Email: [email protected]
www.irishworldacademy.ie
Alpha Woodward
Course Director,
MA Music Therapy
Phone: +353 61 213122
Email: [email protected]
Dr Aileen Dillane
Acting Course Director,
MA Ethnomusicology
Phone: +353 61 202159
Email: [email protected]
Dr Mats Melin
Lecturer in Dance,
BA Irish Music and Dance
Phone: +353 61 202542
Email: [email protected]
Dr Colin Quigley
Director,
MA Ethnomusicology
Email: [email protected]
(Currently on sabbatical)
Dr Óscar Mascareñas
Lecturer,
BA Voice and Dance
Phone: +353 61 202990
Email: [email protected]
Dr Catherine Foley
Course Director,
MA Ethnochoreology
Phone: +353 61 202922
Email: [email protected]
Pamela Cotter
Lecturer, BA Irish Music and Dance
Phone: +353 61 202966
Email: [email protected]
Nora Rodriguez
Lecturer, BA Voice and Dance
Phone: +353 61 234967
Email: [email protected]
Hannah Fahey
Course Coordinator, MA Ritual
Chant and Song
Phone: +353 61 213762
Email: [email protected]
Dr Niamh NicGhabhann
Course Director,
MA Festive Arts
Phone: +353 61 202798
Email: [email protected]
Thalita Reis (Brazil), MA Contemporary
Dance Performance
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
5
6
LUNCHTIME PERFORMANCE SERIES
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
LUNCHTIME
PERFORMANCE
SERIES
Venue:
The Tower, Irish World Academy
(unless otherwise stated)
1.15pm
ADMISSION IS FREE, ALL ARE WELCOME
Esteban La Rotta (Colombia) playing theorbo at
a classical string performance at the Academy
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
7
County Cork School of Music
Ensemble Xenia
LUNCHTIME PERFORMANCE SERIES
JANUARY
8
Anita Vedres
FEBRUARY
Wednesday January 28th
Wednesday February 4th
Hear Our Song 2015!
A Taste of Italy, Past and Present
County Cork School of Music
Ensemble Xenia
County Cork School of Music (CCSM) presents a showcase
of young musicians performing in the classical, popular and
traditional genres. This concert showcases the school’s extensive
‘Let’s Play Together’ programme of performance-based activities.
‘Hear Our Song 2015!’ embodies the CCSM’s core philosophy…
young people and teachers who are passionate about sharing
their music with the community at large.
Adrian Pinzaru (violin), Eilís Cranitch (violin),
Daniel Palmizio (viola) and Claudio Pasceri (cello)
County Cork School of Music is one of Ireland's most dynamic
multi-campus music schools. CCSM offers high-quality social,
cultural and educational experiences and provides instrumental
tuition programmes in classical and traditional Irish music styles.
The school also incorporates a range of ensembles, bands,
musicianship classes and other music-making activities. As part
of its ‘Let’s Play Together’ programme, the school gives regular
public performances and works with partner schools on Junior
Certificate, Transition Year and Leaving Certificate music
programmes. CCSM is committed to forging links with
communities and has reached over 3,100 students through its
partners, which include schools, organisations and centres.
For more details, visit www.ccsm.ie.
This performance covers a timespan of approximately 90 years
and presents four very distinct compositions. Two of the works
were written by young composers who represent contemporary
trends and the other two were written, one in 1920 and the
other in 1990, by important and innovative composers who
greatly influenced the course of contemporary music in Italy.
The pieces are:
Albero Colla: Quartetto N.2 “Diario di giorni ordinari/Diary of
ordinary days” (2013)
Stefano Pierini: Kairos (2012)
Niccolò Castiglioni: Romanze – Adagio/Andatino/Adagietto/
Larghetto (1990)
Alfredo Casella: Valse Ridicule and Foxtrot from
“Cinque Pezzi per quartetto”(1920)
Ensemble Xenia was founded in Turin in 1995 by four
musicians with a shared interest in contemporary music.
Ensemble Xenia regularly participates in international festivals
and concert seasons, including the Ravenna Festival, MiTo
Settembre Musica Festival, the Piccolo Regio Laboratory series
(Turin), Holland Festival, Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), Ilkom
Festival (Tashkent), Arts Square Festival (Saint Petersburg),
Morgenland Festival (Germany), Lieu Unique (Nantes),
Meridian Festival (Bucharest) and the Icebreaker Festival
(Seattle). Xenia´s basic formation, the string quartet, can be
Malachy Robinson
Yonit Kosovske
extended to incorporate voice and other instruments, including
ethnic instruments. Among the artists who have played with
the ensemble are violinist Alexander Balanescu, tabla player
Federico Sanesi, cellist Rohan de Saram, pianist Peyman
Yazdanian and singers Cristina Zavalloni, Sarah Leonard and
Elena Vassilieva. The many ethnic instrumentalists who have
played with the group include Liu Fang (pì’pa) and Dai Ya (dizi)
from China, Khaled Jubran (Oud) from Palestine, Gevorg
Dabagyan (duduk) from Armenia, Tamami Tonu (sho) from
Japan and Sliabh Notes (traditional musicians) from Ireland.
For more information, visit www.xeniaensemble.it
Thursday February 12th
Stylus Fantasticus
Anita Vedres (violin), Malachy Robinson (viola da gamba)
and Yonit Kosovske (harpsichord)
Stylus fantasticus (‘fantastic style’) was a seventeenth-century
virtuosic instrumental style where freely ornamented lines were
supported by an accompanying bass line. Seventeenth-century
musicologist Athanasius Kircher wrote that the stylus fantasticus
‘is the most free and unrestrained method of composing; it is
bound to nothing, neither to any words nor to a melodic
subject…’ Girolamo Frescobaldi wrote in the preface to his
second book of keyboard toccatas (1637) that ‘This manner of
playing should not be fixed to the beat … making it now slow,
now fast or, even, held suspended according to the emotion or
sentiment of the words...’ This concert in the stylus fantasticus
features works by Biber, Bertali, Marini, Castello, Schmelzer and
Frescobaldi.
Anita Vedres (violin) studied at the Royal Academy of Music in
London and in Utrecht’s Musik Conservatorium. Under the
tutelage of the renowned Swiss baroque violinist Maya
Homburger, she obtained a first class honours master’s degree
in professional studies at the Cork School of Music. She is a
Patsy McCoy
Mairtín Ó Briain
Singers from the Inishowen Song Project
founding member of the Irish Baroque Orchestra and a former
member of both the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the
Irish Chamber Orchestra. Her chamber music activity includes
playing with groups such as Camerata Kilkenny, Armoniosa,
Trio Quattro, the Eidola Trio and the Robinson Panoramic Quartet.
She plays on a Viennese violin by Johann Joseph Stadlmann.
Malachy Robinson (violin) is a prize-winning graduate of
London’s Guildhall School of Music and holds a master’s
degree in historical musicology from the University of London.
He has appeared with period-performance bands, the Irish
Baroque Orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music, the OAE,
the Sixteen and the English Concert and has founded some
groups of his own: Trio Quattro, Armoniosa, the Eidola Trio
and the Gregory Walkers, in which he plays violin. Malachy is
also principal double-bassist with the Irish Chamber Orchestra,
a founder member of the Crash Ensemble and director of the
Robinson Panoramic Quartet.
Yonit Kosovske performs on both modern and historical
keyboard instruments, including harpsichord, fortepiano,
modern piano and chamber organ. With a playing repertoire
that includes compositions from the sixteenth century to
contemporary music, Yonit performs as a soloist, chamber
artist and orchestral player. She holds a Doctor of Music degree
from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her book
Historical Harpsichord Technique: Developing La douceur du
toucher was published by Indiana University Press in 2011.
Dr Kosovske lectures in music at the Irish World Academy,
where she is active as both a teacher and accompanist in piano,
harpsichord, chamber music, historical performance practice,
music history and literature.
Man, Woman + Child
Thursday February 19th
Wednesday February 25th
Edith Piaf: Story and Song
The Inishowen Song Project Live:
Singers and Songs of the Peninsula
Patsy McCoy and Mairtín Ó Briain
Edith Piaf was a street singer who became France’s national
diva and one of its greatest international stars. Her music was
often autobiographical with her songs reflecting her life story.
In this tribute, Patsy McCoy and Mairtín Ó Briain bring Piaf’s
story to life through a repertoire rich in the passion of love and
the pain of loss and sorrow. As Piaf tries to find herself anew,
the narrative sometimes reflects a postmodern Ireland. In this
concert the performers breathe new life into such classics as
La Vie en Rose and Non, Je ne Regrette Rien.
Patsy McCoy, a native of Limerick city who comes from a
well-known musical family, has worked as a pianist, singer and
entertainer throughout Ireland for many years. She has performed
at many festivals and venues, including the Galway Races,
Listowel Races and in the Butler Arms Hotel in Waterville,
Co Kerry. Patsy has covered the work of several artists and has
a particular affection for the life and songs of Edith Piaf. She
has performed these songs in many intimate settings, including
Rouen in France and the Lime Tree Theatre in her native Limerick
during the City of Culture 2014.
Mairtín Ó Briain, a Limerick native, has been involved with
music and drama for many years. He has worked extensively
with choirs, which regularly perform in Italy and Germany.
Mairtín taught French and Irish for many years in Laurel Hill
Secondary School, Limerick. He speaks several languages and
has a particular affection for French culture. In 2014, Mairtín’s
choir performed some of the acclaimed works of Duke Ellington
at the Limerick Jazz Festival and he narrated the story of Edith
Piaf in the Lime Tree Theatre as part of the City of Culture
celebrations.
Grace Toland, Kevin McGonigle and Jim MacFarland
The Inishowen Peninsula in Co Donegal is home to a rich
contemporary and historical tradition of unaccompanied ballad
singing in the English language. The Inishowen Song Project
(ISP) Tour is an introduction to the singers and songs from
this tradition in live performance and online. This lunchtime
concert features singers Grace Toland, Kevin McGonigle and
Jim MacFarland of the Inishowen Traditional Singers’ Circle.
The concert will focus on songs collected and learned from
family and friends in the Peninsula.
Grace Toland, Kevin McGonigle and Jim MacFarland are
active members of the Inishowen Traditional Singers’ Circle. The
group organises monthly singing sessions and workshops, hosts
the annual Inishowen International Folk Song & Ballad Seminar
and is the publisher of the online Inishowen Song Project. Brian
Doyle is providing technical support on this occasion.
Thursday February 26th
Man, Woman + Child
Len Graham, Róisín de Faoite, Fergus Russell, Róisín Gaffney, Jim
MacFarland, Grace Toland, Hammy Hamilton and Sandra Joyce
Man, Woman + Child is a research and performance project
based on The Child Ballad Collection, a collection of traditional
songs collected by the American collector Francis J. Child in
England and Scotland (1882–1898).The project pairs a male
singer with a female singer in performance with the aim of
breathing new life into songs from the Child Ballad Collection.
The Man, Woman + Child project is devised and coordinated
by Michael Fortune and is supported by the National Library of
Ireland and the Arts Council.
9
Deirdre Moynihan
MARCH
Thursday March 5th
Hidden Treasures from Russia and Ireland: Tchaikovsky
and John Field
Deirdre Moynihan (voice) and Fionnuala Moynihan (piano)
LUNCHTIME PERFORMANCE SERIES
The songs of Tchaikovsky, one of Russia’s most popular
composers, are full of beauty, intrigue and dramatic intensity.
Rarely heard in concert, Tchaikovsky’s art songs have the ability
to enchant the listener and create a magical atmosphere. This
concert is a unique opportunity to hear the hidden treasures of
the Russian master. John Field spent a great deal of his active
musical life in St Petersburg, where he became the city’s most
celebrated composer and performer. Creator of the Nocturne,
Field’s far-reaching legacy influenced generations of Russian
pianists and composers such as Tchaikovsky, Scriabin and
Rachmaninoff.
10
Deirdre and Fionnuala Moynihan have performed extensively
together. In February 2013, they opened the Russian Festival of
Culture with a recital in the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin.
They have been invited to perform there again this year. Also in
2013, they gave concerts to celebrate the inauguration of the
Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Benczur
Palace, Budapest and Chopin University of Warsaw. In July 2014,
they gave a concert tour in Japan.
For further details, please view:
www.deirdremoynihan.com
www.fionnualamoynihan.com
Fionnuala Moynihan
Katherine Hunka
Collailm Duo
Thursday March 12th
Thursday March 19th
Metamorphosen for 23 Solo Strings (Theatre 1)
Collailm Duo
Academos, Irish Chamber Orchestra Academy (Director
Katherine Hunka) with CIT Cork School of Music, the Royal
Irish Academy of Music and the Irish World Academy of
Music and Dance
Karina Gallagher and Aiveen Gallagher
This spring, an exciting collaborative project led by members of
the dynamic Irish Chamber Orchestra and directed by Katherine
Hunka sees string students from three of the country’s foremost
academies come together as part of the newly established
Academos, Irish Chamber Orchestra Academy initiative. This
lunchtime performance of Richard Strauss’s seldom-heard
masterpiece Metamorphosen at the Irish World Academy is one
of a series of three performances by this group of rising young
stars. For details on the performances in Cork and Dublin, see
page 26.
Katherine Hunka, Leader of the Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO),
appears as both a soloist and chamber artist across a wide
range of repertoires. She directs and performs as a soloist with
the ICO both in Ireland and beyond. She frequently performs at
chamber music festivals throughout Ireland and plays in a trio
with accordionist Dermot Dunne and bassist Malachy Robinson.
A guest leader of various ensembles, Hunka has been a guest
soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and RTÉ
Concert Orchestra. She teaches at both the CIT Cork School of
Music and at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.
Cork sisters Karina and Aiveen Gallagher combine their skills
and expertise to form the violin and viola ensemble Collailm
Duo. Drawing inspiration from the many countries in which
they have lived and studied, they perform an eclectic mix of
compositions. Since the Duo’s debut in July 2014, they have
performed in Lithuania, Italy, Poland and Belgium and have
been invited to undertake a winter residency at the worldrenowned Banff Centre, Canada in early 2015. Lauded for their
expressiveness and wonderful flair on stage, they will perform
music from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico and the USA.
Violinist Karina Gallagher graduated with a first class honours
B. Mus. from the Royal College of Music, London and a first class
honours MA from the University of Limerick. Karina finessed her
skills with Massimo Quarta in Lugano, Salvatore Accardo in
Cremona and Daniel Rubenstein in Brussels. Upon completion
of her European studies, she served as teaching assistant to
international virtuoso Stefan Milenkovich at the University of
Illinois and held the position of String Department Teaching
Assistant at the University of Miami and Junior Department
Professor at the Frost School of Music, Florida.
Violinist Aiveen Gallagher graduated with first class honours in
performance from the Cork School of Music. Having accepted
a prestigious international scholarship to Western Illinois
University, she graduated with a first class honours Master of
Music degree. In recognition of her outstanding musicianship,
Aiveen was appointed ‘Master of Chamber Music Co-ordinator’
for the Bureau of Cultural Affairs by the Dean of Western Illinois
University, where she ran her own concert series. By personal
request of leading US ensemble the Amernet String Quartet,
Aiveen served as String Department Teaching Assistant at Florida
International University until 2013.
MA Classical String Performance students
Sean’s Walk
Festive Arts
Thursday March 26th
Thursday April 16th
MA Classical String Performance
MA Festive Arts
MA Classical String Performance students
and faculty members
MA Festive Arts Class 2014/15
This lunchtime concert offers a selection of current performance
projects by MA Classical String Performance students and
features collaborative work with members of the Irish Chamber
Orchestra and with Irish World Academy faculty.
