2016-2017 43 rd year
IRISH HERITAGE: WHAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO Irish Heritage is a voluntary arts organisation, established in London in 1974 to promote the appreciation and understanding of classical music (broadly defined) and music composed by Irish composers, performed by young Irish musicians in Britain to a wide audience. It is the only Irish arts organisation in Britain dedicated to helping young Irish musicians through their continuing education and the early part of their careers. This is where their need is greatest. Irish Heritage presents a programme of events in established music venues open to the public; it showcases young Irish musicians at special events and supports other organisations which share its aims in music and the arts. It has formal links with the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) and the music conservatoires in Ireland and Britain to identify the rising stars and help them on their way, and an Artistic Advisory Panel with some of the most distinguished individuals in the music world in Britain, Ireland and Continental Europe. The Irish Heritage Music Bursary is awarded to an outstanding Irish musician working or studying in Britain. You can become a Friend of Irish Heritage for a modest annual donation, or support the valuable work of Irish Heritage through sponsorship, donations or in other ways. The contact details are set out below. Chairman: Niall Gallagher (niallgallagher172@gmail.com) Artistic Directors: Jean Kelly and Katie Rowan Secretary: Cormac Cawley Treasurer: Laurence Cahill Membership Liaison: Kathy O Regan Patrons: Lady (Mary) Hatch; John Gilhooly OBE; Seamus McGarry; Peter Sutherland KCMG SC Website: irishheritage.co.uk Facebook: IrishHeritageLondon Twitter: @HeritageIrish LinkedIn: linkedin.com/irishheritage Email: contact@irishheritage.co.uk
Artistic Directors, Katie Rowan and Jean Kelly Since taking the role of Joint Artistic Directors in January 2015 we have endeavoured to build on the reputation for excellence of Irish Heritage s artistic tradition, with an additional focus on supporting young Irish musicians in the early stage of their careers and promoting the work of Irish composers. Our 2015-2016 programme brought many exciting young artists to a London audience, including soprano, Jennifer Davis who joined the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in September 2015; Alex Petcu-Colan the brilliant young percussionist from Cork; Patrick Rafter the violinist and RDS Music Bursary winner now studying in Switzerland with maestro Maxim Vengerov. We welcomed nine young musicians to perform in the Guildhall in a unique collaboration with Conservatoires Ireland. There were many more excellent young performers in our programme and there was also a focus on the other part of our brief supporting the work of Irish composers. We featured, for the first time in Britain, works by Irish composer, Ina Boyle, including a world premier, and David Wallace. The Inaugural Irish Heritage Music Bursary was a highlight of our programme. The 2016-2017 artistic programme builds on the foundations of the previous year with a focus on increasing our audiences and membership (Friends of Irish Heritage) and the support of sponsors and the media. The programme commences on 15 th September 2016 with our 2015 Irish Heritage Music Bursary winners, Carolyn Holt, mezzo-soprano, and Máire Carroll, piano, and is followed by an exciting series of events, including the World Premier of London Irish Reflections a musical and multi-media production based on the stories of Irish emigrants in London from the 1950s. The artistic programme also features opera, jazz, traditional music as we showcase a wide range of young Irish musicians. The 2016 Irish Heritage Music Bursary is a feature of the programme. Our artistic programming demonstrates how the musical landscape is changing as the boundaries between classical music and other genres are decreasing, thus expanding the repertoire of classical musicians in an exciting and innovative way. Katie Rowan and Jean Kelly Joint Artistic Directors
THE IRISH HERITAGE MUSIC BURSARY Young Irish musicians face huge financial challenges to study and establish their careers in the UK and internationally. The Irish Heritage Music Bursary, launched in 2015, aims to identify our most talented musicians and provide financial support for their continuing education, together with performance opportunities with Irish Heritage, enabling them to reach their artistic and career potential. The inaugural Bursary took place in the Bechstein Room of the Wigmore Hall in October 2015. A distinguished jury consisting of John Gilhooly OBE (Chair), Ailish Tynan, Professor David Strange and Antony Lewis-Crosby auditioned candidates nominated by the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. The Bursary award of 5000 was shared by Carolyn Holt, mezzo-soprano, and Máire Carroll, piano, both of whom are studying at the Royal Academy of Music and both are graduates of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Their Winners Recital will launch our 2016-2017 Season at the Royal Over-Seas League on 15 th September 2016. The 2016 Irish Heritage Music Bursary has been extended to six conservatoires to include, in addition to the four London Conservatoires, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Royal Northern College of Music. Auditions will be held at the Wigmore Hall in November 2016 with a distinguished panel of judges consisting of John Gilhooly OBE (Chair), Ann Murray DBE and Professor Simon Lepper. We extend special thanks to the panel judges and those generous donors who make the Bursary possible. We will continue to expand its reach and provide greater opportunities to all the young musicians who participate. In the words of one of our Patrons, The Irish Heritage Music Bursary is a game-changer in the history of Irish Heritage. Katie Rowan Joint Artistic Director Summer 2016
Carolyn Holt Mezzo-soprano I am so grateful to Irish Heritage for their generosity and belief in me this year. I feel honoured to be the joint winner of the inaugural Irish Heritage Bursary and to be associated with an organisation that has supported so many successful Irish musicians at the commencement and throughout their careers. I look forward to future collaborations and am very excited to be performing our winners recital at the Royal Over-Seas League in September 2016. Máire Carroll Piano I am delighted to be the joint winner of the inaugural Irish Heritage Music Bursary. The Bursary award is a very significant help to me in my continuing education in the Royal Academy of Music, in terms of the recognition it gives me and its financial contribution. Irish Heritage is a wonderfully unique organisation with which I feel honoured and privileged to be associated. I am excited to begin a collaborative partnership with Irish Heritage and I am incredibly grateful for their continuous support.