APRIL
Thursday April 9th
Take You There
Sean’s Walk: Sean Ó Dalaigh (guitar and vocals), Alec Brown
(cello and backing vocals) and Ciarán McLoughlin (piano &
backing vocals)
Drawing from varied influences including traditional Irish music,
jazz, blues, folk and funk, this performance will incorporate both
upbeat and aggressive songs suitable for energising a festival
audience as well as more lyrical and atmospheric works. Since
the band’s conception by Sean Ó Dalaigh, Alec Brown and
Ciarán McLoughlin in the summer of 2012, Sean’s Walk has
performed all over Ireland. Formed by two graduates of the
Irish World Academy and a current PhD student, the band has a
unique sound. They have supported artists such as Kila, Paddy
Casey, Hermitage Green, The Outside Track and The Original
Rudeboys as well as performing their own shows at Electric
Picnic 2014 and the Helium Festival 2013. The interplay
between the musical instruments of guitar, cello and piano,
which is underscored by powerful vocals with meaningful lyrics,
creates a futuristic musical sound.
Sonas
The MA Festive Arts programme combines creative performance,
arts management and production along with research into
festivity and its role in society. This lunchtime concert is curated
and presented by the MA Festive Arts class 2014/15.
Thursday April 23rd
Nexus: In the Deep Heart’s Core
Sonas, the UL Global Choir and students of the MA in Ritual
Chant and Song
Featuring students of the MA in Ritual Chant and Song (MARCS)
programme and Sonas, the UL Global Choir, Nexus (Latin for
“Link”) is the spring manifestation of the MARCS Locus+Nexus
series. Nexus explores connections between people, places and
experience. The concert will feature ensemble and solo songs of
love, family, joy, hope and adoration.
Sonas is a collective of students from Irish World Academy
programmes combined with members of the broader UL
community. The group explores vocal ensemble music of many
times and places, from Irish traditional, Latin American,
Ars Nova and Qawwali to Gospel, Georgian, Medieval and
Monteverdi.
Renee Neeson (Ireland) and Kayvon Sesar (USA),
MA Classical String Performance students
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
11
12
THE TOWER SEMINAR SERIES
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
THE TOWER
SEMINAR
SERIES
Venue:
The Tower, Irish World Academy
4pm to 5.30pm (unless otherwise stated)
ADMISSION IS FREE, ALL ARE WELCOME
MA Traditional Music Performance student Yoann
an Nedeleg (Brittany) playing bombard with his uncle,
Youen Peron, on binioù-kozh (breton bagpipe)
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
13
Niall Keegan
Anna Ryan
JANUARY
Wednesday January 28th
LANDscape research cluster meeting –
Moving through Landscapes
Presenters: Billy Mills and Niall Keegan
Chair: Dr Niamh NicGhabhann (Irish World Academy)
and Dr Anna Ryan
This Tower seminar is part of the interdisciplinary LANDscape
research cluster. Featuring presentations by poet Billy Mills
and musician and lecturer Dr Niall Keegan, the seminar
explores ideas of moving through landscape in different
contexts. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the cluster,
the seminar will explore Mills’s explorations of movement,
landscape, song and language in his poetry. Following this,
Niall Keegan will discuss the intersections of music, performance,
language and landscape. The LANDscape research cluster is
open to all and is convened by Dr Anna Ryan and Dr Niamh
NicGhabhann.
THE TOWER SEMINAR SERIES
Further information on the LANDscape cluster can be found
at http://landscapeul.tumblr.com.
14
Dublin-born Billy Mills is a poet, editor and literary journalist
at guardian.co.uk. After some years spent in Spain and the UK,
he currently lives in Limerick. He is co-editor (with Catherine
Walsh) of hardPressed poetry. His Lares/Manes: Collected
Poems was published by Shearsman in 2009, and his Imaginary
Gardens and Loop Walks were published by hardPressed poetry
in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Dr Niall Keegan is a traditional Irish flute player and an
ethnomusicologist. His PhD, The Art of Juncture – Transformations
of Irish Traditional Music, focused on the language-based
Niamh NicGhabhann
Eilís Cranitch and Claudio Pasceri with other members of Ensemble Xenia
Ferenc Szücs
structures used by traditional musicians to account for and
shape their performance practices. His research also engages
the diasporic experience of traditional music, particularly in the
UK. He has performed extensively throughout the world with
musicians such as Sandra Joyce, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin and
Clive Carroll.
modern and contemporary music from many different cultures
and countries for the past 20 years. Performances cover a wide
range, including “Ghost Opera” by the Chinese composer Tan
Dun, the works of Avro Part from Estonia, Franghis Ali Sade
from Azerbaijan, Dimitri Yanov Yanovsky from Uzbekistan and
the Irish composer Gerald Barry.
Dr Anna Ryan is an architect and cultural geographer.
She graduated with a B.Arch from the School of Architecture,
University College Dublin in 2000 and attained her PhD from
the Department of Geography, University College Cork in 2008.
Since 2007 she has been a full-time lecturer in architecture at
the University of Limerick. A monograph arising from her PhD
research, Where Land Meets Sea: Coastal Explorations of
Landscape, Representation and Spatial Experience, was
published by Ashgate in 2012. Her research interests include
landscape, the coast, modes of writing, drawing and
photography.
Violinist Eilís Cranitch was born in Cork. After obtaining a
B. Mus. and an MA degree in musicology from University College
Cork, she completed her violin studies in Italy at the Santa
Cecilia Music Conservatoire in Rome. During her career, she
has played with the Hilliard Ensemble in their programmes
dedicated to the composer Arvo Part and with I Solisti Aquilani,
with whom she frequently performed as soloist at the most
important festivals and concert seasons in Europe and the US.
Since 1990, she has been living in Turin, where she teaches
quartet. She is one of the founder members and violinist of
Ensemble Xenia.
FEBRUARY
Wednesday February 4th (3pm to 4.30pm)
Is “Belcanto” alive and well in Italy today?
Presenters: Eilís Cranitch and Claudio Pasceri
(Ensemble Xenia)
Chair: Dr Ferenc Szücs (Irish World Academy)
Italy has always been considered the home of opera, and the
lyricism of “belcanto” is to be found in the genes of every
Italian. How does this manifest itself in diverse artistic
expressions such as the art music of today and in the popular
music of Italy, from Berio to Mina, from Sciarrino to Modugno?
Discover the answer through the eyes of Ensemble Xenia, a
Turin-based string quartet that has performed programmes of
Cellist Claudio Pasceri was born in Turin and obtained his
diploma with Renzo Brancaleon at the Turin conservatoire.
He continued his studies with Rocco Filippini at the W. Stauffer
in Cremona, at the Hochschule für Musik in Augsburg and at
Mozarteum in Salisburgh with Julius Berger. He has performed
as a chamber musician at prestigious festivals and concert series
with well-known musicians such as Salvatore Accardo, Bruno
Giuranna, Dora Schwarzberg, Rocco Filippini, Rohan De Saram
and Gilles Apap. Festivals where he has performed include
Lingotto Musica in Turin, Associazione Dino Ciani in Stresa,
Eckelhausen Festival at the Lincoln Center, New York, Mak e
Lockenhaus Musikfest in Vienna and Unione Musicale in Turin.
He has played cello with Ensemble Xenia since 2012.
Ulla Hokkanen
Stephen Cadwell
Will Chamberlain
Wednesday February 11th
Developing Community Circus in Europe
Presenters: Ulla Hokkanen, Stephen Cadwell and Will
Chamberlain
Chair: Dr Niamh NicGhabhann (Irish World Academy)
This seminar marks the collaboration between the MA Festive
Arts and the ERASMUS+ project on youth and social circus
development in Europe. Working with a range of research
partners across Europe, the CIRCUS+ project aims to explore
pedagogical and development needs for youth and social
circus. The seminar features Ulla Hokkanen of Galway Community
Circus, Dr Stephen Cadwell, a postdoctoral researcher on the
CIRCUS+ project, and Will Chamberlain from Belfast Community
Circus. The seminar will officially launch the partnership
between the MA Festive Arts programme and ISACS – the Irish
Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle Network, which aims to build
industry links between the MA Festive Arts and the wider
festival industry, producers and artists.
Ulla Hokkanen is the circus director at Galway Community
Circus. She is a board member of the European Youth and
Social Circus Network Caravan and currently chairs ISACS.
She is originally from Finland, where her love of youth circus
started over 20 years ago. She has a BA (Hons) in Social Science
from University of Tampere, Finland and is a graduate of the
University of Limerick, where she studied Politics and
International Relations in 2003/04.
Dr Stephen Cadwell is a postdoctoral researcher with CIRCUS+
(Research Project on Youth and Social Circus Pedagogy). This
two-year research project will map the current educational
opportunities available to students and professionals interested
in youth and social circus. Stephen has followed up his PhD
thesis, What Is the Matter with Modern Art: A Critical Analysis
of Arthur Danto's Theories of Art, with a continuing interest in
art, aesthetics and emotion and with research on the impacts of
Anita Vedres
Malachy Robinson
youth and social circus internationally. He is a founding member
of both the Global Institute for Circus Studies and the UK &
Ireland Circus Research Network. He is also a filmmaker.
Will Chamberlain has worked in the field of circus since graduating
from Manchester University with a degree in Economics and
Social Administration in 1984. He founded 2 social circus
organisations in England and enjoyed 12 years as a professional
clown and comedy juggler in England and Switzerland before
moving to Belfast in 1996 to run the Belfast Community Circus
School. Will guided the organisation through taking possession of
Ireland’s only purpose built Circus building and he now presides
over the delivery of an extensive participatory programme which
works with more than 400 children and young people each
week. Since he first began juggling in inner city Manchester
in the 1980’s, Will has been a passionate advocate of the
transformative power of circus participation.
Thursday February 12th
H.I.P. (Historically Informed Performance)
Presenters: Anita Vedres, Malachy Robinson and Yonit
Kosovske
Chair: Dr Yonit Kosovske (Irish World Academy)
“Early Music,” “Period Performance” and “Historically Informed
Performance” are terms that are used to describe certain
scholarly and performative trends in classical music, usually of
repertoire before 1800. Often considered to be outside of
mainstream classical music, such titles have been associated
with the “Early Music Movement.” This seminar features
musicians who are immersed in diverse styles of performance
practice and strives to bridge communities that are oftentimes
viewed as separate from one another with their contrasted value
systems and approaches to music-making. What does it mean
to present an “historically informed performance”? How is this
manifest in Period instruments compared to their later, Romantic
counterparts?
Yonit Kosovske
Jennifer de Brún Musicians Anita Vedres, Malachy Robinson and Yonit Kosovske
perform as soloists, chamber artists and orchestral players playing
both period instruments and later Romantic or modern
instruments on a repertoire which spans the early Renaissance
through Contemporary, newly-composed music. The musicians
bring decades of professional experience and insight to their
discussion of the role that “Historical Performance Practice”
plays in their music-making here in Ireland and on the
international stage.
Wednesday February 18th
Dancing Identities
Presenters: Jennifer de Brún and Ras Mikey Courtney
Chair: Dr Catherine Foley (Irish World Academy)
This seminar examines the process of dance training in a variety
of cultural contexts and explores the experience of the teacher,
student and choreographer in a higher educational setting.
In particular, it explores the influence of training in codified
dance techniques, not only on a dancer’s movement vocabulary
but also on the perception and performance of the multiplicity
of identities embodied therein. Jennifer de Brún and Ras Mikey
Courtney, two ethnochoreologists and dance artists who have
collaborated on several projects, examine the agency
of the dancer and choreographer within the choreographic
process and discuss how these concepts relate to their own
professional practice as well as their current doctoral research. Jennifer de Brún is a Limerick-based professional dance artist
and ethnochoreologist. She is a qualified teacher of Cecchetti
classical ballet with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance
and has completed the BA Voice and Dance and MA Ethnochoreology at the University of Limerick, achieving first class
honours in both. Jennifer is a board member of Dance Research
Forum Ireland and is currently undertaking doctoral research at
the Irish World Academy. 15
Ras Mikey Courtney
Grace Toland
Ras Mikey Courtney completed his MA in Ethnochoreology
at the University of Limerick, where he currently acts as a guest
lecturer while undertaking his PhD in Arts Practice Research. He also holds a BFA in Modern Dance Performance from the
University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He has taught, performed
and choreographed dance and other performing arts worldwide
with his company Fore I’m a Versatile Entertainer (F.I.V.E.)
Productions (www.fivedance.com). Ras Mikey’s works are a
reflection of his spirit and passion for the performing arts as
both a cultural and social movement. He is currently a member
of the board of directors of Dance Research Forum Ireland.
Wednesday February 25th
The Inishowen Song Project Online: Field Recordings
of the Singers and Songs of the Peninsula
THE TOWER SEMINAR SERIES
Presenter: Grace Toland
Chair: Dr Sandra Joyce (Irish World Academy)
16
Grace Toland will present a guided audiovisual tour of the
Inishowen Song Project (ISP). Launched in 2012, ISP gives free
online access to sound and video field recordings made by
Jimmy McBride of over 600 songs from more than 200
singers from the Peninsula. Hosted by the Irish Traditional Music
Archive, ISP provides a rich resource of song material as well as
a unique insight into the place of song in this local community.
Grace will introduce the singers, highlight the local singing style
and discuss the place of the Inishowen tradition within a wider
English language song context.
Sandra Joyce
Kristin McGee
Grace Toland is a member of staff at the Irish Traditional Music
Archive and an active member of the Inishowen Traditional
Singers’ Circle. The ITSC organises monthly singing sessions and
workshops, hosts the annual Inishowen International Folk Song
& Ballad Seminar and is the publisher of the online Inishowen
Song Project.
This seminar will be followed by a reception to mark the
launch of the new traditional song research group at the
Irish World Academy.
MARCH
Wednesday March 4th
Popular Jazz, Digital Aesthetics and Transnational
Networks in the New Europe
Presenter: Dr Kristin McGee
Chair: Dr Aileen Dillane (Irish World Academy)
The rejuvenation of popular, mixed-genre vocal jazz in Northern
Europe arises from a nostalgic fascination with the symphonic,
dance-oriented styles of Hollywood’s ‘golden decades.’ This
presentation highlights the intermediated nature of European
popular jazz by investigating the complex engagements of a
variety of European musical participants as they promote
flexible, cosmopolitan and neo-jazz identifications, which in
turn invites a critique of gentrification and multiculturalism in
the New Europe. The mimetic configurations guiding Caro
Emerald’s musical recordings and live performances are
examined to illuminate the intersections between dance music,
digital media and transnational jazz collaborations as producers
accommodate eclectic musical fascinations within late-capitalist
systems of articulation in European jazz aesthetics.
Aileen Dillane
Martin Clayton
Dr Kristin McGee is Associate Professor of Popular Music in
the Arts, Culture and Media Department at the University of
Groningen in the Netherlands. She has written on the subject of
jazz, gender, popular music and audiovisual media for a variety
of articles and books, including her manuscript Some Liked It
Hot: Jazz Women in Film and Television, 1928-1959 (Wesleyan
University Press, 2009). She is currently completing a
manuscript on the crossover jazz scenes of the Netherlands.
She is a saxophonist and sometime theatre music composer. Wednesday March 11th
In Time with the Music: Music, Interaction and Entrainment
Presenter: Professor Martin Clayton
Chair: Dr Aileen Dillane (Irish World Academy)
Human beings have a remarkable and almost unique capacity
to coordinate their actions: to be ‘in time’ with one another.
Where does this ability come from and what are its implications
for the understanding of musical performance? Entrainment is a
process whereby different rhythms interact with each other,
leading in some circumstances to synchronisation. By examining
the coordination of musical ensembles in the context of entrainment,
we can develop new and productive perspectives as well as raise
some challenging questions for ethnomusicology. This presentation
outlines the fundamentals of this approach, presents some case
studies and briefly discusses some of the issues raised.
Martin Clayton is Professor of Ethnomusicology at Durham
University. He studied at the School of Oriental and African
studies in London and has previously worked at the Open
University and the University of Chicago. His publications
include the books Time in Indian Music (2000); Music and
Orientalism in the British Empire, 1780s to 1940s: Portrayal
of the East; (2007) The Cultural Study of Music: A Critical
Introduction (2nd ed. 2012) and Experience and Meaning in
Music Performance (2013).
Mary Ann Kennedy
Mats Melin
Avanthi Meduri
Catherine Foley
Wednesday March 18th
Wednesday March 25th
Òrain Caimbeulaich a’ Ghnìoba: Music and a Sense of
Place in a Gaelic Family Song Tradition
Dance, Colonialism, Postcolonialism
Presenter: Mary Ann Kennedy
Chair: Dr Mats Melin (Irish World Academy)
The Campbells of Greepe (a tiny crofting township on the Isle of
Skye) have been dubbed the ‘first family’ of Gaelic song. Pipers
and singers who also love to dance, they are considered the
masters of puirt-à-beul and their songs bring to life an old Gaelic
world and community where music and song accompanied
every aspect of daily life. With third-generation performer
Mary Ann Kennedy, this session will address the challenges of
presenting Gaelic song to non-Gaelic speaking audiences in
the context of family, history, contemporary performance and
archive, landscape, community and story. Mary Ann Kennedy is a Glasgow Gael who is part of a dynasty
of traditional singers and pipers from the tiny township of
Greepe on the Isle of Skye. Classical training and a traditional
music upbringing along with 20 years’ broadcasting experience
on the BBC have earned her a place as one of the most
authoritative performers and commentators in Scottish music
today. She is a singer and instrumentalist as well as a writer,
composer, producer, choral director and broadcaster and is
never happier than when singing with others. She is co-author
of Fonn: The Campbells of Greepe, Gaelic Book of the Year 2013
and winner of the 2013 National Gaelic Arts and Culture Award.
Dr Catherine Foley and Dr Avanthi Meduri
Chair: Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain (Irish World Academy)
Dance plays a significant role in the socialisation process but
can also be an expression and embodiment of cultural politics,
protest and resistance, and power relations. This seminar
focuses on dance within two different cultures: step dancing in
Ireland and Bharatanatyam in India. It explores issues relating
to colonialism, subalterity, postcolonialism and cultural identity
formations through the lens and practice of dancing.
Emerging Webs of Formation:
Step Dancing Then and Now
Presenter: Dr Catherine Foley
This presentation examines step dancing in Ireland as it was
reconfigured and shaped within colonial and political discourses
during the early decades of the twentieth century. The seminar
also explores the postcolonial representations of step dancing
from the 1980s and 1990s, when the dance form was globalised
through spectacular stage shows. Different embodiments of
step dancing in theatre and in third-level education worldwide
are considered.
Bharatanatyam: Local/Global Perspectives
Presenter: Dr Avanthi Meduri
In this seminar, Bharatanatyam is discussed as a dance example
to consider postcolonial identity formation within a national
and transnational framework. Focusing on the neo-liberal period
of the 1980s and 1990s, the presentation will show how
Indian nationalist discourse on Indian performing arts was
internationalised. This resulted in the complex globalisation of
Indian performing arts in the US and UK in the 1990s,
continuing into the present.
Dr Catherine Foley is a dancer and musician and founding
course director of both the MA Ethnochoreology and the MA
Irish Traditional Dance Performance programmes at the Irish
World Academy. She is founding chair emerita of Dance
Research Forum Ireland and is founding director of the National
Dance Archive of Ireland. She chairs the International Council for
Traditional Music’s Study Group on Ethnochoreology. Catherine
has published and performed widely; her monographs include
Irish Traditional Step Dancing in North Kerry (North Kerry
Literary Trust 2012) and Step Dancing in Ireland: Culture and
History (Ashgate 2013), which was shortlisted for the Katharine
Briggs Folklore Award 2014.
Dr Avanthi Meduri is a scholar, dancer, actress, playwright,
curator and arts administrator. Born in India, she received her
PhD in Performance Studies from the Tisch School of Arts,
New York University, in 1996. Currently a reader in dance and
performance studies, Meduri is convener of the first postgraduate
South Asian dance studies programme at Roehampton University,
London. A fellow at the International Research Centre, Freie
University, Berlin, Meduri is co-founder of the Asian Performing
Arts Forum, London, a consortia of three London universities
engaged with Asian dance, theatre and performance.
She is the recipient of several national and international
awards and fellowships and has over 50 publications
to her name.
BA Voice and Dance student Kathy Young
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
17
José-Miguel Marinas
APRIL
Wednesday April 8th
Dance, Embodiment, Psychological Analysis
Presenters: Professor José-Miguel Marinas,
Rebeca Mateos Morante, Lisa McLoughlin and
Dr Neil Kenny
Chair: Dr Catherine Foley (Irish World Academy)
This seminar offers scholars from the disciplinary frameworks
of psychoanalysis and psychology the opportunity to investigate
the relationships between the body, dance and embodiment.
THE TOWER SEMINAR SERIES
The Subject is the Body
Presenter: Professor José-Miguel Marinas
Philosophical reflection coupled with psychoanalysis presents
an interesting meeting-point when considering a theory of the
body and the image of the dancer. Commencing with the
construction of the image of the subject from the dialectic of
desire, that desire, defined as desire de l’autre, demonstrates
the constitution of the body as a subject of alterity. ‘The Mirror
Stage’ and ‘Discourse of the Other’ are two Lacanian
expressions that carry the discussion from the theory to praxis.
Embodying the Mirror: The Construction of the Dancing
Body through Its Specular Image
Presenter: Rebeca Mateos Morante
Corporal events are not only embodied in the immediacy of
their execution but also in the anticipation of their completion –
a corporal schema that pre-empts corporal events. Likewise, the
dancer in front of the mirror produces an associated ideal ‘as-if’
structure that is held by the specular image itself. The specular
image ‘as-if’ structure in action must be simulated by the
Rebeca Mateos Morante
dancing body; this results in the dancing body increasingly
becoming more mirror than flesh.
Moved to Dance: an exploration of dancers’
phenomenological perceptions of what influences
their movement while dancing and how they view
themselves as dancers
Presenters: Lisa McLoughlin and Dr Neil Kenny
Research by Van Staden, Myburgh and Poggenpoel in 2004
showed that professional dancers’ self-concept is strongly
influenced by their profession. This study explored six dancers’
phenomenological perceptions of what influences their movement
and their personal identity as dancers. An interpretive
phenomenological analysis framework was used to interpret the
qualitative data, and the results suggest that dance played
a central role in participants’ identity.
José-Miguel Marinas is Professor of Ethics and Political
Philosophy at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where
he coordinates the master’s in Psychoanalysis and Cultural
Theory. He also collaborates with the official Spanish state
agency for scientific investigation and lectures as part of the
Ortega y Gasset Foundation. He has published extensively on
many themes, including analysis of the culture of consumption
(codes, conflicts and values), ethical psychoanalysis and the
relationships between narrative constructions of identity and
new forms of political linkages. He currently directs the
‘Community and Violence: The Political Culture of the Society of
Consumption’ project.
Lisa McLoughlin
Rebeca Mateos Morante is a professional Danza Española and
Flamenco dancer who is currently studying for her PhD at the
Irish World Academy. A philosophy graduate with a first class
honours master’s in Psychoanalysis and Cultural Studies, she
trained at the renowned conservatory Centro Coreográfico
Mariemma in Madrid. She subsequently toured extensively as
a Flamenco soloist both with Riverdance and the critically
acclaimed Compañía Elvira Andrés led by the ex-director of the
National Ballet of Spain. She has also performed in many other
prestigious choreographies, including the last production of the
famous Bodas de Sangre, which was overseen by its celebrated
choreographer, the late Antonio Gades.
Lisa McLoughlin trained at the Rambert School, London. As
a dancer, she has performed extensively across the globe with
companies such as the Liz Roche Dance Company, Daghdha,
Coisceim, Marguerite Donlon, Citog, IMDT and Opera Ireland.
As a choreographer, she was awarded the Jane Snow Award
for her choreography Tender hooks of honesty. She also coproduced and choreographed the critically acclaimed Fourtold
(2011) and Below the Tide (2012), both of which were funded
by the Arts Council of Ireland. She currently lectures in dance
at the Irish World Academy and is completing her MA thesis on
dance and psychology.
Dr Neil Kenny has an honours BA in Psychology from UCD as
well as a PhD from NUI Maynooth. In addition, he is a
psychologist with 10 years’ experience of working directly
with children, young people and families affected by autism
spectrum disorder. He currently lectures in psychology in the
Department of Education and Professional Studies at the
University of Limerick.
Femke Van Der Kooij performing at the Waking
St Munchin event at Dance Limerick
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
18
Neil Kenny
Julie Sutton
Alpha Woodward
Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain
Amanda Clifford
Tríona McCaffrey
Wednesday April 15th
Wednesday April 29th
The Music in Music Therapy
Potential and Possibilities for Arts in Health in Ireland:
A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective
Presenter: Dr Julie Sutton
Chair: Alpha Woodward (Irish World Academy)
The powerful, therapeutic effect of music is widely appreciated.
This seminar explores how we can experience and come to
understand the therapeutic aspects of music in different ways.
Drawing together clinical and research findings from recent
work with audio examples, some theoretical thinking that links
with our unique, individual experience of music is proffered.
The underlying focus is a recognition of the subtle, complex
ways everyone can perceive music; how musical training and
experience amplify this capacity; and the fundamental humanity
we find and connect with in music.
Dr Julie Sutton works in a regional adult psychiatry NHS service
in Northern Ireland. She has a clinical and research supervision
practice across Europe and is an international presenter, lecturer
and examiner. She was former head of training for NordoffRobbins London, consulted for the Pavarotti Music Centre in
Mostar, is a trustee of the British Association for Music Therapy,
past editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Music Therapy and
vice president of the European Music Therapy Association.
With many chapters and articles, she has written two books:
Music, Music Therapy & Trauma (2002) and The Music in Music
Therapy (2014).
Presenters: Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain, Dr Amanda Clifford,
Dr Tríona McCaffrey, Dr Olive Beecher and Dr Hilary Moss
Chair: Dr Mats Melin (Irish World Academy)
The role of the arts in healthcare is increasingly being recognised
and developed in Ireland. It is a broad field of practice that
encompasses a diverse range of disciplines and approaches, all
of which are committed to promoting health and wellbeing
through creativity. This seminar celebrates such diversity by
reflecting upon the role of the arts in health from the perspectives
of ethnochoreology, arts practice and creative arts therapy. The
seminar considers the possibilities and potentials for this multidisciplinary field while recognising the rich pathway that this offers
for building a sense of connection, collaboration and community.
Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain lectures at the Irish World Academy
and is course director of the MA in Irish Traditional Dance
Performance. Her research interests include Irish dance among
the diaspora, creative processes in competitive Irish solo step
dance and arts in health as well as collaborative research on
set dancing and Parkinson’s with Dr Amanda Clifford and
Joanne Shanahan at the University of Limerick. She is a
registered Irish dance teacher and adjudicator with An Coimisiún
le Rincí Gaelacha and is an accomplished musician, singer and
dancer. Orfhlaith has travelled throughout the world as a tutor
and dance accompanist and has authored a book entitled The
Terminology of Irish Dance.
Dr Amanda Clifford graduated with a BSc in Physiotherapy
from King’s College London and worked clinically in both the
NHS and private sectors in the UK as a senior orthopaedic, outpatient and sports physiotherapist. She has worked with elderly,
neurological, rheumatologic, acute and chronic patient groups.
Amanda’s PhD, from King's College London, is on postural
control following anterior cruciate ligament injury. She has
Hilary Moss
Olive Beecher
worked for the past 10 year at UL as a lecturer on the BSc in
Physiotherapy and Grad Dip/MSc in Clinical Therapies
programmes. Her current research interests include the use of
movement analysis in the assessment of movement and fall risk
and exercise programmes (including dance) for optimising
function and preventing falls.
Dr Tríona McCaffrey is a qualified music therapist and lecturer
on the MA Music Therapy programme at the Irish World
Academy. Having studied music and Irish at Trinity College
Dublin, she completed her music therapy training at the
Academy before taking up a full-time music therapy post at
Mayo Mental Health Services. Having practised in the areas of
recovery, community mental health and psychiatry of old age,
she has a broad experience of mental health services. In 2012,
she was awarded a Conversion Diploma in Psychology from the
Open University. Tríona’s recently completed doctoral studies
focused on the service-user evaluation of music therapy in
treating mental health issues.
Dr Hilary Moss is Director of Arts and Health at the Adelaide and
Meath Hospital Dublin, incorporating the National Children’s Hospital.
In addition to her MBA in Health Services Management, she is a
music therapist with particular experience of working with older
people and in mental health services. Her research interest lies in
aesthetic deprivation. In 2014, she was awarded her PhD from the
School of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin.
Dr Olive Beecher (BA, MA, PhD) is a professional dancer and
dance academic. She trained at Nikolais/Louis Dance School in
New York and was a founder member of Daghdha Dance
Company under the artistic direction of Mary Nunan. Olive has
performed in New York, the UK and in theatres throughout
Ireland. In 2005, she completed her PhD, entitled Dance Experience
and Sense of Being – Therapeutic Applications of Contemporary
Dance. She has presented papers at seminars and conferences
internationally and was selected to present at the CORD/SDHS
Conference in Paris in 2007. She continues to choreograph and
has taught dance at the Irish World Academy since 2005.
19
LOGOS SEMINAR SERIES
20
ICO cellist Aoife Nic Athlaoich
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
LOGOS
SEMINAR
SERIES
LOGOS is a series of events taking its place alongside the long-established
public Tower Seminar and Lunchtime Performance series.
Venue:
Conference Room
First Floor, Irish World Academy
10am to 12 noon
ADMISSION IS FREE, ALL ARE WELCOME
21
Alexander Khalil
Helen Phelan
Jerry O’Reilly
Thursday February 26th
FEBRUARY
“There Was a Lord Who Lived in This Town” –
Early Classic Ballads in the Irish Song Tradition
Thursday February 12th
Presenter: Jerry O’Reilly
Chair: Dr Sandra Joyce (Irish World Academy)
Finding the Beat: Music, Perception and the Mind
Presenter: Dr Alexander Khalil
Chair: Dr Helen Phelan (Irish World Academy)
LOGOS SEMINAR SERIES
This seminar explores the interdisciplinary space between
ethnomusicology, music performance and cognitive science in
its discussion of music, perception and the mind. Khalil’s
research on music, culture and cognitive development will
provide a starting point for dialogue around these issues.