Ailish Tynan Soprano Irish Heritage and the late Ethna Kennedy (the Founder of Irish Heritage) have been hugely supportive to me since arriving in London fifteen years ago and almost immediately offered me a recital in beautiful Leighton House which afforded me much needed exposure and financial support in those early days. The society has gone from strength to strength and the support it offers young Irish performers in the UK really is invaluable and cannot be understated. Knowing there is a support network to turn to, as a young artist finding their feet in London, really is a gift. As artists we are extremely lucky to have Irish Heritage. Website: www.ssartists.co.uk/artist/ailish-tynan
Gavan Ring Baritone Irish Heritage provided me with my first recital opportunity in London on 9th November 2011 so it was a great step towards building a career profile in the UK. The programme was intelligently put together by Ethna Kennedy, the Artistic Director; singing quality material in a great venue (St. Patrick s Church, Soho Square, London) was a great experience. Subsequently Irish Heritage has been terrifically supportive in promoting me whenever I have asked them. I thoroughly enjoyed my performance with Irish Heritage in Leighton House, Holland Park in June 2015, and performing at the Irish Heritage fundraising dinners in the Savile Club in 2015 and in 2016. Website: www.gavanring.co.uk
Patrick Rafter Violin Having an organisation such as Irish Heritage in London is a wonderful base for any young musician starting out in this vast and highly competitive city for music and the arts. The professional approach of Irish Heritage, in presenting young performers in fine music venues and in creating a social environment where we can meet our audiences at and after the performance, is unique in my experience. I have had the privilege of performing with Irish Heritage at multiple events including my debut recital at the beautiful Leighton House, with my family, in June 2016. I take my hat (and my bow) off to Irish Heritage and I look forward to many more events with them in the future. They are a true reflection of such incredible philanthropy which is evident with the growth of the artists they support. Patrick is studying with Maxim Vengerov at the International Menuhin Academy in Switzerland. www.menuhinacademy.ch/site/wp/the-academy/students/patrick-joseph-rafter/ www.facebook.com/patrickrafterviolinist
David Wallace Composer Through the great work of Irish Heritage in supporting Irish composers, I have had several of my compositions performed in some great venues and by fantastic young Irish musicians. This organisation has given me a support network of Irish people that otherwise I would have found difficult to connect with, as London is so big and diverse. One of the most remarkable things about Irish Heritage is this ability to connect with other Irish musicians and audiences, which makes the creative process even more rewarding. This support has resulted in some of my new songs being programmed in the 2016-2017 Irish Heritage season which I am very excited about. You can hear David s music at www.davidwallacecomposer.com
Jennifer Davis Soprano Irish Soprano, Jennifer Davis, had been hailed by The Irish Times as the "voice to watch" and "a casting director's dream". An alumna of the National Opera Studio, London, and gaining a first class honours for her Masters degree at DIT'S Conservatory of Music and Drama, Jennifer has enjoyed success both in concert and on the operatic stage. She has performed extensively throughout the UK and Ireland, and made her debut in Germany, in a recital promoting Wexford Festival Opera. Jennifer s first appearance with Irish Heritage in London was in Enchanted Evenings - celebrating 40 Years of Irish Heritage in May 2014 and she performed in A Century of Song and Opera in Ireland in February 2016. In September 2015, Jennifer joined the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In Irish Youth Opera's "The Rape of Lucretia" credit Frances Marshall She has been gratefully supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, English National Opera, and a Sybil Tutton award administered by Help Musicians UK.
Irish Heritage looking to the future We have set out the story of Irish Heritage and its aims in the previous pages and illustrated its success in the words of some of our distinguished musicians who have benefitted from the support we have given them over the years. The needs of young Irish musicians, in particular for education, training and performance opportunities, have never been greater. It presents a huge challenge just to survive in a city that welcomes the world s leading musicians of every genre. Our programme planning goes beyond next year and well into 2018-2019 as we continue to pursue excellence in performance and create greater opportunities for young musicians and composers in the broad spectrum of classical music with an Irish and international dimension. You can be a part of this exciting future by becoming a Friend of Irish Heritage and attending our events where you will meet these talented young musicians. You may wish to donate further to Irish Heritage and sponsor an event or an artist in our programme or help us in other ways by introducing your friends to Irish Heritage. We need your support and can assure you of a warm welcome throughout the year. Please contact the Chairman, Niall Gallagher (niallgallagher172@gmail.com) or Kathy O Regan, Friends Liaison (Kathy.oregan@hotmail.co.uk), and we will be pleased to respond with meaningful ways in which you can help the important work in support of young Irish musicians.
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