22
Alexander Khalil is an ethnomusicologist, performer and
composer. He holds a doctoral degree in music from the
University of California, San Diego (UCSD). His doctoral
dissertation, “Echoes of Constantinople: Oral and Written
Tradition of the psaltes of the Ecumenical Patriarchate”, explores
the complex process of interpreting written music. Khalil has
spent the past five years conducting research in cognitive
science. He was a postdoctoral scholar and trainee at the
Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center at UCSD, where he
conducted research on music, culture and cognitive development. He currently continues this work as a project scientist at the
Institute for Neural Computation, La Jolla, California. Jerry O’Reilly will present his research on the early classic
ballads in the Irish song tradition, featuring archival
presentations as well as songs from the singers featured in
the Man, Woman + Child project (see page 9).
Jerry O’Reilly is a noted singer who has given many talks on
the Child ballads and traditional song in general. He is one of
the organisers of the Góilín Traditional Singers Club in Dublin.
The Góilín is regarded by many as the foremost singing club in
Ireland and has been running for 35 years. MARCH
Thursday March 5th
Exploring Orientalism and Erotic Multiculturalism in
Popular Culture Media
Kristin McGee
Martin Clayton
technologies to perpetuate late-nineteenth-century constructions
of the Orient. The research highlights the configuration of a
musical, kinetic and visual aesthetic and aims to ameliorate the
imbalance of Orientalist studies (which prioritise male creativity)
to highlight female Orientalist performers.
See page 16 for a biographical note on Dr Kristin McGee.
Thursday March 12th
Studying Musical Entrainment: Methods and Challenges
Presenter: Professor Martin Clayton
Chair: Dr Aileen Dillane (Irish World Academy)
This seminar discusses the study of musical entrainment in
depth. What methods have been used to analyse interpersonal
coordination, and which of these might be applied in the
context of ethnographic music research? Quantitative analyses
can complement ethnographic research in various ways, but
does this approach serve to strengthen or to undermine an
ethnomusicological approach? Does ethnomusicology have as
much to teach cognitive science as vice versa, and, if so, what
is it?
See page 16 for a biographical note on Professor Martin Clayton.
Presenter: Dr Kristin McGee
Chair: Dr Aileen Dillane (Irish World Academy)
Said’s groundbreaking monograph Orientalism (1978) incited a
critical examination of Western ‘Orientalist’ discourse. This
seminar examines the continued relevance of this work by
illustrating connections between early twentieth-century erotic
representations of a ‘feminised Orient’ and contemporary
negotiations of sex and gender in audiovisual contexts. Using
two case studies, Dr Kristin McGee will explore how Orientalistinspired female performers consistently incorporate new
Murni Omar and Faillul Adam (Malaysia),
MA Contemporary Dance Performance
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
Avanthi Meduri
José-Miguel Marinas
Thursday March 26th
Postcolonial Dance Negotiations
Presenter: Dr Avanthi Meduri
Chair: Dr Catherine Foley (Irish World Academy)
Taking Bharatanatyam as a case study, this seminar explores issues
relating to postcolonial identity formations. Utilising a historical
perspective, Dr Avanthi Meduri examines the power politics of colonialism,
Orientalism and Indian nationalism and traces its impact on Indian
performing arts. The seminar engages with postcolonial themes of
double consciousness, hybridity and subalterity and discusses these
through the lens and practice of dance production and transmission.
See page 17 for a biographical note on Dr Avanthi Meduri.
APRIL
Thursday April 9th
Social Construction of the (Dancing) Body
Presenter: Professor José-Miguel Marinas
Chair: Dr Catherine Foley (Irish World Academy)
This seminar considers the social construction of body
representation: principally, the body as a subject-object in dance.
The body might not be regarded as a social problem until a culture
of consumption is established. Body as lineage, body as labour and body
as consumption form a sequence of three repertoires in which our culture
has been growing through patterns of defining identity between the
intimate and the public; at the same time, they form three simultaneous
records of the complex way in which we name ourselves. Correspondingly,
dance allows us to see the body as a scenario and as a show.
See page 18 for a biographical note on Professor José-Miguel Marinas. 23
24
SPECIAL EVENTS
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
SPECIAL
EVENTS
ADMISSION IS FREE, ALL ARE WELCOME
Catherine Sergent (France)
sings with Cantoral
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
25
Inishowen Song Project
Irish World Academy Traditional Music and Dance Concert 2014
Katherine Hunka
Thursday March 12th
FEBRUARY
Metamorphosen for 23 Solo Strings
1.15pm, Theatre 1, Irish World Academy
Wednesday February 25th
Academos, Irish Chamber Orchestra Academy (Director Katherine Hunka) with CIT Cork School of Music, the Royal Irish
Academy of Music and the Irish World Academy of Music and
Dance present Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen – see page
10 for details. In addition to the performance at the Irish World
Academy on March 12th, the students will perform the piece in
Cork and Dublin as follows: Alec Brown is an American cellist from Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
After finding a deep love of Irish traditional music following
an injury to his hand, he completed the MA in Irish traditional
music in the Irish World Academy on both traditional flute and
the cello. His doctoral research focuses on how to expand the
role of the cello within Irish traditional music by expanding the
technical arsenal of cello players within the tradition.
Featuring singers from the Inishowen Song Project (see page 9),
this special singing session in UL’s Scholar’s Bar will give people
an opportunity to experience the fun and companionship of
traditional singing. All are welcome.
MARCH
Thursday March 5th
Irish World Academy Traditional Music
and Dance Concert
8pm, University Concert Hall
SPECIAL EVENTS
Ras Mikey Courtney
traditional music by exploring this repertoire as well as American
and Scottish traditional musics. Alec will be accompanied by
several Irish World Academy graduates who are accomplished in
the Irish music tradition as well as other genres.
Inishowen Song Project singing session
9pm, Scholar’s Bar, UL
26
Alec Brown
Students, tutors, faculty and alumni of the Irish World Academy
Following on from the success of last year's concert featuring
traditional music and dance from the Irish World Academy, this
concert showcases a variety of interpretations and performance
practices. The concert will feature Irish World Academy
students, tutors, faculty, alumni and special guests.
CIT Cork School of Music
Curtis Auditorium
Friday, March 13th at 1.10pm
Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin
Venue TBC
Saturday, March 14th at 2.00 pm
See page 10 for a biographical note on Katherine Hunka.
APRIL
Tuesday April 7th
Transcending Liminality: (Re)Locating Thebrowncello
7pm, Tower Theatre 2, Irish World Academy
Alec Brown
This is the first of two performances by Alec Brown to comply
with the doctoral requirements of the PhD Arts Practice
programme at the Irish World Academy. ‘Thebrowncello’
represents the symbiotic relationship between the performer and
his instrument. Combining a range of techniques and influences
gathered through Alec’s lived experience, Transcending Liminality
shows how the role of the cello can be expanded in Irish
MAY
Tuesday May 26th
(YeBunna Alem/A Coffee World)
7pm, Tower Theatre 2, Irish World Academy
Ras Mikey Courtney
This presentation is the first of Ras Mikey Courtney’s two
Ethio-Modern Dance PhD in Arts Practice performance works.
Ethio-modern dance is Ras Mikey’s embodied understanding
of Ethiopian traditions as seen through the lens of Western
contemporary performing arts. This performance work centres
on the concept of coffee as a global culture. Known as bunna
in Amharic, Ethiopia’s national language, coffee originates from
Kaffa, a small region in Ethiopia. This dance performance
examines the ways in which coffee/bunna has spread from
Kaffa to the world. Ras Mikey will use the performing arts as a
platform to illustrate how cultures from around the globe are
connected through coffee, hence the title ‘A Coffee World’.
See page 16 for a biographical note on Ras Mikey Courtney.
Colin Dunne
Martin Hayes
Jim Higgins
Steve Cooney
JUNE /JULY
June 22nd to July 3rd 2015
Blas International Summer School of
Irish Traditional Music and Dance
Irish World Academy
The 19th Blas International Summer School of Irish
Traditional Music and Dance takes place from June 22nd to
July 3rd 2015. Attracting students (aged sixteen and over) from
around the world to spend two weeks gaining access to the
expertise of some of Ireland’s finest traditional artists, Blas is
now firmly established as one of Ireland’s most prestigious
summer schools. Previous artists who have participated in
Blas include Colin Dunne, Martin Hayes, Jim Higgins and Steve
Cooney.
In 2010, musician, singer and composer Paul Brady made
available bursaries that continued for three years. A new stream
of Paul Brady Bursaries was made available in late spring 2013
and will continue for 2015. The recipients of the scholarships
benefit from master classes from Ireland’s most distinguished
traditional musicians, singers and dancers. Applications for the
Blas Brady Bursary 2015 have been available since October
2014. For further information on the Blas Summer School,
see www.blas.ie or contact Ernestine Healy, Director, at [email protected] or by phone at 061-202653.
David Bennis
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
27
28
RECENT EVENTS AT THE ACADEMY
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
RECENT
EVENTS AT
THE ACADEMY
AG FÉACHAINT SIAR
A BACKWARD LOOK
Aisling Ní Cheallaigh, Fidget Feet
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
29
JUNE
2014
Step-Up: Dance Project 2014
Michael Flatley gifts Steinway Grand Piano to the Irish World Academy
Step-Up: Dance Project 2014 The Lord of the Dance, Michael Flatley, welcomed Sir Cliff Richard to his home at Castle Hyde with a special event to celebrate the
star's unique contribution to the music industry. During the event, Michael Flatley announced that he would be gifting a Steinway
Concert Grand Piano to the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at UL.
The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance played host
in July 2014 to some of Ireland’s most promising contemporary
dance graduates as part of the Step-Up: Dance Project 2014.
The overall aim of the project is to create a bridge between
contemporary dance education and professional contemporary
dance practice in Ireland. The 2014 project provided seven of
Ireland’s most talented young contemporary dancers with the
opportunity to create and perform a new contemporary dance
under the direction of guest choreographer Michael KeeganDolan. The selected dancers were Ailish Maher, Aifric Ní
Chaoimh, Marion Cronin, Magda Herzak, Juan Urbina, Adam
Faillul and Murni Omar. Also working on the piece were six
dancers from Fabulous Beast Dance Company, who mentored
the seven young dancers throughout the project. The work was
shown in Limerick, Dublin and Cork.
Blas International Summer School of Traditional Irish Music and Dance
JUNE
2014
RECENT EVENTS AT THE ACADEMY
Celebrating its 18th year, the Blas International Summer School of Traditional Irish Music and Dance has developed a
reputation for quality and innovation. Blas 2014’s two-week programme featured some of Ireland’s finest traditional artists
working alongside local musicians, singers, dancers and academics to deliver first-rate tuition through interactive master classes,
daily lunchtime concerts and evening performances. In addition to formal lectures and a public seminar, innovative events on the
programme included daily Irish classes, an excursion to a number of Ireland’s greatest tourist attractions in Co Clare and an Irish
traditional table quiz. Artists who attended Blas 2014 included Matt Molloy, Martin Hayes, Steve Cooney, John Carty,
Donal Lunny, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, Michelle Mulcahy, Louise Mulcahy and many more.
30
JULY
2014
Michael Flatley, Sir Cliff Richard and David Cronin of UL Foundation sitting at Flatley’s Steinway Concert Grand Piano
Enjoying themselves at the Blas ‘Ladies Concert’ were, from left to right, Katie Boyle, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Ernestine Healy
(Blas Director), Michelle Mulcahy and Louise Mulcahy.
Developed as a shared initiative between the Irish World
Academy of Music and Dance, Dance Ireland and the Arts
Council, the 2014 project included Dance Limerick and Fabulous
Beast Dance Company as partners. The project’s general
manager was Lisa Hallinan, and members of the steering
committee included Dr Mary Nunan (Irish World Academy),
Paul Johnson (Chief Executive, Dance Ireland), Dr Victoria
O’Brien (Dance Advisor to the Arts Council) and Jenny Traynor
(Dance Limerick).
SEPTEMBER
2014
AUGUST
2014
Michael Flatley and cast member rehearse at the Irish World Academy (Photo © Brian Doherty) Michael Flatley and cast of Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games rehearse at the Irish World Academy
The Irish World Academy played host to Michael Flatley and the cast of Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games as they rehearsed
ahead of the show's premiere in the legendary London Palladium on September 1st 2014. The Irish-American dancer, choreographer
and musician has also rehearsed with his troupe in the impressive studios at the Irish World Academy for his recent ITV programme
A Night to Remember.
JULY
2014
Professor Sir Christopher Frayling launches the WATERMARK exhibition.
Dr Catherine Foley elected chair of the International
Council for Traditional Music’s (ICTM) Study Group on
Ethnochoreology
Dr Catherine Foley of the Irish World Academy was elected chair of the
International Council for Traditional Music’s (ICTM) Study Group on
Ethnochoreology in July, 2014. The ICTM is a non-governmental organisation in
formal consultative relations with UNESCO. Its aims are to further the study,
practice, documentation, preservation and dissemination of traditional music
and dance, including folk, popular, classical and urban music and dance of all
countries. Ethnochoreology is the academic study of dance and human movement
of all cultures, and the Study Group on Ethnochoreology is the largest group
within the ICTM and the oldest scholarly community of dance in the world. Currently, the group has a membership from over 45 nations worldwide. The increased presence since the 1990s of ethnochoreology and dance
anthropology programmes at universities in Europe is evidence of the growing
interest in the field of dance, human movement practices and culture.
The Study Group on Ethnochoreolgy provides an important forum and network
for all scholars working and researching in this multidisciplinary field.
Dr Catherine Foley
Launch of WATERMARK exhibition by
Professor Sir Christopher Frayling
Drawing its title from Dan Beachy-Quick’s poem Exegesis of the
First Word Spoken (Ishmael), this exhibition began by bringing
together the work of three visual artists – Fiona Hallinan, Aaron
Lawless and David Lilburn – and that of the playwright, actor
and documentary theatre maker Helena Enright. Commissioned
to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Irish World Academy of
Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, WATERMARK “(sing
above or sing below the wave’s back)” draws on the rich archive
of sounds, images and memories within the Academy itself as well
as on the daily flow of music, voices and activity throughout the
building and, of course, the parallel flow of the river Shannon at its
banks. The exhibition was launched by historian, writer and awardwinning broadcaster Professor Sir Christopher Frayling.
31
SEPTEMBER
2014
Attending the book launch were Mary McLaughlin, Dr Sandra Joyce,
Dr Catherine Foley, John Dawson and Mark Dawson
SEPTEMBER
2014
RECENT EVENTS AT THE ACADEMY
Field Trip to North Kerry
32
Postgraduate students from six MA programmes in music, song and dance – academic based and practice based – at the Irish
World Academy recently participated in a field trip to North Kerry with Dr Catherine Foley. Dr Foley has been involved in field
research in the area since 1980, initially as a collector of Irish traditional music, song and dance for Muckross House, Killarney
and later for her own personal research into traditional dancing in the area. Organised as part of the module on fieldwork
methods, the trip focused on Siamsa Tíre, the National Folk Theatre of Ireland, and afforded students the opportunity to
participate in traditional Irish music, song and dance workshops with professional members of Siamsa Tíre (Jonathan Kelliher,
Nicky McAuliffe, Tom Hanafin, Joanne Barry and Anne O' Donnell). Participants also attended the Siamsa Tíre production
Clann Lir, performed with members of the theatre at Culture Night and visited the Kerry Museum and Teach Siamsa, Finuge.
The postgraduate students attended a public interview between Dr Catherine Foley and Fr Pat Ahern (founding artistic
director of Siamsa Tíre) and a public lecture by Dr Muiris Ó Laoire (Institute of Technology Tralee). The students also found
time to participate in local music and dance sessions. Postgraduate students from the Irish World Academy enjoy music and dancing on a recent field trip to Kerry.
Launch of Dance, Place, Festival: 27th Symposium of the
International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Study
Group on Ethnochoreology 2012
Co-edited by Elsie Ivancich Dunin and Dr Catherine E. Foley,
Dance, Place, Festival: 27th Symposium of the International
Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Study Group on
Ethnochoreology 2012 was launched by Irish World Academy
Director Dr Sandra Joyce on Wednesday September 24th at
the Academy. The ICTM symposium was held at the Irish World
Academy in July 2012. As a non-governmental organisation in
formal consultative relations with UNESCO, the aims of the
ICTM are to further the study, practice, documentation,
preservation and dissemination of traditional music and dance,
including folk, popular, classical and urban music and dance of
all countries. The Study Group in Ethnochoreology is the oldest
scholarly dance community in the world, and the 27th
symposium at the University of Limerick welcomed contributions
from participants from Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia,
the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden,
Taiwan, Turkey, the UK and the USA.
‘A Meditation for Michael at Michelmas’
A performance for President Michael D. Higgins by Professor Mícheál O Súilleabháin took place in the Milk Market,
Limerick on the occasion of the awarding of the Freedom of the City to the president.
President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins with Professor Mícheál O Súilleabháin of the Irish World Academy
Fidget Feet
SEPTEMBER
2014
Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company appointed Dance
Company in Residence
Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company has been appointed Irish World
Academy Dance Company in Residence for an additional three
years following a year of creative interaction with the Academy’s
newest programme – the MA Festive Arts. Originating in Donegal,
Fidget Feet is Ireland’s leading aerial dance theatre company and
is internationally renowned for creating spectacular indoor and
outdoor productions for both theatres and festivals. The company’s
dynamic work draws on dance, aerial circus, theatre, music and
video art. Founded in 2004 by choreographer Chantal McCormick
and musician Jym Daly, Fidget Feet work with an outstanding
production team to create productions that are both original and
fresh.
SEPTEMBER
2014
33
BEALACH
The Darkest Midnight Concert
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
34
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
BEALACH
COMMUNITY CULTURAL PATHWAYS
AT THE IRISH WORLD ACADEMY
35
Cruinniú
Maoin Cheoil an Chláir
National Dance Archive of Ireland
Maoin Cheoil an Chláir
Cruinniú, the Irish World Academy’s outreach initiative,
sees staff from all walks of life at UL engaging in free weekly
classes/sessions of Irish traditional music. The sessions have
been facilitated by a number of players within the group and by
students of the Irish World Academy. All members of UL staff
are welcome to participate, so come along if you fancy a tune!
Sessions take place at the Irish World Academy from 1pm to
2pm every Wednesday in Room IW2.51.
The National Dance Archive of Ireland (NDAI) at the
Glucksman Library, University of Limerick was founded in 2009
with a seed funding award from the Arts Council. The NDAI
works in partnership with the Irish World Academy of Music and
Dance and Dance Research Forum Ireland.
In partnership with the Vocational Education Committee of
County Clare and with the assistance of Clare County Council
and Ennis Urban District Council, Maoin Cheoil an Chláir (MCC)
is a local cooperative model serving the needs of County Clare
from its Ennis headquarters in the eighteenth-century Erasmus
Smith School building owned by the Sisters of Mercy. MCC
celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2014. With members of
faculty from the Irish World Academy on its board (Mícheál Ó
Súilleabháin and Jean Downey along with former board
member Helen Phelan), MCC enjoys a special relationship with
the Academy. MCC Director Hans Boller is a graduate of the
Academy’s MA Ritual Chant and Song programme. MCC is a
member of the Clare Music Education Partnership, which was
awarded €450,000 from Music Generation (funded by U2 and
The Ireland Funds) in 2014.
Ionad na Cruite
(Irish Harp Research Centre)
Ionad na Cruite was established at the Irish World Academy of
Music and Dance in 2013 and was formally launched with
a special performance by The Chieftains. Ionad na Cruite aims
to stimulate scholarship, performance and advanced research
on the Irish harp. It also aspires to being a national and
international centre of excellence for the Irish harp at doctoral
and postdoctoral level, to building effective links with colleagues
in the field of harp research and performance internationally
and to providing a stimulating environment for performances,
research and interdisciplinary projects at the University of
Limerick. Ionad na Cruite recognises the centrality of The
Chieftains Fund (in memory of Derek Bell) in its founding.
BEALACH
National Dance Archive of Ireland
Cruinniú
For more information, contact Noel McCarthy at
[email protected], telephone 061 213326.
36
Ionad na Cruite
The NDAI is devoted to the collection, preservation and
promotion of dance in Ireland and is accessible to all. It
chronicles dance in Ireland in all its manifestations
(contemporary dance, traditional step dancing, set dancing,
ballet, social dance, urban dance and world dance) and conveys
an understanding of the different processes and practices of
creating, performing and writing about dance in Ireland.
The archive helps to raise the profile of dance in Ireland and
internationally and provides a greater understanding and
appreciation for how dance has developed in this country in
the past, the present and into the future. Dance in Ireland is a
valuable cultural resource; the NDAI offers all genres of dance
the opportunity to gain visibility and to be appreciated in its
historicity.
For further information, please contact NDAI’s founding
director, Dr Catherine Foley, at [email protected],
telephone +353 61 202922 or Special Collections Librarian
Ken Bergin at [email protected], telephone +353 61 213158.
Alternatively, email [email protected] or telephone +353 61 202690.
Visit the NDAI at www.nationaldancearchiveireland.ie.
Access to the National Dance Archive of Ireland is by
appointment only.
For more information on Maoin Cheoil an Chláir, email
[email protected] or call +353 65 6841774.
ACADEMOS Irish Chamber Orchestra Academy
ACADEMOS Irish Chamber Orchestra
Academy
A new initiative entitled ACADEMOS Irish Chamber Orchestra
Academy has been established to mark the occasion of the
20th anniversary the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance
at the University of Limerick and the 20th anniversary of the
renaissance and relocation of the Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO)
to UL. Featuring a central full-time, two-year programme at
master’s level offered jointly by the ICO and the Irish World
Academy, students at ACADEMOS Irish Chamber Orchestra
Academy will interact with the ICO throughout the two-year
period. Individual classes will be taught by ICO leaders, and
students will engage in ensemble work with orchestral
members. Classes, workshops, seminars and performances
with a host of international performers, conductors and
directors with whom the ICO works on a regular basis will be
a feature of the programme. Members of ACADEMOS Irish
Chamber Orchestra Academy will have regular opportunities
to engage with acclaimed ICO community music public outreach
programmes. Graduates of the ICO Academy will be able to
apply for a place on the innovative PhD Arts Practice
(a four-year structured doctoral programme) at the Irish World
Academy while maintaining ongoing contact with the ICO.
The ICO resides in its own specially designed expansive building
beside the Irish World Academy in a wooded area on the banks
of the river Shannon on UL’s north campus. The location also
includes the university’s Graduate Entry Medical School, Health
Sciences, superb sports facilities and three modern student
villages.
Cairenn Keegan and Sandra Joyce
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
37
38
CÓNAÍ
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
CÓNAÍ
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
AT THE IRISH WORLD ACADEMY
Yoann an Nedeleg (Brittany),
MA Traditional Music Performance
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
39
Irish Chamber Orchestra
The Chieftains
Dance Limerick
Irish Chamber Orchestra
Dance Limerick
The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) has gained a remarkable
reputation as a fresh and vibrant force on the Irish and
international music scene and is recognised as one of Ireland’s
world-class cultural assets. The ICO excels in a diverse repertoire
that ranges from classical to modern-day masterpieces and new
commissions. Outside the concert hall, the ICO stimulates minds
and hearts with vitality unmatched by other ensembles. It offers
music as an instrument of social change; by introducing children
to music, creativity, innovation, understanding and openness,
it helps them to reach their full potential as individuals.
The ICO resides on UL’s north campus adjacent to the Irish
World Academy and is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland/
An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
Since its inception, the contemporary dance programme at the
Irish World Academy has sought to twin-track its activities with
the professional contemporary dance energy in Limerick city.
The emergence of Dance Limerick at the former Daghdha
Space in St. John’s Square sets the scene for a new level of
cooperative dance activity. The Irish World Academy is proud to
be associated with Dance Limerick and looks forward to
reclaiming the original spirit of contemporary dance cooperation
in Limerick.
The Chieftains
Interacting with up to 80 student musicians and dancers from
Irish World Academy programmes, The Chieftains continue
their iconic association with the Academy through their occasional concerts at UL. In memory of their late harper Derek Bell,
The Chieftains Fund has been in operation at the Academy for
a number of years, and it is through this fund that the Academy
launched Ionad na Cruite, the Irish Harp Research Centre, in
2013.
Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company
Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company has been appointed Irish
World Academy Dance Company in Residence for an additional
three years following a year of creative interaction with the
Academy’s newest programme – the MA Festive Arts.
Originating in Donegal, Fidget Feet is Ireland’s leading aerial
dance theatre company and is internationally renowned for
creating spectacular indoor and outdoor productions for both
theatres and festivals. The company’s dynamic work draws
on dance, aerial circus, theatre, music and video art. Founded
in 2004 by choreographer Chantal McCormick (Donegal) and
musician Jym Daly (Cork), Fidget Feet work with an outstanding
production team to create productions that are both original
and fresh.
CÓNAÍ
Elements of aerial dance have already begun to permeate
aspects of the curricular offerings of the Irish World Academy’s
programmes.
40
Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company
RTÉ ConTempo String Quartet performing
a lunchtime concert at the Academy
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
41
42
TAIGHDE
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
TAIGHDE
RESEARCH AT THE ACADEMY
Dr Cyprian Love OSB accompanying a
silent movie from the O'Kalem Collection
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
43
As the Academy celebrates its twentieth anniversary, it continues to
pioneer new research specialisations and to attract one of the highest
proportions of international research students in the university. With
six new candidates accepted for the PhD Arts Practice across a variety
of research areas, from choral conducting to aerial dance, and with
a number of new research PhDs in community festivity, traditional
dance and a range of other subject specialisations, PhD numbers at
the Academy continue to rise.
As well as being recognised as a global leader in Irish traditional
music and dance studies, the Academy has developed research
initiatives in music and dance ethnography, arts practice research,
music and health and, most recently, festive and community arts.
In the area of Irish music and dance studies, the Academy has
recently established Ionad na Cruite, the Irish Harp Research
Centre, to promote scholarship around the Irish harp. Step Dancing
in Ireland: Culture and History (Ashgate) by Catherine Foley has been
shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award 2014. TAIGHDE
Ethnographic inquiry in music and dance continues to inform our
faculty’s collective expertise in ethnochoreology, ethnomusicology
and related areas. The Proceedings of the 27th Symposium of the
ICTM Study Group on Ethnochoreology was launched on 24
September, 2014. From 13 to 15 September, 2015, the Academy
will host the first ever collaboration of the International Council
for Traditional Music and the Society for Ethnomusicology: Transforming Ethnomusicological Praxis through Activism and
Community Engagement. In addition, the European Seminar in
Ethnomusicology (ESEM) will hold its annual conference at the
Academy from 16 to 20 September. 44
The LimerickSoundscapes interdisciplinary research cluster held an
international conference entitled ‘Urban Soundscapes and Critical
Citizenship’ in the Academy in March 2014. The cluster is currently
editing a special edition for the Journal of Urban Cultural Studies on
this theme. The Discourse, Power, and Society research cluster held
a conference entitled ‘In the Frame: Public and Political Discourses of
Migration’ at UL in April 2014. Rowman and Littlefield commissioned
a book series from the cluster, and the first book will include
expanded papers from the conference. Members of the
Performance, Text, Context Cluster @ UL collaborated with the
Department of French (Mary Immaculate College) to host an
interdisciplinary conference entitled ‘Performing Identities,
Embodying Knowledge’ at MIC in June 2014. Expanded papers
will feature in a special journal edition in 2015. The Popular Music
Popular Culture cluster will hold a conference in spring 2015 on
‘Songs of Social Protest’. The publication David Bowie: Critical
Perspectives, which is based on the 2012 David Bowie Symposium
held in UL, will be published by Routledge in 2015.
Since the formation of its structured PhD in Arts Practice (the first
of its kind in Ireland), the Academy has become a national leader
in advocating for the recognition of arts practice research.
Recently, one of the Academy’s doctoral students was one of the
first scholars to be awarded funding by the Irish Research Council
for an arts practice doctorate in performance. As well as
coordinating a faculty panel on arts practice research at the Society
for Musicology conference and the Society for Music Education
conference, the Academy hosted a national symposium on arts
practice research at NUI Galway in November 2014 in cooperation
with the Burren School of Art and the Huston School of Film &
New Media. Among the invited guests was the Director of the Irish
Research Council, Dr Eucharia Meehan.
The Music & Health Research Group continues to publish a range
of research actions and interests in three thematic areas: music and
everyday life; music, health, and society; and the applications of music
for health and in healthcare. A current area of interest of this group
relates to the inclusion of service user perspectives in health research. Since the foundation of the MA Festive Arts programme in
September 2013, strong links have been established across the
festival community and industry in Ireland. Recent research-related
initiatives include a partnership with ISACS (the Irish Street Arts,
Circus and Spectacle Network), an extension of the residency
arrangement with Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company, and becoming
a partner with Galway Community Circus on an ERASMUS+ funding
proposal around the development of community circus pedagogy
in Europe. This two-year project involves research partners across
six European countries working together to identify youth and
social circus professional profiles and training and professional
development needs. The MA Festive Arts programme is also part
of the UL-based LANDscape research cluster, which focuses on
ideas of place-making and the experience of the festive space.
Artists-in-residence enhance the rich, creative environment within
which both traditional and practice-based research occurs. The
Academy hosts numerous performance events as well as a weekly,
interdisciplinary public seminar (the Tower seminar series) and a
more specialist postgraduate seminar based around invitations to
visiting scholars (the LOGOS seminar series).
Recent publications (2013/14) at the Academy include
Baines, Susan
(2013) Music Therapy as an Anti-Oppressive Practice. Arts in
Psychotherapy, 40, 1-5, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2012.09.003.
(2013) 'A Brief Anti-Oppressive Analysis of Music Pedagogy, the
Professional Musician, and the Music Business: A Case for Music
Therapy'. Music: Social Impacts, Health Benefits and Perspectives,
Nova Sciences Publishers, Inc., Hauppauge, NY.
Burns, Shannon
(2014) Performing Knowledge: Assessing Learning through
Student Performance, Performing Identity: Embodying Knowledge
Conference, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland, 19 June
2014.
(2014) Musicianship for Dancers: Perspectives from a Dancer and a
Music Teacher, Dance Research Forum Ireland 5th International
Conference: Dance Legacies, DanceHouse, Dublin, Ireland, 3 July 2014.
(2013) Transmitting Music Theory: A Performative and
Pedagological Exploration, Society for Music Education Ireland
3rd Annual Conference: The Music Education Gathering: Legacies,
Conversations, Aspirations, St. Patrick’s College, Dublin, Ireland, 1
November 2013.
Cotter, Pamela
(2013) ‘Foreigners in the Session: An Examination of Participation
and Authenticity at the Costello’s Irish Music Session’ in Taking Part
in Music: Case Studies in Ethnomusicology, Elphinstone Institute
Occasional Publications 9, eds. Ian Russell and Catherine Ingram.
Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, in association with the
European Seminar in Ethnomusicology, pp. 198-215.
de Gallaí, Breandán
(2013) Neither Here nor There: Exploring the Tranformative through
Choreography, TEDx Talk, Dublin City University, accessible at http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqxOVws8O_o.
(2013) The Rising, Choreography for a play be Joe O’Byrne,
The Rising, Powerscourt Theatre, Dublin.
(2013) Imeall-Siúl: A Choreographic Exploration of the Expressive
Possibilities in Irish Dance, unpublished thesis (PhD), University of
Limerick.
(2013) 'Re-Visioning the Rite: An Exploration of the Expressive
Possibilities of Irish Dance' in Sacre Celebrations: Revisiting,
Reflecting, Revisioning, York University Toronto: Society of
Dance History Scholars, accessible at http://sacre.info.yorku.ca/
files/2013/10/de-Gallai.pdf.
(2013) 'Noctú – New Dances New Community', in Melin, M.,
and Ní Bhriain, O., eds., Connecting Communities Through Dance,
Proceedings of Dance Research Forum, Ireland’s 4th International
Conference, University of Limerick: Limerick.
Dillane, Aileen
(2014) Sound and Envisions: ‘Ashes to Ashes’ and the case for
Pierrot’ in David Bowie: Critical Perspectives, ed. Devereux, Power,
Dillane. New York: Routledge.
(2014) ‘Sonar-Cities: Learning Culture Through City Soundscapes’.
World Of Music, 3(1).
(2014) ‘I Can Have Both: A Queer Reading of Morrissey’, with
Devereux, E. and Power, M., Journal of European Popular Culture,
5(2).
(2014) ‘Aislings and Avatars: Irish (Traditional Music), Performativity,
and Cultural Intimacy’, 25th Annual Sean Ó Riada Memorial Lecture,
ed. Mary Mitchell-Ingolsby and Mel Mercier. Cork: University College
Cork Traditional Music Society.
(2013) 'Composing Identity, Fiddling with (Post) Ethnicity:
Liz Carroll's 'Lake Effect''. MUSICultures Special Edition: Atlantic
Roots and Routes. Journal of the Canadian Society for Traditional
Music, 40(1).
(2013) ‘Ethnomusicological Theory and Practice: Towards an Irish
Ethnomusicology.’ Crossroads Conference: Education and Traditional
Music, ed. Fintan Vallely et al. Dublin: Whinstone.
(2013) 'Nostalgic Songlines and the Performance of Irish Identity'.
Bealoideas Special Edition, Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society,
Vol. 81.
(2013) ‘Jim Donoghue’ in ICTM Ireland Fieldwork. An annotated CD
publication of fieldwork recordings from Ireland by the International
Council for Traditional Music, Ireland.
Downey, Jean
(2013) ‘Performing Skills at Second Level’: A Hands on Musical
Approach. 12 October. PPMTA Conference, Athlone
Edwards, Jane
(2013) Examining the role and functions of self-development in
healthcare therapy trainings: a review of the literature with a
modest proposal for the use of learning agreements. European
Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 15(3), 214-232.
(2013) (With Simon Gilbertson and Alison Ledger) Exploring
potentials for the use of music and music therapy in antenatal care:
A review and discussion. Journal of the Irish Association of Creative
Arts Therapies, 7(1), 36-41.
(2014) 'Proactive Archiving, Partnerships, and Applied
Ethnochoreology: The National Dance Archive of Ireland.
MUSICultures: Journal of The Canadian Society for Traditional Music
/ La Société canadienne pour les traditions musicales.
Ronald Labelle and Heather Sparling (Eds). Special Issue 40(2).
The XXIX Seminar in Ethnomusicology, 4 - 8 September 2013,
Institute of Musicology & Centre for Cultural Studies, University of
Bern, Switzerland.
(2014) With Elsie Ivancich Dunin (Eds.) Dance, Place, Festival: 27th
Symposium of the International Council for Traditional Music’s
Study Group on Ethnochoreology. Limerick: Irish World Academy
of Music and Dance, University of Limerick (333 pages, including
Labanoted samples and coloured photographs).
(2013) ‘Bones’ in White, H. and Boydell, B. (General Eds.)
The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland, Dublin, UCD Press.
(2014) ‘Negotiating the ‘Native Self’ and the ‘Professional Self’:
Ethnochoreological and Ethnomusicological Challenges in the Field’.
In Anne Margrete Fiskvik and Marit Stranden (Eds.) (Re)Searching
the Field. Festschrift in honor of Egil Bakka. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.
Pp. 227-242.
(2013) ‘Bodhrán’ in White, H. and Boydell, B. (General Eds.) The
Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland, Dublin, UCD Press.
(2013) Bodhrán: Lytning og kontekst. Roskilde. Lirum Larum Forlag.
(2013) Groove Toget: Ostinater, Grooves og Riffs i Bodhrán-spil.
Roskilde. Lirum Larum Forlag.
(2013) ‘Peter Horan and Batty Sherlock: Basket of Turf/Geese in the
Bog’ in ICTM Ireland Fieldwork. An annotated CD publication of
fieldwork recordings from Ireland by the International Council For
Traditional Music, Ireland.
(2013) Step Dancing in Ireland: Culture and History (print and
electronic). Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series (General Editor,
Derek Scott). Farmham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Kosovske, Yonit
(2014) ‘A Night in Bethlehem.’ Irish Chamber Orchestra. Bregenz,
Austria / Kurhaus, Wiesbaden, Germany.
(2013) ‘Irish Traditional Dance Within Third Level Education’. In
Fleadh Cheoil na Mumhan Programme. University of Limerick:
Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann. Pp. 147-155.
(2014) ‘Magic of Marwood.’ Irish Chamber Orchestra. RDS Concert
Hall, Dublin / University Concert Hall, University of Limerick.
Joyce, Sandra
(2014) Klangfestival Naturstimmen Festival. Song Performance. 8
June. Toggenburg, Switzerland. Katholischen Kirche, Alt St. Johann.
KlangWelt Toggenburg. Invited event.
(2014) Naturstimmen Klangfestival im Toggenburg. CD recording.
Track 4, 'The Haymaking Song' and Track 17 'Gemeinsamer
Ausklang' (CD2).
(2014) Splanc Concert. Performance of new material by Hazelwell.
24 April. University Concert Hall, Limerick. Irish World Academy
event. Material arranged by Hazelwell.
(2013) (With Alison Ledger and Michael Morley) A change
management perspective on the introduction of music therapy to
interprofessional teams. Journal of Health Organization and
Management, 27(6), 714-732.
Kjeldsen, Svend
(2014) Mancunian Irish: Identity, Cultural Intimacy and Musical
Hybridization. Performing Identities: Embodying Knowledge,
Interdisciplinary Conference, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick,
Ireland, 19-20 June 2014.
(2013) (With Annemieke van den Tol) Exploring a rationale for
choosing to listen to sad music when feeling sad. Psychology of
Music, 41, 440-465.
(2014) Urban Ethnomusicology and Irish Music in the British/Irish
Diaspora. The Tower Seminar Series, March 26th, 2014,
Irish World Academy, University of Limerick.
Foley, Catherine
(2014) Performance of Molyneaux Traditional Dance Material at
Culture Night, 26 September, Siamsa Tíre, National Folk Theatre of
Ireland, Tralee.
(2013) Mancunian Irish: Identity, Ownership and Musical
Hybridization. ICTM Postgraduate Conference, November 9th, 2013,
Humanities Institute, University College Dublin.
(2013) Mancunian Irish: Musical Hybridization and Cultural
Intimacy. Urban Ethnomusicology and Cultural Mapping.
(2014) ‘Two Harpsichord Recital.’ Yonit Kosovske & Colin Booth.
Sligo Festival of Baroque Music. Sligo.
(2014) ‘Polish Keyboard Music 1500–1700.’ Solo Harpsichord Recital. Culture Night. Polish Arts Festival. Millennium Theatre, Limerick
Institute of Technology. Limerick.
(2014) ‘Keyboard Chromaticism: Vocal Models, Instrumental
Contexts.’ Solo Harpsichord–Faculty Lecture Faculty Recital. San
Francisco Early Music Society–Baroque Workshop. Sonoma State
University. Rohnert Park, California, USA.
(2014) ‘Venetian Glory.’ Faculty Chamber Concert. San Francisco
Early Music Society–Baroque Workshop. San Francisco Early Music
Society–Baroque Workshop. Sonoma State University. Rohnert Park,
California, USA.
(2014) ‘Musical Offering, J.S. Bach.’ Killaloe Chamber Music Festival,
Joachim Roewer, artistic director. Killaloe, Co Clare.
(2014) ‘Ireland's Golden Age.’ USA Concert Tour. Irish Baroque
Orchestra, Monica Huggett, director. Shalin Liu Performance Center.
Rockport, Massachusetts. / Jorgensen Center for the Performing
Arts. UConn, Storrs, Connecticut. / Merkin Concert Hall, Kaufmann
Center. Manhattan, New York.
(2013) "Continuum." Contemporary Solo Harpsichord Recital, Works
from 1970–2013. Hilltown New Music Festival. Westmeath. Radio
Broadcast on RTÉ lyric fm’s NOVA of Ailís Ní Ríain’s ‘2 Steep 4 Sheep
(some hills are).’
45
(2013) ‘Omaggio a Corelli.’ Festival Orchestra Concert. Hiro Kurosaki
and Veronika Skuplik, directors. Barockstage Festival at Melk
Monastery. Vienna, Austria.
(2013) ‘Ireland's Golden Age.’ Concert Tour. Irish Baroque
Orchestra, Monica Huggett, director. Grand Masonic Lodge, Dublin /
Cork School of Music. Cork / Barockstage Festival at Melk Monastery.
Vienna, Austria.
(2013) ‘Vivaldi's Gloria.’ Maynooth Chamber Choir, Michael Dawson,
director. National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
(2013) ‘A Concert of Choral Music.’ DkIT Choir. Cathedral of Saint
Patrick and Saint Colman, Newry, Ireland.
Mascareñas, Óscar
(2014) BA Voice and Dance Women’s Chorale. Artistic Director. 1000
Voices for Peace International Choir Festival. 3 to 9 November. Gent
and Brussels, Belgium.
(2014) E.D.G.E. For voice - Choreosonography for Peyee Chen. 18
October. INTIME2014 Symposium of Experimental Music. Coventry,
England.
(2014) From With-In Not With-Out. Work for mixed instrumental
and vocal ensemble. 18 June. Teatro del Centro de las Artes.
Commisioned by the Consejo para la Cultura y las Artes de Nuevo
León. Monterrey, Mexico.
(2014) String Quartet. Performed by ensemble NURE. 18 June. Teatro
del Centro de las Artes. Consejo para la Cultura y las Artes de Nuevo
León. Monterrey, Mexico.
(2014) Choreosonography for 24 bodies. May 15. Theatre 1. Irish
World Academy of Music and Dance. Limerick, Ireland.
(2013) A Bedtime Story for Molly Bloom. For guitar, vibraphone and
timpani. 18 December. Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de
Monterrey (ESMDM). Commissioned by the ESMDM with support
from the National Council for the Culture and the Arts
(CONACULTA) and the National Institute for the Fine Arts (INBA).
Monterrey, Mexico.
TAIGHDE
(2013) 21 SOLOS PARA CUERPO. Choreosonography for 21 bodies
and instrumental ensemble. 18 December. Escuela Superior de
Música y Danza de Monterrey (ESMDM). Commissioned by the ESMDM
with support from CONACULTA and INBA. Monterrey, Mexico.
46
(2013) IN-SIMUL. Choreosonography for 100+ performers.
4 December. Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey
(ESMDM). Commissioned by the ESMDM with support from CONACULTA and INBA. Monterrey, Mexico.
(2013) Imágenes | Voces | CuerposTextosEXPUESTOS: Sobre el
Proceso Creativo la Obra y el Proyecto El Cuerpo Exhausto. EssayPerformance for Six Bodies. 20 November. Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey (ESMDM). Commissioned by the ESMDM
with support from CONACULTA and INBA. Monterrey, Mexico.
(2013). Sonography for 100 Voices. TEDxYouth@GarzaGarcía. 16
November. San Pedro Garza García, N.L., Mexico.
(2013) TRANSLATIONS. For orchestra. 23 October. Teatro del
Centro de las Artes. Commissioned by the Faculty of Music of the
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. Monterrey, Mexico.
(2013) String Quartet. Performed by ensemble NURE. 12 June.
Teatro del Centro de las Artes. Commisioned by the Consejo para la
Cultura y las Artes de Nuevo León. Monterrey, Mexico.
(2013) No Nos-Otros (Not Us-Others). Multidisciplinary work.
Artistic Director. 11 January. Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de
Monterrey (ESMDM). Commissioned by the ESMDM with support
from CONACULTA and INBA. Monterrey, Mexico.
McCaffrey, Tríona
(2014) (With Sue Baines, Jane Edwards and Jason Noone) Including
service user perspectives in research: Reflections of the Music &
Health Research Group at the University of Limerick. Irish
Association of Creative Arts Therapists Journal, 2(1), 1-39.
(2014). Evaluating music therapy through art, song and words:
A service user perspective. Conference presentation at Refocus on
Recovery 2014, London, UK: The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology
& Neuroscience, King's College London.
(2013) Music therapists’ experience of self in clinical improvisation
in music therapy: a phenomenological investigation. The Arts in
Psychotherapy, 40(3), 306-11.
(2013). Embracing recovery in music therapy in mental health:
What is your experience of music therapy? Music therapy and
mental health recovery symposium. Conference presentation at 9th
European Music Therapy Congress, Oslo, Norway: Norwegian Music
Therapy Association.
Melin, Mats
(2014) The Piper’s Schottische. Choreography, couple dance.
Ceolas Summer School, 7-11 July, South Uist, Scotland.
(2013) Introduction in Ni Bhriain, Orfhlaith; Melin, Mats eds. Dance
Research Forum Ireland's 4th International Conference: Connecting
Communities through Dance. Foyle Arts Building, Magee Campus,
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. 27 June -1 July, 2012.
Limerick: Dance Research Forum Ireland.
(2013) 'Step Dancing in Cape Breton and Scotland: Contrasting
Contexts and Creative Processes', MUSICultures. Special Issue:
Atlantic Roots and Routes, Journal of the Canadian Society for
Traditional Music, eds. Heather Sparling, Kati Szego, and Frances
Wilkinson, 40(1).
(2013) 'Visual Learning in the 21st Century: Cape Breton Step Dance
on the Small Screen and as a Learning Tool in the Dance Class',
Canadian Folk Music, 46(4), 1-6.
Ní Bhriain, Orfhlaith
(2014) Shanahan J, Clifford A, Bhriain Ni O, Volpe D. and Morris ME.
Dance for people with Parkinson’s disease: what is the evidence
telling us? Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Available online September 2014.
(2013) Contemporary Irish Dance Choreography: T is for Tradition,
Trophy, Theatre and Time to Dance. An essay on contemporary Irish
step dance commissioned by Dance Ireland.
(2013) Shanahan J, Clifford A, Bhriain Ni O, Volpe D. and Morris
ME. (2013) “A randomized controlled feasibility trial to determine
the effectiveness of set dancing for people with Parkinson’s disease:
Protocol” available: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT0175
7509?term=set+dancing&rank=1.
(2013) Introduction in Ni Bhriain, Orfhlaith; Melin, Mats eds. Dance
Research Forum Ireland's 4th International Conference: Connecting
Communities through Dance. Foyle Arts Building, Magee Campus,
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. 27 June to 1 July, 2012.
Limerick: Dance Research Forum Ireland.
NicGhabhann, Niamh
(2014) ‘That Kind of Beauty’, Dublin Review of Books accessible at
http://www.drb.ie/essays/that-kind-of-beauty.
(2014) Editor, WATERMARK, curated exhibition and accompanying
catalogue, published by the University of Limerick.
(2013) Edited section on the historiography of Irish art, Journal
of Art Historiography, ed. Richard Woodfield, Vol. 9, accessible at
http://arthistoriography.wordpress.com/.
(2013) Curated exhibition, Shaping Identities Together: Ag Cruthú le
Chéile, with Colin Martin, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, Hughie O’Donoghue,
Geraldine O’Reilly and Robert Russell, at the Institute for Ireland in
Europe, Leuven, Belgium.
(2013) Editor, ‘Founts of meaning: five contemporary artists and the
books of the Irish Franciscans in Europe’, in the exhibition catalogue
Shaping Identities Together: Ag Cruthú le Chéile, Dublin: Graphic
Studio Dublin.
Noone, Matthew (Mattu)
(2014) Moonlight on Galway Bay: The Songs Our Fathers Used
to Sing. Audio recording with Sean Tyrell. Claddagh Records.
LMCD009.
(2013) The Bahh Band. Indian Tour. Pondicherry, Indian Surf Festival
(26 January); Bangalore, B flat Club Festival (30 January); Chennai,
Global Music festival (2 February); Pondicherry, Auroville (2 February); Bangalore, Fireflies Festival of Sacred Music (9 February). Supported
by Culture Ireland.
(2013) The Bahh Band. Live Performance. 21 June. Body N Soul
festival, main stage, Ballinalough, Westmeath.
(2013) Between the Reels and the Ragas. Live Performance with
Tommy Hayes. Galway Fringe Festival, Arus na Gael, Galway (12
July); Spirit of Folk Festival, Westmeath; Pearse Museum & City Hall,
Dublin (20 September-25 October); Cork Folk Festival, City Hall, Cork
(10-13 October); Diwali celebrations, Mansion House, Dublin
(1 November).
Nunan, Mary
(2014) In the Bell’s Shadow. Dance Film. Premier December 2104.
Collaborative artist and performer. Funded by the Arts Council/An
Chomhairle Ealaíon.
(2014) ‘Starting with T’. Dance Film. Installation/Premier October
2014. Director/choreographer. Funded by Limerick City of Culture,
Limerick City Gallery and Create.
(2013) ‘Dancers’. Ensemble choreography. Premier October 2013.
Choreographer. Daghdha Space, Dance Limerick, funded by the Arts
Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
Nzewi O’dyke
(2014) Performance Composition: For Effective Classroom Music
Education. Saarbrucken: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.
(2014) (With Meki Nzewi and Rose Omolo-Ongati) Integration of the
Arts in the Classroom: A Practical Sharing Experience. International
Society for Music Education (ISME), 31st International conference.
Porte Alegre, Brazil 20-25th July 2014.
(2014) Libation: An intercultural ensemble music performance.
8th May. 1st PhD performance. Irish world academy for music and
dance, Limerick, Ireland.
(2013) ‘Embedding the traditional concept of community within
contemporary, indigenous musical arts training in Africa’, in Gaunt,
H and Westerlund, H (eds). Collaborative Learning in Higher Music
Education, Ashgate Publishers, pp. 199-204.
Ó Súilleabháin, Mícheál
(2014) IMBOLC, a composition for soprano and female chant
ensemble. First performance by Sharon Lyons (solo) and Cantoral at
Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, April 2014.
(2014) Country Cycle, a limited edition CD of County Cycle for Piano
and String Orchestra by Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, performed and
directed by the composer with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
Produced for the Ernie O’Malley Symposium on Modern Ireland and
Revolution at Glucksman Ireland House, New York University (April
2014).
(2014) Pioneers and Aviators: A Century of Irish Aviation, a limited
edition publication (Book/DVD/CD) by AVOLON to mark the film
documentary by Alan Gilsenan with orchestral score by Micheál
Ó Súilleabháin, performed by the composer with the RTÉ Concert
Orchestra.
(2014) A Celebration of Seamus Heaney, 23rd April, National
Concert Hall Dublin, Poetry Ireland, Performance.
(2014) The Arts in Higher Education, A Symposium, Friday 9th May,
Higher Education Authority, Croke Park Conference Centre Dublin,
Invited Address on Irish World Academy and Artists in Residence
(2014) The Plains of Boyle, Opening Concert Boyle Arts Festival, 1
August.
(2014) A Celebration of Seamus Heaney, Opening Concert Lorient
Interceltic Festival, 2 August, Municiple Theatre Lorient,
Performance.
(2014) Phoenix Rising: The Music of Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, 4th
September, RTE Concert Orchestra, National Concert Hall Dublin,
Termon, Port na bPúcaí, An Buachaill Caol Dubh, Francesco Walks,
Madison’s Descent. Rcorded by broadcast by RTE lyric fm.
(2014) Vertical Man: Remembering Seán O Riada, Clifden Arts
Festival, 19th September, Performance.
(2014) Bright Vision: Music from a Hidden Ireland, Pavilion Arts
Centre Dublin, 21 September.
(2014) ‘In the Quiet Places of the Heart’: A Meditation for Michael
at Michelmas, Freedom of the City award to President Michael D
Higgins, 29th September, Milk Market Limerick, Performance.
(2014) ‘O’Neill’s Music of Ireland’, a Lecture Recital, The Hibernian
Lecture, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, 3 October
(2013) Bóthar na Sop, a composition for violin and guitar issued on
CD Go Mairir i Bhfad/Long Life to You by Zoe Conway (violin) and
John McIntyre (guitar).
(2013) So Merrily Dance, new version for symphony orchestra. First
Performance: BBC Ulster Orchestra, Belfast.
(2013) Film music for Let’s Talk Film Series: six short films on death,
dying, loss and care. Compassionate Communities Project, Milford
Care Centre, Limerick.
First Performance: RTÉ Concert Orchestra, soloist Iarla Ó Lionaird
(NCH Dublin; broadcast RTÉ lyric fm).
(2013) Madison’s Descent: A Masque in Ten Movements for soprano, piano, chamber orchestra. European Premiere, Junction Festival
Chamber Orchestra and Choir (broadcast RTÉ lyric fm).
(2013) Phoenix Rising: for symphony orchestra and piano – music
for the film documentary by Alan Gilsenan on Irish aviation. First
Performance: RTÉ Concert Orchestra, soloist Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin
(broadcast by RTÉ 1).
(2013) Between Worlds: for Piano and String Quartet. Performance:
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin with Notre Dame String Quartet (DeBartolo
Center for Performing Arts, University of Notre Dame)
Phelan, Helen
(2014) ‘Sionna’s Box’ essay for Watermark, Academy 20 exhibition
publication, 32-36.
(2014) Cantoral. Let the Joyous Irish Sing Aloud! / Laetabundus
decantet hybernicorum cetus. CD. IWA001.
(2014) Cantoral CD Launch performance. 29 October. Limerick City
of Culture, Dance Limerick.
(2013) Cantoral ensemble performance. 17 July. The Irish Seminar,
Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, France.
(2013) Cantoral international tour. 15–17 October. Class of 1959
Chapel, Harvard, and Debartolo Performing Arts Center, University
of Notre Dame, USA.
Quigley, Colin
(2014) Dance Revival Activism and Ethnochoreological Research:
The Hungarian Dance House Example. Festschrift for Egil Bakka. Ed.
Anne Fiskvik and Marit Stranden. Trondheim: Akademia Academic
Press.
(2014) György Martin’s Place in Applied Ethnochoreology. Acta
Ethnographica Hungarica, pp. 279-289. Budapest: Akademia Kiado.
(2014) The Hungarian Dance House Movement and Revival of
Transylvanian String Band Music. The [Oxford] Handbook of Music
Revivals. Ed. Caroline Bithell and Juniper Hill, pp. 180-200. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
(2013) Tradition as Generative Process: An Example from European/
Euro-American Fiddling. Musical Traditions: Discovery, Inquiry,
Interpretation, and Application. Ed. Pál Richter. Budapest: HAS,
Research Centre for the Humanities, pp. 45-55.
(2013) Editor, Ethnomusicology Ireland: The Journal of the ICTM
Irish National Committee. Volume 2/3: 111 pp.
(2013) Three Sean-Nós Songs for Singer and Symphony Orchestra.
47
Smishkewych, Wolodymyr
(2014) (With Rodenkirchen, Norbert) ‘Deciphering an Ancient Code:
Reconstructing Medieval Music Improvisation and Collaboration’,
Colloquium on Archaeomusicological Research, 2014 Galway Early
Music Festival, in collaboration with NUI Galway Medieval Studies,
Centre for Medieval, Pre-modern and Renaissance Studies (CAMPS)
and Classics Dept. and the European Music Archaeology Project
(EMAP).
(2013) ‘An Online Digital Facsimile of the Lugo Codex,’ DM Thesis,
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bloomington, Indiana,
USA. Accessible at www.lugocodex.org, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/
dspace/handle/2022/17230 and http://ulir.ul.ie/handle/10344/3781.
(2013)’A 'Fach' System for Singing Chant and Medieval Song?
Range, Tessitura, Voice Type and Other Practical Considerations for
Singers and Ensemble Directors’, Opening paper at the 8th Annual
Colloquium of the Gregorian Institute of Canada, Vancouver, BC,
Canada.
(2013) “I cried out to the Lord”: Hymns and Choral Concertos with
Ensemble Cherubim, Marika Kuzma, director. Naxos Records (CD).
Szücs, Ferenc
(2014) ‘Creative processes in Western arts music performance
practice with reference to the journey of a professional cellist’,
Middlesex University, London, UK. Available: http://eprints.mdx.
ac.uk/13340/
Vaughan, Mairéad
(2014) ‘TerrainSkin’, a three-screen dance installation in
collaboration with Dara O’Brien, supported by the Arts Council/An
Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Irish World Academy of Music
and Dance.
TAIGHDE
(2013) ‘Emanating awareness: tracing the impact of Bharatanatyam
and Iyengar yoga on my contemporary dance and choreographic
practice’. Issue 1.1, The Journal of Dance, Movement and
Spiritualities, Intellect Publishers.
48
(2013) ‘A corporeal dialogue: the influence of Bharatanatyam and yoga
in choeographic practice’. Dance Research Forum Ireland's 4th
International Conference: Connecting Communities through Dance.
Foyle Arts Building, Magee Campus, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland.
27 June – 1 July, 2012. Limerick: Dance Research Forum Ireland.
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
IRISH WORLD
ACADEMY
ENSEMBLES
Sean O'Meara, BA Irish Music and Dance
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
49
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY ENSEMBLES
CANTORAL
50
Sonas
Lucernarium
ACADEMOS
Cantoral Voice Ensemble
Sonas UL Global Choir
Cantoral is an all-female vocal ensemble from the University
of Limerick, Ireland. The ensemble specialises in Western
plainchant and early polyphony and has a particular interest
in medieval Irish repertoire. Formed in 2008 at the Irish World
Academy, the ensemble had its first international appearance
in 2009 at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. Other highlight
performances include Imbolc, a programme of chant and Irish
language song for St. Bridget, which premiered in New York
in 2010, and a programme for the Galway Early Music Festival
entitled … sed diabolus irrisit (‘… but the devil laughed’) in
the same year. In April 2011 Cantoral sang for the Dalai Lama
during his visit to Ireland, and in April 2012 the ensemble
conducted a public seminar and a concert of Irish medieval
music for Holy Week at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.
Cantoral Artistic Director Catherine Sergent is an acclaimed
Paris-based singer who has performed and recorded extensively
with several early-music ensembles, including Discantus and
Obsidian. Catherine is a chant tutor for the MA Ritual Chant and
Song programme at the Academy. The singers in Cantoral are
graduates, doctoral students and members of faculty at the Irish
World Academy and are from Ireland, France, the United States
and Mexico. International performances in 2013 took place at
the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris and at Harvard University
and the University of Notre Dame in the USA. Cantoral issued its
first CD recording, Let the Joyous Irish Sing Aloud/Laetabundus
Decantet Hybernicorum Cetus, in 2014. The CD was recorded
on location at Ballintubber Abbey, Co. Mayo with the assistance
of the Keough Naughton Institute of Irish Studies at the
University of Notre Dame, Indiana.
Started in 1992 by Clem Garvey as the UL Choir and in recent
years embodied as the UL Gospel Choir under the direction
of MARCS alumnae Kathleen Turner (to 2010), Jaimee Jensen
(2011-2012) and Dr Robin Garner (current director), Sonas is
a UL global choir in the truest sense. Sonas is the new banner
flying above the twenty-year history of the UL Choir: faithful to
the University’s and the Irish World Academy’s ethos of diversity
and global music and cultural exchange, Sonas explores vocal
ensemble music of all times and places, with a special focus on
repertoires, timbres and styles outside the remit of the Western
classical vocal tradition. All of the music is learned aurally, and
the ability to read music is not a prerequisite. A compulsory
ensemble for students in the MA Ritual Chant and Song
(MARCS) programme, Sonas is also open by audition to other
students and staff at the Irish World Academy and the University
of Limerick and to interested members of the community.
For more information about Sonas, please contact
[email protected].
Lucernarium
Lucernarium is the chant schola and chamber music ensemble
of the MA Ritual Chant and Song (MARCS) programme.
Lucernarium is dedicated to the vocal music repertoires of
Western chant, medieval monophonic and polyphonic song.
The ensemble also performs vocal chamber music of the
Renaissance and Baroque as well as contemporary choral music
whose aesthetic is oriented towards the early- and world-song
sound worlds. As part of the MARCS programme’s Locus+Nexus
concert series, Lucernarium performs on and off campus several
times a year during the regular term.
Please contact [email protected] for further information.
Hazelwell
ACADEMOS Irish Chamber Orchestra
Academy
ACADEMOS is the graduate string orchestra of the MA
Classical String Performance programme at the Irish World
Academy. Established in 2008, ACADEMOS performs as a larger
chamber orchestra, as a collegium and in smaller chamber
groups and has toured internationally. In 2014, with the
establishment of the Irish Chamber Orchestra Academy,
ACADEMOS now represents a living bridge between the Irish
World Academy and the Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO). Leaders
of the ICO teach weekly master classes, and many opportunities
have arisen for interaction between ACADEMOS members and the
ICO programme itself.
Hazelwell
Hazelwell is a female vocal ensemble that focuses on Irish
traditional repertoire and repertoires from related traditions
such as Scottish and American (particularly Appalachian and
Americana). Its repertoire and focus is influenced by the diverse
musical backgrounds of its members: Sandra Joyce, Róisín Ní
Gallóglaigh and Joanna Hyde. At its heart, Hazelwell is an a
capella group, although it is open to experimenting with
instruments played by its members and with guest musicians.
Its arrangements are influenced by many musical genres,
including Scandinavian traditional song and classical music.
Its roots and repertoire are strongly in traditional song,
but it is open to exploring diverse sounds, influences and ideas.
Dr Catherine Foley at the launch of Dance, Place, Festival: 27th
Symposium of the International Council for Traditional Music
(ICTM) Study Group on Ethnochoreology 2012 at the Academy
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
51
52
SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARD RECIPIENTS
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
SCHOLARSHIP
AND AWARD
RECIPIENTS
MA Classical String Performance students in
rehearsal with ICO cellist Aoife Nic Athlaoich
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
53
Irish Research Council Government of
Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship
Award: Jack Talty
Mattu Noone
Irish Research Council Government of
Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Award:
Mattu Noone
An Irish Research Council Doctoral Award has been made
to Mattu Noone, a candidate on the PhD Arts Practice
programme at the Irish World Academy.
SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARD RECIPIENTS
Originally involved in the post-rock scene in urban Australia,
Mattu has travelled an eclectic musical route via North India to
Ireland. A student of the sarode (25-stringed India lute) since
2004, he has spent many years studying Indian classical music
with Sougata Roy Chowdhury in Kolkata and more recently with
K Sridhar in the UK. He completed his MA (1st Honours) in
Ethnomusicology at the Irish World Academy and has been
supported by both Culture Ireland and the Music Network to
tour India and develop a new sarode, particularly for playing
Irish music.
54
Mattu’s research topic is Reclaiming the Mongrel: Irish
Traditional and North Indian Classical Musical Connections –
a practice-based exploration of hybridisation. This research is
an interdisciplinary investigation of the relationship between
Irish traditional and North Indian classical music. Grounded
in ethnomusicological theory (Rice, 1994; Aubert, 2007), the
research utilises an arts practice approach, theorising complex
musical relationships through practice, analysis and the
production of new hybrid musical works. The methodology
draws upon the concept of ‘critical meta-practice’ (Melrose,
2002) to employ musical skill sets to generate data and pursue
research questions. Doctoral student Jack Talty is the recipient of an Irish Research
Council Postgraduate Scholarship Award for his study entitled
Exploring Fifty Years of Institutionalisation in the Transmission, Pedagogy and Performance of Irish Traditional Music in
Irish Higher Education from 1963 to 2013. This study looks at
the relationship between the ‘Ivory Tower’ – a metaphor for
the university, commonly misconceived as being removed from
reality and social contact with others (Phillips and Pugh 2000)
and the ‘Commons’ – the perceived ‘community-owned’ practices of Irish traditional music (McCann 2001; Smith 2006). New
discourse is offered to the ethnomusicological record to present
a critique of prevailing perceptions on the intra-communal relationship between academic and extra-academic representations
of Irish traditional music discourse, pedagogy, transmission and
performance.
Jack Talty
Mairéad Vaughan (photo: Dara O’Brien)
Arts Council Research Bursaries: Mairéad
Vaughan
Mairéad Vaughan received Arts Council research bursaries in the
academic years 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 in support of her
Arts Practice PhD, which she is undertaking at the Irish World
Academy under the supervision of Dr Mary Nunan. Mairéad’s PhD
researches the deep symbiotic relationship between body(mind)
and environment through the creation of a choreography for
camera and a site-specific installation performance. To see
Mairéad’s work, visit www.shakramdance.com.
Marc Fitch Foundation Grant:
Niamh NicGhabhann
Dr Niamh NicGhabhann of the Irish World Academy has been
awarded a publication grant of St£2,000 from the Marc Fitch
Fund to put towards the publication of her forthcoming book
Building on the Past: Medieval Buildings in Ireland, 1789-1915
(forthcoming with Four Courts Press).
Dominican Foundation and (in distance) St Peter and Paul’s Church
(RC), Kilmallock, Co. Limerick. Photo: Niamh NicGhabhann
EMI Music Sound Foundation Bursary in
Community Music 2014/15: Kate Corkery,
Sharon Howley, Siobhán Nelligan, Andrew
O’Grady, Sadhbh O’Sullivan and Kate Scales
The 2014/15 EMI Music Sound Foundation Bursary in Community
Music was awarded to MA in Community Music students Kate
Corkery, Sharon Howley, Siobhán Nelligan, Andrew O’Grady,
Sadhbh O’Sullivan and Kate Scales. EMI Music Sound Foundation
was established by EMI in 1997 to commemorate the centenary
of EMI records. EMI Music Sound Foundation is an independent
charity supported by Universal Music Group. EMI Music Sound
Foundation is now the single largest sponsor of Specialist
Performing Arts Colleges in England and has created vital bursaries
at music colleges to assist music students. In 2005, EMI Music
Sound Foundation extended its remit to cover the Irish World
Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick.
A bursary was made available on an annual basis for the
establishment of the EMI Music Sound Foundation Bursary in
Community Music at the Irish World Academy. Applicants should
normally be under 25 years of age, have been born in either the
UK or Ireland and have applied for admission to the MA in
Community Music at the Irish World Academy. In certain instances,
bursary applications may be considered with applications for
admission to Irish World Academy programmes other than
Community Music. The criteria for selection of a bursary winner
include the excellence of the CV submitted and evidence of
financial need. There is no separate application form. A relevant
CV should be included with the application form for admission
to the relevant degree programme along with a covering letter
applying for the bursary and sent to Jean Downey, Irish World
Academy, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. Telephone:
+353 61 202030; Email: [email protected].
EMI Music Sound Foundation Patrons: Sir George Martin, Sir Paul
McCartney, Yoko Ono, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Cliff Richard, Diana
Ross and Tina Turner.
For more information, visit
http://musicsoundfoundation.com/index.php/site/archives/303
Kate Corkery, Siobhán Nelligan, Kate Scales and Sadhbh O’Sullivan
Sinéad Ryan
Jakari Sherman
Slingshot: Jakari Sherman
Roche Continents: Sinéad Ryan
Roche Continents – Youth! Arts! Science! is a project grown
from a partnership between Roche and the Salzburg Festival.
One hundred students from across Europe are selected to
participate in this exceptional challenge; participants are students of
life sciences, chemistry, the fine arts or music and are between
20 and 29 years of age. Roche is well known for promoting
culture in novel settings, and Roche Continents is an example
of this commitment. Participants attend concerts and talks by
guest speakers and are given the opportunity to join discussions
with artists and take part in group workshops.
Irish World Academy graduate Sinéad Ryan has been awarded
a place at this year’s Roche Continents challenge in Salzburg.
Sinéad is from Croom, Co. Limerick and is a harpist and pianist.
She recently graduated from the Irish World Academy with a
first class honours in the Professional Diploma in Education
(Music). In 2013, Sinéad was awarded a first class honours BA
in English and Music from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
and won the First Place Medal for Music. She is currently
undertaking a master’s degree in modern English literature at
Mary Immaculate College.
Irish World Academy MA Ethnochoreology student Jakari
Sherman was selected as one of 150 Irish students to
participate in Slingshot, an entrepreneurial event that brings the
best and brightest Irish student thinkers and doers together with
inspirational business leaders and academics committed to
innovation and entrepreneurship. Slingshot comprises Ireland’s
leading student innovators who have excelled in fields from the
areas of science, business, sport and the arts. Jakari joined the
other selected students at Dublin Castle on November 18th to
share ideas, experiences and knowledge and to create future
opportunities and partnerships. The event included a range
of panel and round-table discussions and presentations led by
CEOs, prominent academics and student leaders.
The Trustees of Muckross House
Scholarship for MA Irish Traditional
Dance Performance
Through Dr Catherine Foley’s connection since 1979 with
Muckross House as a collector of Irish traditional music, song
and dance, the Trustees of Muckross House have awarded a
scholarship to the MA Irish Traditional Dance Performance since
the programme’s inception in 1999. The Trustees of Muckross
House Scholarship 2013/14 was awarded to Luis Sanchez from
Mexico.
Further information and application queries should be directed
to Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain, Director, MA Irish Traditional Dance
Performance, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.
Phone: +353 61 202922; email: [email protected].
55
56
CLÁR
IRISH WORLD ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE
CLÁR
Irish World Academy Programmes
BA Irish Music and Dance students
performing at the Academy
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
57
Certificate in Music and Dance
Dr Niall Keegan, Director, Undergraduate Studies
[email protected]; +353 61 202465
MA Music Therapy
Alpha Woodward, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 213122
THE IRISH WORLD ACADEMY
BA Irish Music and Dance
Dr Niall Keegan, Director, Undergraduate Studies
[email protected]; +353 61 202465
MA Ritual Chant and Song
Hannah Fahey, Course Coordinator
(Dr Helen Phelan and Dr Óscar Mascareñas,
Course Directors)
[email protected]; +353 61 213762
STRONG INTERNATIONAL
BA Voice and Dance
Dr Niall Keegan, Director, Undergraduate Studies
[email protected]; +353 61 202465
MA Classical String Performance
Dr Ferenc Szücs, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 202918
MA Community Music
Jean Downey, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 213160
MA Contemporary Dance Performance
Dr Mary Nunan, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 213464
MA Ethnochoreology
Dr Catherine Foley, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 202922
MA Ethnomusicology
Dr Aileen Dillane, Acting Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 202159
MA Festive Arts
Dr Niamh NicGhabhann, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 202798
CLÁR
MA Irish Traditional Dance Performance
Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 202470
58
MA Irish Traditional Music Performance
Dr Sandra Joyce, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 202065
Professional Diploma in Education (Music)
Jean Downey, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 213160
Master of Education (Music)
Jean Downey, Course Director
[email protected]; +353 61 213160
PhD Arts Practice (Structured Programme)
Dr Helen Phelan, Programme Director
[email protected]; +353 61 202575
MA (Research)
Please contact relevant supervisor/faculty member
or contact Paula Dundon, Academy Administrator
[email protected]; +353 61 202149
PhD (by dissertation)
Please contact relevant supervisor/faculty member
or contact Paula Dundon, Academy Administrator
[email protected]; +353 61 202149
BLAS International Summer School in Irish
Traditional Music and Dance
Ernestine Healy, Director
[email protected]; +353 61 202653
CONTINUES TO HAVE A VERY
STUDENT PROFILE. SINCE ITS
INCEPTION IN 1994, STUDENTS
FROM THE FOLLOWING
COUNTRIES HAVE GRADUATED
FROM THE ACADEMY:
EU:
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Holland
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
UK
INTERNATIONAL:
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
Chile
Colombia
Ethiopia
Georgia
Indonesia
Israel
Japan
Malaysia
Mexico
Nepal
New Zealand
Nigeria
Palestine
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
Taiwan
Turkey
USA
Vietnam
RTÉ ConTempo String Quartet performing a
lunchtime concert at the Academy
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
59
OTHER PROGRAMMES AND ARTS OFFICES at the University of Limerick
Faculty of Education and Health Sciences:
Graduate Diploma/MA in Dance (part-time)
The Graduate Diploma in Dance is a one-year, part-time
programme of study that enables participants to acquire
the necessary skills to teach Leaving Certificate Physical
Education. Students who satisfy the necessary requirements may be considered for admission to the master’s
programme.
Course Director: Brigitte Moody
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 61 202807
Website: www.ul.ie/ehs
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Centre
for Computational Musicology & Computer
Music: MA/MSc in Music Technology
The MA/MSc in Music Technology is a one-year, intensive
course designed for graduate musicians from all disciplines
who are interested in combining technological competence
with artistic endeavour.
OTHER PROGRAMMES AND ARTS OFFICES
Course Director: Nicholas Ward
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 61 234246
Website: www.csis.ul.ie
60
Faculty of Science and Engineering,
Interaction Design Centre (IDC): MA in
Interactive Multimedia
Association of Irish Choirs
The Association of Irish Choirs supports and promotes
excellence in choral music in Ireland. It does this by
providing information and advice and presenting a range of
programmes and activities designed to respond to the needs
of members, the wider choral community and the public.
CEO: Dermot O’Callaghan
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 61 202715
Administrator: Michelle Hynes
Phone: +353 61 234823
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.aoic.ie
University of Limerick Arts Office
Arts Officer: Patricia Moriarty
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 61 202130
Department of Music,
Mary Immaculate College, UL
The Department of Music at Mary Immaculate College (MIC)
offers music for the BEd and BA (Liberal Arts) programmes
as well as a taught MA in Music Education and other
postgraduate degrees to doctoral level by research.
Regular choral and chamber concerts are a vital part of
the life of the department and there are close ties with the
Irish World Academy. MIC has a 500-seater performing arts
venue, the Lime Tree Theatre (www.limetreetheatre.ie).
Dr Gareth Cox (Head of Department); Dr Paul Collins;
Dr Michael Murphy; Dr Gwen Moore; Dr Ailbhe Kenny
Departmental enquiries: [email protected]
Phone +353 61 204540
Website: www.mic.ul.ie
University of Limerick Visual Arts
Administrator: Yvonne Davis
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 61 213052
Digital Media and Arts Research Centre
(DMARC)
Director: Jürgen Simpson
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 61 202759
Website: www.dmarc.ie
The MA in Interactive Multimedia is a one-year, intensive
course designed specifically for art and design graduates
who are interested in pursuing studies that combine
technological competence with design/artistic endeavour.
Irish Language Office/Aonad na Gaeilge
Course Director: Mikael Fernstrom
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 61 202606
Website: www.idc.ul.ie
Ciara Considine,
Oifigeach Margaíochta/Riarthóir Feidhmiúcháin
Email: [email protected]
Phone +353 61 234754
Deirdre Ní Loingsigh, Stiúrthóir na Gaeilge
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 61 213463
Back cover photo: Detail of Esteban La Rotta
(Colombia) playing theorbo at the Academy
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
Maurice Gunning
Maurice Gunning is an Irish photographer and documentary filmmaker. He studied at
the University of Wales, Newport for his MFA in Documentary Photography.
In 2012, Maurice was invited by Dance Ireland to become artist in residence at Dance
House, Dublin. Over the course of the year, he created a new body of photographic work
and dance films. This work was premiered in May 2013 with a large permanent solo
show throughout the Dance House building.
Maurice has worked extensively in Buenos Aires with the Argentine Irish Diaspora over a
number of years. In 2010, he brought his solo show, Encuentro, back to Buenos Aires,
exhibiting at the Centro Cultural de Recoleta with support from Culture Ireland and the
Irish Embassy. This work has also been shown in several UK galleries and at the Irish
National Photographic Archive as one of the main invitational exhibits of the 2012
PhotoIreland Festival.
The Irish Heritage Council funded a three-year project from 2006 to 2009 to enable
Maurice to document Ireland’s traditional maritime heritage. This work has had large
solo shows at the Cultural Centre, Athens and the Hunt Museum, Ireland.
Since 2006, Maurice has been the resident photographer at the Irish World Academy of
Music and Dance at the University of Limerick. He continues to collaborate with many
national and international artists through this residency. His work was celebrated in 2010
in the form of a permanent exhibition at the Irish World Academy.
Maurice was the cinematographer on The Chile 33, a documentary filmed during the
mining incident of 2011. Produced by Huw Roberts, the film was aired internationally
with the History Channel and distributed by Off the Fence Productions.
In 2013, the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest invited Maurice to be their first artist
in residence. The work Maurice produced during this residency will be premiered in
Budapest at the Liszt Academy in 2015 with support from Culture Ireland, the Arts
Council and the Irish Embassy.
Jamie Smith performing a lunchtime concert
with Barrule, the Manx Celtic Power Trio
Photograph © Maurice Gunning
In May 2014, Maurice launched a photo book and exhibition with Hope & Homes for
Children (Romania) with support from the Irish Embassy in Bucharest. The photographs
were exhibited in the National Parliament and in the National Library, Bucharest. This
project is an extension of Maurice’s exploration of humanitarian work, which began
when he was appointed artist in residence with the Burren Chernobyl Project in Belarus.
www.mauricegunning.com
www.irishworldacademy.ie